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Five talking points from the final round of Premier League fixtures

Five talking points from the final round of Premier League fixtures
© Reuters
Agony for Leicester again as Liverpool and Chelsea clinch Champions League spots.

The final day of the Premier League season brought joy for Liverpool and Chelsea and agony for Leicester.

On a day when most of the major issues had long been resolved, the Foxes missed out on Champions League football for the second successive season.

Elsewhere, Sergio Aguero said his goodbyes to Manchester City with a trademark double, while Newcastle loanee Joe Willock set another goalscoring record.

When Harry beat Salah

Harry Kane is in for an interesting summer. Kane went into what many believe could be his last game for Tottenham locked together with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah on 22 goals in the race for the Golden Boot. The England captain nudged his way ahead with a 41st-minute strike in his side's 4-2 win at Leicester and Salah could not match him as the Reds beat Crystal Palace 2-0 with Sadio Mane scoring both.

Leicester outfoxed

Brendan Rodgers' men are really going to have to get the job done earlier if they are going to rub shoulders with European football's elite again. For the second successive season, they missed out on a Champions League place at the end. Starting the day in fifth place, the FA Cup winners knew realistically they needed to win to claim a top-four spot – and their home defeat by Spurs meant it is Liverpool and Chelsea, beaten 2-1 at Aston Villa, who will join the Manchester rivals on the big stage next season.

Come and get me

Sergio Aguero still has goals in his boots. The 32-year-old Argentina international made the final appearance of his 10-year spell at Manchester City as a 65th-minute substitute in the champions' 5-0 home demolition of Everton. He is yet to reveal what the future holds for him, but having found the back of the net within six minutes of his introduction and then again five minutes later, he alerted potential suitors to his enduring potency.

Joe in seventh heaven

Newcastle's Joe Willock celebrates his seventh goal in as many Premier League games
Newcastle's Joe Willock celebrates his seventh goal in as many Premier League games (Matthew Childs/PA)

Newcastle are going to have to fight to prise Joe Willock from Arsenal's grasp this summer. The 21-year-old midfielder, who became the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League matches in midweek, became the youngest to do so in seven with the opener in his side's 2-0 win at Fulham. Head coach Steve Bruce had already signalled his intention to test Mikel Arteta's resolve to hang on to the youngster, but his stock appears to be rising by the game.

The Moyes, the merrier

David Moyes will look back upon the 2020-21 season as the one during which he re-established his reputation as a manager. Having endured a difficult few years since leaving Everton for Manchester United, he arrived at West Ham via Real Sociedad and Sunderland to little fanfare, but ended the season having guided the Hammers to a club record Premier League points total of 65, just two behind the Champions League places in sixth after a 3-0 home win over Southampton.

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Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal against Leicester City in the Premier League on May 23, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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