Everton manager Sean Dyche will allow his players to briefly enjoy their escape from relegation but he has already laid down the law that major changes are needed at the club.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 57th-minute thunderbolt gave the Toffees a 1-0 win over Bournemouth and the victory which ensured they stayed up and extended their stay in the top flight to 70 successive seasons.
For the second consecutive season there was a pitch invasion at the final whistle – although nowhere near as many numbers joined in as 12 months ago when safety was secured with a game to spare.
There was a feeling inside the club that they did not want to be seen to be celebrating avoiding failure and that probably came from Dyche himself.
“It’s a horrible day for all concerned, there is no joy in it for me other than getting the job done,” said the former Burnley boss, who only took over in late January.
“I came in here to change a mentality and I think there have been signs of that. There is still more to go.
“I said to the the players ‘We shouldn’t be here. Enjoy this today and you’ve earned it but at the end of the day it has got to change’.
“There is no point in sitting on it and saying ‘Look how great we are’ because it is not like that.
“There is loads to change here and a lot of work to be done but it was a big step to secure it.”
Dyche was able to speak from a greater position of strength after avoiding what would have been only the club’s third relegation in their 145-year history.
That gave him the confidence to dish out some home truths in his post-match press conference which he had been reticent to do so previously for fear of creating more instability and detracting from the task in hand.
“Don’t think I thought this was an easy fix because it is not, far from it,” he added.
“It’s a big club, make no mistake. Big history, big club, but we are not performing like a big club. We have to find a way of changing that. This is two seasons now.
“I’ve played my little part in two seasons of this but there is a massive amount of change to build to a new dawn, a new future, a bigger future if you like.”
That future is likely to see him make significant changes to a totally unbalanced squad which somehow avoided relegation despite playing the whole season with their main striker – Dominic Calvert-Lewin – featuring in less than half of it and his back-up – Neal Maupay – managing just one goal (in September) in 29 appearances.
Asked if he would have to sell players, with the club having made more than £430m of losses in the last four years, Dyche added: “There’s a chance. I’ll find out about that.
“There’s not been any depth, there have been peripheral talks based on ifs, buts and maybes but that will come over the coming weeks when we find out the truth of what we have got, what we can do, what we can’t do.
“We had to get this (safety) sorted out, we’ve got it over the line. It was absolutely the key focus. Now it is time to immediately re-focus on the rest of it.”
Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil was disappointed not to have got something from the game.
“I thought we were the better side and had control for the most part but there is still a lot to progress on,” he said.
“We knew we were coming into a tough atmosphere against a direct team and I thought the lads stood up to it well. We maybe didn’t create enough.
“We maybe got a little too desperate towards the end but there was a lot there I liked. It’s just a shame we didn’t score, I always thought we would get one.”
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal saw Everton stave off the threat of relegation on the final day of the Premier League season as Leicester and Leeds suffered the drop.
With the title and top four already sewn up, all eyes had been on the battle at the bottom and the fight for European places.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things from the final day of the season.
Dyche delivers for Everton
Sean Dyche was perhaps not a fashionable appointment when Everton turned to him after Frank Lampard’s exit, but he has done enough – just enough – to keep the Toffees in the top flight after Sunday’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth. One of Dyche’s biggest decisions was to restore Abdoulaye Doucoure to his starting line-up, and it was the Mali midfielder who got the all-important goal at Goodison Park. Dyche’s experience in battling at the bottom helped the club keep their heads amid the pressure. Given their financial issues off the pitch, survival seems seismic for Everton. A big summer awaits as fans continue to call for change at board level, and a Premier League investigation into potential breaches of profit and sustainability rules looms. But solving those issues should at least be a little easier as a Premier League club.
Reality bites for Leicester and Leeds
As Everton breathed a sigh of relief, Leicester and Leeds had the bitter taste of relegation on the final day. For Leicester, the drop into the Championship comes only seven years after their magical title-winning season, the scale of the decline in the last 12 months startling. Their failure to replace Kasper Schmeichel and Wesley Fofana already seemed a major oversight even before injuries hit, and the board must take responsibility for their failure to invest in the squad. With several players out of contract this summer, a major rebuild is in prospect. Leeds also need a reset. They only narrowly avoided the drop last season, but have never found an identity since the exit of Marcelo Bielsa more than a year ago.
Passports out for Villa
In a season when there has been a record number of managerial sackings with 10 clubs making a change, three of them more than one, the most dramatic impact has been the one made by Unai Emery at Aston Villa. The Villans took only nine points from 11 games under Steven Gerrard, but Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brighton secures seventh place and European football for the first time in 13 years. They have gone from a side that were facing a relegation battle to one who have finished 17 points better off than their previous campaign. Given the Spaniard’s proud record in Europe – he is a four-time winner of the Europa League – perhaps they should plan for a long run in the Europa Conference League.
Over and out from Xhaka?
Granit Xhaka has had his troubles at Arsenal, having once been booed off the pitch amid a sometimes fractious relationship with the club and the fans, but he was serenaded on Sunday. The 30-year-old has a year left on his contract and has been strongly linked with a move to Germany as Arsenal plan midfield upgrades. Xhaka scored twice in Sunday’s 5-0 rout of Wolves, taking him to 10 goals in a season in which Arsenal gave fans real belief they could challenge for the title. If this was the end, Arsenal will feel very different about seeing him go than they once might have.
Big questions for Spurs
Tottenham enjoyed a 4-1 win over Leeds on the final day but it was not enough to get them into Europe as they missed out on qualification for the first time since 2008-09. In a summer in which Daniel Levy must again find a new permanent manager, that is a major blow. Harry Kane scored twice at Elland Road, but they could prove his final goals for the club as he enters the final year of his contract, surely considering his options given his desire to be challenging for silverware. Kane has once again reached 30 goals but he has done it in a malfunctioning side, and the England captain will know he is worthy of better. Whether or not Tottenham can again convince him they are capable of offering it to him remains to be seen.
Erik ten Hag told the raucous Old Trafford faithful that Manchester United have a “really good chance” of winning the FA Cup and ending Manchester City’s treble charge.
Having wrapped up Champions League qualification by beating Chelsea on Thursday, the Red Devils sealed third spot in the Premier League on the final day of the campaign.
United bounced back from Kenny Tete’s early header as David De Gea saved Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty before Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes sealed a 2-1 comeback win against Fulham.
The players were given a fantastic reception at full-time and, after presenting De Gea with the Golden Glove trophy, boss Ten Hag made an impassioned speech to fans.
“First of all, I want to say thank you to our players,” he told the stadium. “I think they played a brilliant season.
“They are also supported by the staff. I want to say thank you to the staff.
“Secondly, I want to thank you (the fans) all. We fought really strong during the season at Old Trafford and away.
“I want to thank you for the season and your contribution backing us, for the support – it was great, so thank you.
“But there is still one game to go and I am sure that these players will give everything to beat Manchester City next week.
“If you have our back, I’m sure we have a really good chance to take the cup back to Old Trafford.”
Those comments were met by a huge roar that will increase further still if Ten Hag’s men can beat City at Wembley next Saturday and add the FA Cup to February’s Carabao Cup success.
“You have always a chance in football,” Ten Hag said in the post-match press conference.
“The history shows we beat them in January but I think Man United in the last couple of years beat City many times.
“So, these players know when they play at their levels that they can compete.
“It’s obvious we play against probably – at this moment – the best team, but still there is a chance and we have to go for the chance and we have to give everything.
“We can’t be after the game finding excuses for ourselves. I’m sure we will play a good game on Saturday.”
Ten Hag knows United have to step up after making a sloppy start against Fulham, saying De Gea’s penalty save woke them up.
The United boss again reiterated that he expected the long-serving Spain goalkeeper to extend his contract beyond the end of the season, before seemingly taking a dig at the owners’ backing.
Fans called for the Glazers to leave throughout – as they always do – and Ten Hag said he did not get investment like their top-four rivals in January.
The United boss, who was only able to make loan moves for Jack Butland, Wout Weghorst and Marcel Sabitzer, said: “The club knows if you want to play top four, compete for trophies in this tough league, then you have to invest.
“Otherwise you don’t have a chance because other clubs will do.
“We have seen it in the winter that all the clubs around us made huge investments. We didn’t and still we made it, so I’m really happy and proud of my team.”
As for Fulham, they displayed heart at Old Trafford at the end of an impressive season that saw them finish 10th after promotion from the Championship.
Head coach Marco Silva said: “We had very good moments during the game.
“Unfortunately for us, not really consistent during all the match but the way we started we were beginning to control the game.
“We were leading the score and I think it was well deserved because we showed the composure and quality to play, to control most of the moments.
“Of course we had the chance to make it 2-0 and give us even more confidence and create a much-more difficult score for them.
“De Gea saved and of course it was a moment that boosted them. You could feel is straight away in the stadium.
“These are the moments we have to show our maturity, to show more consistency.”
Frank Lampard said he believes the standards at Chelsea have dropped after he signed off as interim manager with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle.
The result means Lampard failed to register a single home victory during his second spell in charge, with his last win as manager at Stamford Bridge still a 3-1 triumph over West Ham in December 2020.
It took a Kieran Trippier own goal, the defender deflecting the ball into the net midway through the first half, to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s early strike.
This was at least an improved performance from Chelsea, particularly in the second half where they played with an attacking initiative rarely seen under Lampard.
The young trio of Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and substitute Carey Chukwuemeka especially played with the maturity to take charge of the game and drive their team on, after a first half in which Newcastle had made Chelsea look ordinary.
That has happened too often this season, especially at home where there have been six Premier League defeats and only 20 goals scored, the same number as Bournemouth and three fewer than relegated Leicester.
Lampard said he had recognised early in his tenure that leadership and cohesion were lacking among a bloated squad, and hoped that a new manager – expected to be Mauricio Pochettino – would be able to slim down and galvanise the first-team group.
“The standards collectively have dropped,” said Lampard. “I can be honest about that now that it’s my last game, I might not see some of them that much anymore.
“The standards of the collective for a club like Chelsea have to be at the maximum or you won’t be physically competitive enough, or you won’t be able to play at a high level… high speed in a way that the Premier League demands.
“If you’re not together in the dressing room, and you’re not vocal in the dressing room, driving each other and competitive because I want your place and you want mine. Any top team has to have that.
“When I came in very quickly I could see that wasn’t there enough. Of course a very good manager will help that, but everyone has to take responsibility, players and club alike.”
Chelsea’s form has nosedived since Lampard was appointed on April 6, with problems that had been apparent under former manager Graham Potter having only been exacerbated.
Todd Boehly’s whirlwind transfer activity during his first year of ownership has produced a squad of 34 first-team players that both managers have said proved hugely challenging to work with.
It has contributed to Chelsea recording a first bottom-half finish since 1996 and a record low tally of points and goals scored in the Premier League era.
“It’s clear there are things I would see that need to improve,” said Lampard. “A new manager will see with his own eyes and the beauty of it is he’ll have a pre-season to work with the team, they need that.
“We’re not physically competitive enough. Newcastle are and we haven’t been. That’s a strong opinion that I have.
“The squad has been too big, that’s the biggest challenge I’ve found day to day, coming in and working with big numbers, and with players who for whatever reason are disillusioned, whether for right or wrong that they’re not playing, (or) they might be leaving. Those situations can maybe be sorted out now and they have to be.”
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, whose team had already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge, said a first season in 20 years in Europe’s top competition would help loosen the transfer restrictions placed on his club by Financial Fair Play rules.
“FFP will impact what we do this summer,” he said. “Without Champions League football it would have been difficult to do much in the market at all. The fact we have that has given us a bit of a lift.
“The most important people are the players we already have. I’m the type of manager who tries to get the best out of everyone under our employment. We’re looking to add quality, we’re not huge payers of wages in the Premier League, it makes it hard to attract the very best players.
“We need more depth. With three games in a week next year we’re going to be stretched.”
Roy Hodgson believes an 11th-placed finish for Crystal Palace is an excellent achievement.
A 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest saw the south London outfit finish in their highest position since 2017-18, in a campaign that saw the 75-year old replace Patrick Vieira in March.
A Will Hughes effort cancelled out an opener for Taiwo Awoniyi, but Hodgson – who refused to be drawn on his future – was proud of the club’s accomplishment.
“An 11th place for Palace, in any season, is always acceptable. At the moment that is definitely where we want to be at least,” Hodgson said.
“We can always hope we have a better season and some of the seasons beyond that, and hope we get into the top half.
“But I think there’s always going to be a gap to teams which spend £200million or more on putting their playing staff together, whose only interest is getting into the Champions League.
“I hope our fans and the club realise that’s a hell of an ask where you can finish higher than 11th or 12th.”
Nottingham Forest took the lead in a 60-second spell that could have seen them fall behind.
A shot by Eberechi Eze on the hour was blocked by Jordan Ayew, with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey turning away a Hughes shot on the rebound.
A long ball out of the Forest half almost immediately by Morgan Gibbs-White found Awoniyi, who got the better of Joachim Anderson in the box and slotted home.
Palace equalised in the 65th minute, albeit with some good fortune. A cross by Michael Olise into the box was flicked on by Hughes past Hennessey – although the ball deflected off the challenging Willy Boly.
While both sides were looking for a winning effort to round off the season, it proved to be a satisfactory – if winless – ending for both sides.
Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper revealed his appreciation for Hodgson, and also believed the travelling support got a deserved reward.
“I said to Roy at the end it was an honour to come up against him. I’ve only done four years of this first-team lark,” Cooper said.
“For him to do as much as he’s done and to have the career he’s done, I’m full of admiration. He doesn’t need any kind words from me, but at the same time it’s a privilege to come up against him.
“We wanted to win and I think it was important to give the supporters a result.
“Our away support has been incredible and we haven’t given them enough in terms of results and sometimes performances.
“It could have been any result today and it would have been the same atmosphere, they’ve given us that.”
Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will be Premier League contenders next season after ending an underwhelming campaign with a thrilling 4-4 draw at relegated Southampton.
The fifth-placed Reds arrived at St Mary’s knowing they had already missed out on a top-four finish for the first time since 2015-16.
Early goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino appeared to have put the in-form visitors on course for a straightforward success on the south coast.
But they were forced to come from 4-2 behind to stretch their unbeaten run to 11 games following Kamaldeen Sulemana’s brace and strikes from James Ward-Prowse and Adam Armstrong.
Liverpool boss Klopp, whose side avoided defeat thanks to a goal from substitute Cody Gakpo and Jota’s second, was happy to see the back of 2022-23 and confident next term would be far more memorable.
“There were moments during the season when you thought ‘the season will be four years long’,” he said.
“Thank God for the last 11 games, that helped massively, gave us a real boost, gave us a perspective, gave us a basis for what we have to do.
“That it didn’t turn into the best ever season, we see that, we know that, we are very disappointed about the fact that we didn’t make it to the top four.
“But there are moments when you have to admit there were four teams that were better than us – that’s the truth.
“We played a bad season, we come fifth, that is a message as well.
“Imagine we were our normal self, which we absolutely will be again next season and will be a contender again. That’s how is it. The last 11 games helped us to realise that again.”
Gakpo and Jota struck in the 72nd and 73rd minutes respectively to prevent Liverpool slipping to a shock defeat, while Mohamed Salah hit a post late on.
Klopp felt his players contributed to their own undoing during a “silly” period of a chaotic contest.
“We are 2-0 up and you know these Southampton players want to pay back to these people (home fans) and we let them, just opened the door for a really talented offensive team, with the speed they have,” he said.
“I can make a list of things we weren’t and that led to the counter attacks they had.
“Then it’s 2-2 and 4-2 and then we started doing the right things again. I think we could have scored a fifth and a sixth.
“Top start, outstanding finish, in between just silly.”
Real Sociedad secured Champions League qualification despite goals from Antoine Griezmann and Nahuel Molina condemning them to a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
La Real headed to the Civitas Metropolitano knowing three points would seal a top-four LaLiga finish for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
But a superb first-half strike from Griezmann would put Diego Simeone's already-qualified Atletico in front, cutting onto his left foot before lashing into the far corner for his 15th league goal of the season.
Molina would make the points safe for third-placed Atletico, latching onto Griezmann's neat throughball before smashing a deflected effort past Alex Remiro and into the net.
Alexander Sorloth would pull one back late on, Brais Mendez producing a brilliant assist to set the striker in on goal before the Norway international fired home.
But time would run out on their pursuit of an equaliser as the visitors fell to a first loss in eight league matches.
La Real would be able to celebrate at full time, however, as Villarreal's 2-1 loss away at Rayo Vallecano ensured Imanol Alguacil's team will be playing Champions League football next season.
Atletico can still finish second. They are a point behind city rivals Real Madrid going into the final matchday of the season next weekend.
Unai Emery toasted Aston Villa’s “champagne moment” after they qualified for Europe for the first time since 2010.
The manager has sparked a turnaround at Villa Park having been appointed in October, after the club sacked Steven Gerrard sitting three points above the relegation zone.
Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brighton – who had already qualified for the Europa League – earned a Europa Conference League play-off spot after a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League.
Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins scored to seal their return, despite Deniz Undav’s strike for Brighton.
“Today is a champagne moment,” said Villa boss Emery.
“When you are working and focusing week-to-week, you are not having a lot of days to celebrate something, 70 per cent of our time was spent working.
“I want to celebrate with the club, players, friends, family and I want to enjoy what we have achieved.
“It was not the first objective in this year, our progression has been fantastic. We did it and it’s very important to celebrate and be happy now, to enjoy the moment in our life.
“We started thinking our progression was going well and some teams, they are not being consistent. When we won at Chelsea (a 2-0 win in April to move to ninth) we were with them and we were in 11th for a long time. It was the most difficult step going up.
“When we were in the top 10 we started thinking about getting sixth or seventh. Brighton did a great season, they deserve to be in the Europa League.”
Leon Bailey had already hit the bar before Luiz gave Villa an eight-minute lead, steering in Jacob Ramsey’s cross.
Undav had a goal disallowed after Julio Enciso was offside in the build-up before Watkins scored his 15th of the season to make it 2-0, tapping in after Ramsey’s driving run.
But Brighton hit back seven minutes before half-time when Undav collected Pascal Gross’ quick free-kick and finished past Emi Martinez – initially ruled offside before being overturned by VAR.
Ramsey should have made it 3-1 after the break, only to lift over from five yards with the goal gaping, and Jason Steele saved Watkins’ header.
Alexis Mac Allister drove wide but Brighton never tested Martinez as they finished their historic season with defeat.
But the Seagulls have bettered last term’s finish of ninth to finish sixth – the highest in their history – to also reach Europe for the first time.
At the end, a tearful Mac Allister, linked with Liverpool, left the pitch along with Caicedo for whom Brighton rejected a £70million offer from Arsenal in January and boss Roberto De Zerbi reiterated they could move on in the summer.
He said: “It can be the last game of Alexis and Moises Caicedo. I’m really sorry because they are two great people and great players. But the policy of Brighton is like this.
“It’s right they can leave, change team and play at a higher level. I don’t know but we are ready, we have to find other big players to play without Alexis and Moises.
“I love them and they are two big, big players but when I speak about my players, they can play in a big European team. For Brighton, we can still improve.
“We can bring other good players in and improve the same way. The Premier League will be tougher.
“We had different motivation than Aston Villa, we played well, with honour, with respect for the Premier League, respect for ourselves, for our fans, our club.
“Aston Villa deserved to qualify for the Conference League and we deserved to qualify for the Europa League.”
Dean Smith says Leicester have the capability to bounce straight back to the Premier League after they were relegated on Sunday.
The Foxes became just the second former champions to drop out of the division, joining Blackburn in 1999, as their 2-1 final-day win against West Ham was not enough to keep them in the division due to Everton’s victory over Bournemouth.
They went 2-0 up thanks to goals from Harvey Barnes and Wout Faes, with Pablo Fornals pulling one back for the Hammers, but it counted for nothing.
Relegation represents a huge fall from grace as that remarkable 5000-1 title came in 2016 and they have enjoyed much more recent success as they won the FA Cup in 2021 under Brendan Rodgers, who also delivered back-to-back fifth-placed finishes.
It will be the Championship next season, though Smith, who replaced Rodgers on a short-term SOS mission last month, reckons it could be a short stay in the second tier.
He said: “The raw materials this club has is an elite club. It feels raw now and it hurts and everybody will be devastated but with the infrastructure it has got it can bounce back.
“That is what happens. There has been plenty of times where you have knocks and your job is to bounce back and make sure you improve on the things that let you down and I have no doubt the club will.
“I think it has to (reset). Any club that gets relegated, they have to find a way to bounce back. There are plenty of knocks in football, it is, we all know that week in, week out,about how you bounce back.
“From what I have seen with the infrastructure I see no reason why it can’t bounce straight back.”
It remains to be seen whether Smith will lead that charge next season as his future remains in the air.
His eight-game remit has now ended, but he has experience of winning promotion in the Championship with Aston Villa.
Smith says he has not yet thought about his long-term future but will speak to chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha in a few days.
“Seven weeks, eight games, we didn’t speak about anything beyond that. I will speak to Top, who I have an awful lot of respect for, over the next couple of days and commiserate with him because the time and effort he puts into this football club is there for all to see.
“I am certainly not thinking about my future at the moment. It is raw getting relegated now, I’ll go away and reflect on it, speak to John (Rudkin) and Top. It’s a hypothetical question at the moment.”
Defeat ended a disappointing Premier League season for West Ham where they finished 14th, six points above the drop zone.
But boss David Moyes admitted his mind has been on the forthcoming Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague.
“It’s been on it for a long time, but what would you expect? Getting to European finals don’t come around too often. It’s been 47 years for West Ham.
“We’ve got to the final, we started back in August now going into June to the final and to try and have a good Premier League season and keep the competition going, it takes a big effort and it was a big effort to retain Premier League status and to ensure we keep winning in the cup.
“We wanted a draw because that would have got us one place higher in the league which might not mean much but it does to us, we were desperate to get there.
“We’ve got nothing to celebrate but playing against a team who has been relegated shows how devastating it can be.”
Ansu Fati's fabulous first-half double fired LaLiga champions Barcelona to victory in their Camp Nou farewell with a 3-0 win over Real Mallorca.
The Blaugrana signed off from their famous stadium in style, with Gavi also netting in a comfortable win over their 10-men visitors on Sunday.
In what was their final home game at their iconic ground before a temporary move to facilitate a lengthy renovation, Xavi's side ensured they bade it a fitting goodbye.
After losses against Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, it also marked an impressive return to form.
Barca needed less than a minute to carve open their visitors, with Fati tucking away a Gavi cutback following a neat Robert Lewandowski ball into the box.
Matters soon worsened for Mallorca, when Amath Ndiaye saw his yellow card upgraded to a red by VAR for a shocking foul on Alejandro Balde.
Fati doubled his tally after that with a close-range rocket off Lewandowski's deft one-touch set-up, and Barca never looked like losing control from there on out.
Mallorca dug their heels in, but even then remained under siege, with Jules Kounde hitting the bar with a header shortly after the restart.
Lewandowski crashed a free-kick against the woodwork too, but Barca finally found their third when Gavi lashed a low finish beyond Dominik Greif.
There were standing ovations for Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets on their final home appearances, with the Camp Nou crowd rising to salute the club legends.
Pep Guardiola admits he does not know if Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish will be fit for next weekend’s FA Cup final.
Manchester City’s attacking duo, and defender Ruben Dias, missed the
1-0 final-day defeat at Brentford through injury.
The champions, who face Manchester United at Wembley on Saturday as they bid to complete the second leg of an historic Treble, were consigned to defeat by Ethan Pinnock’s late goal.
With De Bruyne and Grealish missing completely and left on the bench, it was a scratch City side and those established stars who did play, like Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez, had little impact.
But Guardiola said: “Congratulations to Brentford for the victory. It’s difficult to faze them, how quick they play, how aggressive they are in all departments.
“I’m pretty sure we would have behaved a little bit different if we needed the points.
“I don’t have any complaints of how we behaved, I said to the players just now ‘you won the title, enjoy two days with your families and then we will prepare for the first final’.
“The guys who didn’t play who normally play were exhausted yesterday, mentally completely drained. They needed to rest to arrive with the right energy to face United.”
When asked if the players who missed out would be fit for Wembley, Guardiola said: “I don’t know right now. Hopefully.
“Ruben, Jack and Kevin couldn’t play. It is what it is. I think they will be ready but it’s hard to get ready in training. That’s why I had to see the players who played today.”
Pinnock’s 85th-minute strike made Brentford the only team to do the double over City this season, and only the fifth since Guardiola took over in 2016.
The Spaniard added: “They are the best team by far at set-pieces, they are exceptional. What Thomas Frank has done for years is amazing and the unity of his squad is there for all to see.
“Hopefully we can do better and beat them like we did last season, so we have a target for next season already.”
The Bees still needed a double save from goalkeeper David Raya to deny Cole Palmer at the death to end another impressive season on a high.
They had a slim chance to qualify for the Europa Conference League, and although victories for Tottenham and Aston Villa ultimately scuppered that dream, they finished a creditable ninth.
“Of course beating them twice means something, it means even more for the fans, they like that narrative and hopefully City win the Treble,” said Frank.
“Ending ninth in the Premier League, getting 59 points – and maybe deserve to have even more – it’s incredible the journey we have been on.
“What advice would I give United and Inter Milan? Well, I think we top performed in those two games.
“They are the best offensive team in then world so you need to defend very well and we did, and we were very brave throughout the game. I loved that from my players.”
Fernando Alonso has not given up hope of defying the odds and beating Max Verstappen to the Formula One world championship after he finished second at Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Alonso took the chequered flag 27.9 seconds behind Verstappen and has now secured five podiums in six races following his transfer from Alpine to Aston Martin.
The 41-year-old Spaniard will head to his home race at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya next weekend 51 points adrift of Verstappen and a dozen behind Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.
“The championship is long and we will not give up,” said Alonso after he finished runner-up for the first time in nine years.
“Red Bull and Max are dominating every race. The Red Bull is untouchable and even with great results, we are behind them. We are relying on weekends where they have issues.
“If Max has one or two of those, then we will be a little bit closer in the championship.
“This is motorsport and anything can happen. On true pace we are not there yet, but we won’t give up.”
Alonso kept Verstappen honest throughout Sunday’s race and was holding out on old rubber in the hope that rain would arrive.
But when it did, Alonso stopped for drys believing the track would not be wet enough for intermediate tyres.
However, the downpour continued and the Spaniard was forced to come back into the pits on the next lap, scuppering any chance of claiming his first victory in a decade.
“Maybe it was extra safe but in that minute-and-a-half it took to go through Turns five, six and eight again, the track changed completely,” added Alonso.
“The lap we stopped was completely dry but on my out-lap from the pits, it was wet.
“There was a huge margin behind me to do two stops and we thought it was the right thing to do. It was a complex race to read and execute.”
Leicester and Leeds were relegated from the Premier League after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning strike secured Everton a 1-0 win over Bournemouth and survival on the final day of the season.
The Toffees were heading down as things stood at half-time in the campaign’s concluding round of fixtures, with their clash with the Cherries at Goodison Park still goalless while Leicester led at home against West Ham.
But Doucoure’s strike from just outside the area in the 57th minute subsequently gave Sean Dyche’s men the victory they needed to guarantee safety, rendering their rivals’ results irrelevant.
Dean Smith’s Leicester drop despite winning 2-1 against West Ham, Harvey Barnes having netted the first-half opener and Wout Faes adding a 62nd-minute header before Pablo Fornals pulled a goal back for the visitors.
Second-bottom Leeds join the Foxes and Southampton in the second tier following a 4-1 home loss to Tottenham as Sam Allardyce’s four-game mission to rescue the Yorkshire outfit proved in vain.
Harry Kane put Spurs in front in the second minute, Pedro Porro doubled their advantage in the opening stages of the second half, and after Jack Harrison’s 67th-minute reply, Kane – registering his 30th league goal of the season – and Lucas Moura then further boosted the visitors’ tally.
The result was not enough to see Tottenham claim Europa Conference League qualification, with Aston Villa cementing seventh place thanks to a 2-1 home win over Brighton.
Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins scored for Unai Emery’s side early on, with Deniz Undav then reducing the deficit just before the break.
Brentford also missed out on the final European spot despite winning, Ethan Pinnock’s late goal earning a 1-0 home victory over champions Manchester City having signed a new contract with the Bees earlier in the day.
Second-placed Arsenal thrashed Wolves 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium, where Granit Xhaka netted a brace and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior also got on the scoresheet.
Manchester United secured third place as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at home.
The Cottagers led through a 19th-minute Kenny Tete goal, then failed to take the chance to make it 2-0 seven minutes later as Aleksandar Mitrovic saw his penalty saved by David de Gea.
Jadon Sancho subsequently drew things level before Bruno Fernandes struck the winner 10 minutes into the second half.
Fourth-placed Newcastle drew 1-1 at Chelsea, with Anthony Gordon’s early opener for the Magpies being cancelled out by a Kieran Trippier own goal just before the half-hour mark. The Blues end their troubled season in 12th place.
Already-relegated Southampton signed off from the top flight by playing out a remarkable 4-4 draw with fifth-placed Liverpool at St Mary’s, in which they fought back from 2-0 down to lead 4-2.
Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino – playing his final game before leaving Liverpool – had Jurgen Klopp’s men two goals up early on before things turned around via a James Ward-Prowse finish, Kamaldeen Sulemana brace and Adam Armstrong effort. Cody Gakpo and Jota then hit back for Liverpool to see the game end up all-square.
Sunday’s other match also finished honours even, with Will Hughes’ second-half goal securing a 1-1 draw for Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park against Nottingham Forest, for whom Taiwo Awoniyi had scored a sixth goal in four games.
Leicester became just the second former Premier League champions to be relegated despite a 2-1 home victory over West Ham on the final day of the season.
The Foxes, who won the title seven years ago, needed to win and hope that Everton did not get three points in their clash at home to Bournemouth.
And for a large part of the afternoon that looked like playing out as they went ahead through Harvey Barnes and Wes Faes before the crushing news of Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal for Everton came through.
And with the Toffees hanging on at Goodison Park it condemned Leicester to the drop which represents a huge fall from grace, joining Blackburn as the only teams to lift the Premier League trophy and then be relegated.
That remarkable 5000-1 title came in 2016 but they have enjoyed much more recent success as they won the FA Cup in 2021 under Brendan Rodgers, who also delivered back-to-back fifth-placed finishes.
Rodgers was fired at the start of April in a bid to beat relegation, with former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith parachuted in on an eight-game SOS mission.
But they ultimately fell just short and Smith will surely now depart as the Foxes prepare for life back in the Championship for the first time since 2014.
West Ham, who made a game of it in the second half through Pablo Fornals’ strike, were already safe and a disappointing league season sees them finish 14th – six points clear of the drop – but their attention is firmly on the forthcoming Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina.
Given the nature of their predicament it was essential for Leicester to start well and buoyed on by a loud home support, they began with impetus.
But the visitors began to get into the game and they enjoyed the better chances in the opening 20 minutes.
There was plenty of space for them to counter-attack and Michail Antonio forced Daniel Iversen into a parried save after taking up a good position and then Fornals miscued his shot when he had more time than he thought after being played in by Vladimir Coufal.
Leicester needed to re-ignite the crowd and they did that in the 28th minute when they came within inches of going in front.
Iheanacho did well to keep Barnes’ overhit cross in, then he played a one-two with James Maddison before firing an effort that clipped the top of the crossbar.
That raised the volume levels and the roof came off the King Power Stadium five minutes later when Barnes did open the scoring.
He played a lovely give-and-go with Iheanacho, held off the challenge of Flynn Downes and then coolly stroked the ball into the bottom corner.
With Everton still drawing against Bournemouth the goal moved Leicester out of the bottom three and they surged forward for another, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall firing over and James Maddison curling wide.
Leicester were unable to recapture that spark in the second half and the atmosphere soured when news of Everton’s goal at Goodison Park was kindly delivered by goading West Ham fans.
It almost got even worse for them as a slick move saw Said Benrahma glide into the area but his shot struck the base of the post and the Foxes survived.
They knew that one goal on Merseyside would change things and were able to consolidate their own lead when Faes climbed highest from Maddison’s free-kick.
West Ham, whose fans were basking in their opponents’ misery and their own imminent trip to Prague, should have got one back midway through the second half when Jarrod Bowen, whose shot had been saved by Iversen, teed up Danny Ings, but the substitute embarrassingly skied over.
The Hammers did get on the scoresheet with 12 minutes remaining as Fornals surged into the area and struck home.
Leicester were able to see it out but the news they desperately craved from Goodison Park never came and a disappointing season ended in the worst possible way.
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