Manchester City survived a testing encounter at Goodison Park as they came from behind to beat Everton 3-1 and climb back into the top four.
The newly-crowned Club World Cup winners recovered from going behind to former winger Jack Harrison’s first-half goal to score twice after the break through a beauty from Phil Foden and a Julian Alvarez penalty.
Late on, Bernardo Silva curled home into an empty net after the otherwise excellent Jordan Pickford had his kick charged down to leave Everton a point above the relegation zone.
It was only City’s second win in seven league matches, but was enough to bring second-placed Arsenal within their sights and Liverpool not much further away.
However, the loss of John Stones, making only his fifth Premier League start this season due to injury, and an eighth successive Premier League game without a clean sheet were less welcome.
With Liverpool and Arsenal drawing just before Christmas, City returned victorious from Saudi Arabia knowing winning their two games in hand would leave them just a couple of points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side at the summit.
Had it not been for some wayward shooting and, more significantly, Jordan Pickford, they would probably have been coasting towards the first of those wins before half-time.
The England number one’s most important intervention came in the 14th minute when he saved Matheus Nunes’ shot and then stuck out a foot to narrowly divert wide Alvarez’s rebound. He also later denied Jack Grealish.
And without Erling Haaland for a sixth successive game – the Norway international’s foot injury is also expected to keep him out of the weekend’s visit of Sheffield United – Pep Guardiola’s side started to look a bit toothless.
That has been a longer-term problem for Everton but scoring from your first shot on target always helps and when Rodri was pressured into an uncharacteristic loss of possession on the edge of his own area by Beto the home side pounced.
Dwight McNeil laid on his third assist in five games as Harrison sidefooted home from close range, with the former City winger almost scoring a spectacular second with Ederson at full stretch to tip over his swerving outside-of-the-left-foot effort.
City were more than happy to leave Beto, making his first start in six games but with two goals in his last five appearances, one-on-one at the back and that almost backfired when Pickford picked him out only for the striker’s clumsiness allowing Stones to recover and clear, injuring himself in the process.
Guardiola was furious with the assistant referee for not flagging for offside and his mood was not helped by the defender’s enforced departure just before half-time.
City needed just 19 minutes after the break to turn things around with Foden given too much space on the edge of the area from a corner to beat Pickford down by his left-hand post.
Silva extended the goalkeeper with a free-kick before Alvarez put them ahead when Nathan Ake’s shot hit Amadou Onana’s arm as he slid in to block.
Referee John Brooks awarded a corner before changing his mind and pointing to the spot, with Alvarez’s blast down the middle proving too powerful as it went underneath the diving Pickford’s legs.
When substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin failed to turn home Harrison’s low cross from six yards, defeat was confirmed with Silva’s 20-yard effort into an unguarded net after collecting Alvarez’s block on the goalkeeper.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
