Manchester United travelled to Southampton this afternoon hoping to finish what has been a disastrous Premier League season on a winning note.
The Saints have had a much more successful year and were comfortably the better team in the first half, taking a 28th-minute lead through Rickie Lambert.
Juan Mata's precise 22-yard free kick, which dipped just underneath the crossbar, levelled matters on 54 minutes and although United looked the more likely to add to the scores, they could not end the campaign with victory as Mauricio Pochettino's side hung on for a 1-1 draw.
The result means that Southampton finish eight points and one position behind United, who miss out on European qualification for the first time in 26 years due to their placing of seventh, in the table.
Below, you can read how the action unfolded at St Mary's Stadium, courtesy of SM's live coverage.
Afternoon, all. As Manchester United's two fiercest rivals contest the title this afternoon, the Red Devils end a miserable season with a trip to a Southampton side one place below them in the table.
Southampton's excellent campaign under Mauricio Pochettino means that they are only eight points behind last year's Premier League champions, who can still sneak into Europe with a win today.
In his last match as interim manager, Ryan Giggs can guide United into the Europa League if they win on the South Coast and sixth-place Tottenham Hotspur lose at home to Aston Villa.
Team news from St Mary's Stadium will be with you shortly...
SOUTHAMPTON: Boruc; Clyne, Fonte, Lovren, Shaw; Wanyama, Cork, Schneiderlin; Davis, Lallana, Lambert
SUBS: Gazzaniga, Ward-Prowse, Guly, Chambers, Hooiveld, Reed, Gallagher
UNITED: De Gea; Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Januzaj, Fletcher, Kagawa, Welbeck; Mata; Van Persie
SUBS: Amos, Carrick, Cleverley, Lawrence, Young, Valencia, Hernandez
Giggs makes seven changes from the side that beat Hull City in midweek, with two-goal teenage forward James Wilson out of the squad completely, one assumes with an injury. One striker who is fit is Robin van Persie, who starts for the first time since scoring a Champions League hat trick in March.
With Phil Jones sidelined, but declared fit for the World Cup by Giggs, Nemanja Vidic will play for United for the final time, having already agreed to join Italian giants Inter Milan in the summer.
The Serbian, who has won five Premier League titles and a Champions League during his eight years at Old Trafford, starts alongside long-term partner Rio Ferdinand in the centre of defence.
The former England captain is another who could be saying goodbye to United when his contract expires at the end of the season, as could Patrice Evra, who starts at left-back.
Danny Welbeck has also been linked with a United exit in the summer, rumours which Giggs has rubbished, and the pacey forward plays alongside Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj in attacking midfield.
Pochettino resists the temptation to blood some of Southampton's promising youngsters in their season finale and instead names a full-strength side with plenty of bodies in the middle of the park.
Jack Cork, Victor Wanyama, Morgan Schneiderlin and Steve Davis all start, which will give Adam Lallana, a reported United target, the freedom to play just behind lone frontman Rickie Lambert.
The experienced forward returns in place of Sam Gallagher after being left on the bench as a fitness precaution for the 1-0 win over Swansea City, in which he scored the stoppage-time winner.
Luke Shaw is another Saints man who has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford and the United scouting team will have a great view of the 18-year-old left-back this afternoon.
Southampton are already guaranteed an eighth-place finish, which will equal their highest ever end-of-season placing in the Premier League from the 2002-2003 campaign under Gordan Strachan.
At the other extreme end of the spectrum, seventh, or even sixth, will be United's worst ever Premier League finish and comes at the end of a campaign full of unwanted broken records.
REFEREE WATCH: Mike Dean is the man in the middle this afternoon.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Southampton have not beaten United since a 1-0 victory in 2004, when James Beattie scored an 88th-minute winner. The two sides drew 1-1 earlier in the campaign.
WORLD CUP WATCH: Southampton's Lallana and Lambert are deemed to be probables in Roy Hodgson's England squad, which will be named on Monday. Shaw is also being tipped to go ahead of Ashley Cole as Leighton Baines' understudy. United's Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverly will be sweating on their places in the 23-man party after poor seasons, and with Wayne Rooney and Phil Jones out, Welbeck and Chris Smalling are the Three Lions to watch out for in the United side today.
Around 10 minutes until kickoff at St Mary's Stadium...
United are so used to competing for, or already having won, the title ahead of the final game of the season, but today they have to watch from afar, 20 points back in fact, as their two most fierce rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, tussle to become champions of England.
Remember, a point against West Ham will be enough for City to win the title, while Liverpool can claim a first championship in 24 years if City lose and they beat Newcastle. I will keep you up to date with the goals from those games, and at White Hart Lane as Spurs aim to pip United to the Europa League.
PREDICTION: Having seen the strength of the United side today, I fancy them to win on the South Coast and give Vidic and a few others a victorious send off. I reckon 3-1 to the Red Devils.
We are underway at St Mary's Stadium and across the Premier League on the season's final day...
Cork is lucky that his rash tackle on Evra is so early in the game and Mike Dean is not prepared to go to his pocket yet. From the resultant free kick in a promising position, Mata hits the wall.
Southampton get hold of the ball and keep it for the first time, with their three defensive midfielders, charged with filling the space that the likes of Mata and Shinji Kagawa will move into, meaning that they have plenty of options in the centre of the park to pass the ball around United.
PENALTY APPEAL! Referee Dean seems to be in a generous mood in this season finale as he allows Vidic to escape with a handball in the box. Shaw's cross with the outside of his left foot is knocked out of the way of Lallana by the Serbian's arm as he was turning. Dean may have been unsighted.
SHOT! Saints have had United pinned back for a few minutes or so, and make it pay by working David de Gea. Wanyama's 25-yard shot from a layoff is fairly weak, but in the direction of Lallana, who tries to flick it goalwards. He doesn't get a great deal on it, though, and De Gea easily gathers.
Roy Hodgson has chosen St Mary's as his final scouting stop before naming his World Cup squad tomorrow, perhaps to have one last look at Shaw as he weights up his left-back options.
Lambert fizzes a square pass into the area, which may have been intended for Lallana, but Davis is also in the box and he gets to the ball first, only to miscontrol it in a good position 12 yards out.
LATEST: United seem poised to be without European football next season, with Spurs having taken an early lead against Villa through Paulinho. The Red Devils need Spurs to lose, and to beat Southampton, to qualify for the Europa League, not that they are desperate to do so.
Southampton are still having the better of things here, and are forcing the visitors to play on the break. Unlike some United teams this season, this one has enough pace in it to be a counter-attacking threat, though, and a promising Welbeck burst is halted by a strong tackle from Dejan Lovren.
CHANCE! Talking about pace, Shaw sprints past Smalling on the Saints left and rolls in Lallana, then continuing his run into the area to head the playmaker's cross just over the crossbar.
LATEST: Huge goal at Anfield where Liverpool have surprisingly fallen behind to Newcastle, with Martin Skrtel putting the ball into his own net to dent their title chances further!
Lallana's twisting and turning on the left edge of the box sees him wriggle free of a couple of defenders and tee up Lambert, but the striker drags his 20-yard shot horribly wide.
SAVE! Lallana is involved again, popping up this time in the right channel to collect a Lambert layoff and curl a left-footed shot towards goal, which does not have enough power to really trouble De Gea, who makes a clean catch diving to his right. It is all Southampton at the moment.
Approaching the half-hour mark and United's creative players, of which there are plenty on the pitch today have hardly had a touch. Kagawa, Mata, Januzaj, Van Persie, all very quiet at present.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (RICKIE LAMBERT)
Southampton take a deserved lead as Lambert notches his 14th of the season! He challenges in the air with Vidic and the ball falls to Davis. Vidic hits the ground leaving United exposed, and Davis's pass takes Ferdinand out of the game and sends Lambert free one-on-one with De Gea. He gives the Spaniard the eyes before wrapping his foot round it to finish emphatically with his right foot.
There is certainly a hint of controversy about the goal, though, with Vidic complaining of an elbow by Lambert in the buildup. The Serbian warrior's face is covered in blood and replays do show that he got a thump to the face, unintentionally by the Saints goalscorer. United's entire team surrounded referee Dean in the aftermath of the goal and with some justification too. Lambert gets away with one...
BLOCK! Clyne knocks the ball to the back post, where Lambert just nudges Smalling in the back to get free and volley towards goal, but the England man recovers to make a vital block.
BOOKING: Cork escaped unpunished for an earlier offence but is shown a yellow card here for the most cynical of fouls on Januzaj as the Belgian threatened to get away on the right.
CHANCES! The Vidic incident seems to have fired up United, who have had three chances in as many minutes. The departing defender, who shouldn't be on the field really as blood pours from his nose, heads over the crossbar. Moments later, Smalling shoots wide of the post after the ball was cleared to him from a cross, and Mata misses in the same direction after collecting a throw in and dribbling into the box.
BOOKING: Vidic is really riled up here and he follows Cork into the book following a blatant block on Lallana. There is a serious chance that he could end his United career with a sending off.
SHOT! From the resultant set piece, Lambert whips the ball over the wall but straight into the arms of De Gea, who is one of the few United players who can claim to have had a good season.
BOOKING: Januzaj is next to be cautioned after kicking the ball away petulantly. He felt that he should have been given a free-kick, but Shaw's recovery to catch the winger and dispossess him seemed entirely fair to me. The combined age of those two stars of the future is only 37.
Superb play by Lallana, who delivers invitingly across the six-yard box after fooling Smalling with a succession of stepovers. Davis got in front of Evra in the middle, but misses the ball while stretching out a foot to try and make contact. The midfielder should really have gone with his head.
LATEST: The title seems to be heading to the Etihad Stadium, with Liverpool still trailing to Newcastle and Manchester City now leading against West Ham through Samir Nasri's 39th-minute goal! Meanwhile, sixth seems to have gone for United, with Spurs now beating Villa 3-0.
TWO minutes of first-half stoppage time to be played at St Mary's Stadium...
HALF-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
United trudge off the field having been firmly second best to a Southampton side that lead 1-0 through Rickie Lambert's 14th of the season, although there was a hint of controversy about the goal.
The England frontman seemed to elbow, unintentionally by the looks of things, Nemanja Vidic in the buildup, leaving the Serbian defender on the floor and unable to track Lambert into the area. Vidic's nose was leaking blood at an alarming rate and United's players were furious with referee Mike Dean over his failure to spot the incident. He also missed a handball by the centre-back in the early stages.
However, take nothing away from Southampton, who bossed the opening 45 minutes, with Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw running the game in front of watching England manager Roy Hodgson.
AS IT STANDS: My first 'as it stands' of the day! Man City's grip on the Premier League title has got slightly tighter thanks to Samir Nasri's goal giving them a 1-0 advantage over West Ham, and with Liverpool surprisingly trailing at home to Newcastle. Elsewhere, Spurs seem to have wrapped up Europa League qualification by scoring three unanswered goals in the first half against Aston Villa.
United resume the action and have made a half-time change which I will now tell you about...
SUBSTITUTION: Michael Carrick has replaced the completely ineffective Kagawa in central midfield. That may be the last time that we see the Japanese star in a United shirt.
SUBSTITUTION: Michael Carrick replaces the completely ineffective Shinji Kagawa in central midfield. That may be the last time that we see the underwhelming Japanese star in a United shirt.
LATEST: We don't appear to be in line for any final-day drama, with Manchester City now 2-0 up against West Ham courtesy of a Vincent Kompany header which has virtually wrapped up the title.
United have no more zip about them in the early stages of the second half, with Mata slicing way off target after a cross was delivered to the back post which he should have tried to head goalwards.
GOAL! SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED (JUAN MATA)
The Red Devils equalise courtesy of a sublime Mata free-kick! The way United have been playing, it was going to take an individual moment of brilliance to get them back on level terms, and this is exactly that. Wanyama's daft foul gives the visitors a set piece 22 yards out, just right of centre, and Mata manages to lift it over the wall and get the dip on his strike to sneak it under the crossbar. Inch perfect.
CHANCE! United could have turned this around in two minutes had Welbeck made more of a great headed chance from Januzaj's cross, nodding a few yards over from 10 yards out.
SUBSTITUTION: Jack Cork's season is over as Pochettino sacrifices him to go two up top, with Sam Gallagher joining Lambert up front. A very positive change which could open up this game...
Januzaj goes down far too easily when Shaw shows his superior strength to muscle him off the ball in the area. The United man looks up in hope of a spot kick, but rightly has no joy.
The travelling United fans are serenading the class of 92 on the visiting bench. Will Scholes, Neville and company still be at the club in a coaching capacity next season, alongside Giggs the player?
LATEST: Liverpool are not giving up on their title dream just yet, and have turned things around at Anfield with two goals in as many minutes. Daniel Agger and Daniel Sturridge have scored to put them 2-1 up against the 10-man Magpies, but with City winning, it probably won't be enough.
CHANCE! Fletcher comes close to netting his first goal in 18 months by heading just wide from Smalling's cross. That was a great opportunity, even for a man not known for his goalscoring.
SUBSTITUTIONS: A change for either side as Javier Hernandez comes on in place of Van Persie for United. Lallana, who is often subbed in the second half of games, leaves the field to a standing ovation as James Ward-Prowse is introduced. Southampton fans will be praying that they have not seen their captain for the final time, amid rumours of a £20m move to Liverpool happening before the World Cup.
A clearing header is chested down by Wanyama, who shifts the ball away from Carrick on the edge of the box, only to fluff his shot well wide, with the ball dribbling behind at a snail's pace.
Januzaj cuts back onto his left to cross straight out of play. He's not wrestled free of Shaw too many times this afternoon, and that was wasteful, with Carrick unmarked on the edge of the area.
Smalling makes a good run forward down the right and Carrick finds him with a dinked ball. He heads into the middle, but too far ahead of Hernandez and Boruc comes off his line to claim.
Davis tries to play Gallagher in behind, but Vidic gets across well to intercept. Can the Serbian end his United career on a winning note? They are probably looking the more likely at present...
SUBSTITUTION: Pochettino takes another of his England internationals off, with the outstanding Shaw leaving to as rapturous an applause as Lallana received a short time ago. Callum Chambers is on in his place, a switch which will see Clyne move from right-back to the opposite flank.
And with Shaw no longer on the field, Hodgson makes the decision to leave St Mary's. He will have a few difficult phone calls to make this evening. Shaw might get a more positive one, though.
Evra shows a change of pace to get away from Chambers near the left byline and stand up a cross towards Mata at the back post, but Clyne does brilliantly to take it off the Spaniard's toes as he set himself for a spectacular overhead. Again, I don't know why Mata did not go in with his head.
CHANCE! Carrick's beautifully-weighted chip over the top is well controlled by Welbeck, who, from 12 yards out, can only poke over the crossbar while leaning back. He may have been better off shooting with his left foot, but Fonte did not allow him the time to readjust his body shape.
The 32-year-old Evra again shows that he still has the legs, making up a lot of ground to get back and pinch the ball from Lambert, who had been played in by a Davis pass.
SUBSTITUTION: Antonio Valencia replaces Mata for the final few minutes on the South Coast...
Southampton and United are now entering the final THREE minutes of their seasons...
Vidic gives the ball away but recovers to make a block from Ward-Prowse's shot.
CHANCE! Welbeck runs at Fonte in the left channel before cutting inside and bending a shot straight at Boruc, with bodies in the box. That should just about be that.
FULL-TIME: SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
United finish a disastrous season with a draw at Southampton, while their Manchester rivals clinch the Premier League title courtesy of a 2-0 win over West Ham. Liverpool's victory against Newcastle is not enough as the Citizens win their second championship in three years on the season's final day.
Norwich are confirmed relegated following their defeat to Arsenal, while West Brom survive. Elsewhere, Tottenham's 3-0 stroll at home to Aston Villa secures them a Europa League spot ahead of United, who will not have continental football next season for the first time in 26 years.
That's it from me on the final day of another brilliant Premier League season, in which Manchester City were the cream of the crop. Thanks for joining Sports Mole this afternoon. Until August...
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
