Nottingham Forest left nothing to chance as they overcame Burnley 2-1 to cap off a difficult Premier League campaign.
Forest’s safety was not mathematically confirmed heading into the final day, even though it was never likely that Luton Town would manage to flip the goal difference in their favour.
But 17th-placed Forest ensured they did their bit regardless against the already-relegated Clarets, with Chris Wood’s first-half double doing the damage at Turf Moor.
Josh Cullen’s deflected attempt gave Burnley hope, but the visitors held firm to finish six points clear of the bottom three.
Forest needed just 76 seconds to open the scoring – Anthony Elanga bursting down the right flank and sending a low cross into the six-yard box, where Wood was waiting to tap home.
It was 2-0 just 12 minutes later, as Wood reacted sharply to turn in Ryan Yates’ shot.
While the goal was initially disallowed for offside, that decision was overturned after a VAR review, with Wood having managed to keep himself the right side of the last man.
Zeki Amdouni should have done better when teed up by Jacob Bruun Larsen, but the Swiss forward blazed over.
Wood had the chance to complete his hat-trick two minutes into the second half, only to send a tame header straight at Arijanet Muric.
Burnley’s goalkeeper was forced into a tougher save by Morgan Gibbs-White soon after, as he tipped over the playmaker’s dipping long-range strike.
Wilson Odobert tried his luck from distance at the other end around the hour, with the winger’s effort skimming just wide of Matz Sels’ goal.
Burnley’s luck changed in the 72nd minute – Cullen’s hopeful attempt diverting in off a defender, with Sels left helpless.
There was to be no final-day comeback for the Clarets, though, as they prepare for life in the second tier.
Wood haunts the Clarets
Wood is Burnley’s highest-ever Premier League goalscorer, having netted 49 times for the Clarets between 2017 and 2022.
However, with his opener, he became the fifth player to score a Premier League goal against Burnley having previously played for them in the competition, after Andre Gray, Danny Ings, Michael Keane and Patrick Bamford.
That goal was brilliantly created by Elanga, who has now set up Wood for six goals this season – the most assists by one player for a single team-mate across the division.
With his double, Wood will end the season with 14 goals in the league – his best return since 2019-20.
Clarets head to the Championship with a whimper
Burnley had hope when they strung together a decent run across March and April, yet Vincent Kompany’s team have ultimately come unstuck in the run-in.
With relegation already confirmed, the pressure was off heading into Sunday’s game, but Burnley could not make the most of playing with that freedom.
The hosts did at least get on the scoresheet thanks to that Cullen effort, meaning they scored for a sixth straight Premier League match – their longest such run since a streak of nine matches between March and May 2021.
Pulisic says USA were 'flying' against Bolivia after inspirational display
Christian Pulisic felt the United States made a flying start to the Copa America with their impressive victory over Bolivia in Texas.
Milan star Pulisic stole the show with an eye-catching strike into the top corner, and he added an assist for Folarin Balogun as the USA opened their campaign with a 2-0 win on home soil on Sunday.
Pulisic became only the second USA player after Clint Dempsey to register a goal and an assist in a Copa America match, while he is also now the country's quickest player to reach 30 goals, doing so in his 69th game.
An inspired performance from the captain also ended a woeful run for the USA against CONMEBOL sides at this tournament, given Gregg Berhalter's side had previously lost eight of 10 such games.
Pulisic felt that USA could easily have won by a greater margin, with the strong performance making a statement ahead of their next group games against Panama and Uruguay.
"We should build some confidence from this and feel good," Pulisic said after the game.
"We came out flying with a lot of intensity and obviously that early goal helped us a lot.
"It's Copa America, it's a big tournament. I feel like I'm always pretty excited after I score, but it's a big moment, it's a major tournament.
"All around, it was a pretty dominant performance. I think we could have put it away and had more goals there.
"The games are just going to get tougher and tougher as the tournament goes on, so we have got to be ready."
Defender Antonee Robinson also felt USA could easily have won by more.
"If we were being picky, we could have been a lot more clinical," the Fulham player said. "We could have put another two or three goals away, but getting off to a win to start with is massive for us.
"Build the confidence, show we are here to win, here to play and it puts us in good stead for the next game."
USA head coach Berhalter was delighted with the impact made by Pulisic, whose opening strike had an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.037.
The tournament hosts racked up 20 shots, finding the target with eight, compared to tallies of six and three respectively for Bolivia.
As part of an all-action display, Pulisic created three chances, sent in 10 crosses and superbly completed 21 of the game-high 22 passes he attempted in the final third.
"He is a selfless leader," said Berhalter. "He goes out and competes and works really hard. That helps the team.
"Then you add to the fact that he is highly skilled and can make plays on the offensive end and create chances. It is a great combination, and what you see is him supporting his teammates, him backing guys, him pushing guys.
"To me, it was an outstanding performance. He got coach's man of the match and it was much deserved.
"We will always look at chance creation as a marker of performance, and I think we created enough chances.
"I like the performance for an opening game against a difficult opponent. We are in a good position."
Bolivia, meanwhile, have now lost their last four international outings by a concerning margin of 9-1, having suffered defeats against Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and USA.
They face Uruguay, who won their opener 3-1 against Panama, on Thursday.
USA will play Panama earlier on the same day before concluding their Group C campaign against Uruguay on July 1.
Bielsa left wanting more despite Uruguay's winning start at Copa America
Marcelo Bielsa insists there is room for improvement for Uruguay, despite kicking off their Copa America campaign with a 3-1 win over Panama in Florida.
Uruguay's win saw them move level on points with hosts the United States following their victory over Bolivia in the other Group C encounter.
The 15-time winners were rewarded for their fast start when Maximilian Araujo curled home his first international goal in the 16th minute.
However, Panama would grow into the contest as Jose Fajardo and Jose Rodriguez squandered golden opportunities for Thomas Christiansen's side.
And their wastefulness was punished late on as Darwin Nunez, who had missed several chances in the game, settled Uruguay's nerves with a calm finish.
Matias Vina furthered La Celeste's advantage in the first minute of injury-time with a header, only for Michael Amir Murillo to net a late consolation for Panama.
However, Bielsa was quick to temper expectations despite the triumph, insisting his side must improve to secure a record 16th Copa America crown.
The 68-year-old took charge of Uruguay in May last year, beating both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers.
"When it comes to Uruguay's aspirations, we will see that and build it match by match," he told reporters.
"My expectation is that each match will increasingly help us to improve on our level. Uruguay has players of a very good level and we need to see if I can build with those players."
Uruguay continue their group campaign against Bolivia in New Jersey on Thursday, before facing the USA at the Arrowhead Stadium next Tuesday.
Bielsa left wanting more despite winning start at Copa America
Marcelo Bielsa insists there is room for improvement for Uruguay, despite kicking off their Copa America campaign with a 3-1 win over Panama in Florida.
Uruguay's win saw them move level on points with hosts the United States following their victory over Bolivia in the other Group C encounter.
The 15-time winners were rewarded for their fast start when Maximilian Araujo curled home his first international goal in the 16th minute.
However, Panama would grow into the contest as Jose Fajardo and Jose Rodriguez squandered golden opportunities for Thomas Christiansen's side.
And their wastefulness was punished late on as Darwin Nunez, who had missed several chances in the game, settled Uruguay's nerves with a calm finish.
Matias Vina furthered La Celeste's advantage in the first minute of injury-time with a header, only for Michael Amir Murillo to net a late consolation for Panama.
However, Bielsa was quick to temper expectations despite the triumph, insisting his side must improve to secure a record 16th Copa America crown.
The 68-year-old took charge of Uruguay in May last year, beating both Argentina and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers.
"When it comes to Uruguay's aspirations, we will see that and build it match by match," he told reporters.
"My expectation is that each match will increasingly help us to improve on our level. Uruguay has players of a very good level and we need to see if I can build with those players."
Uruguay continue their group campaign against Bolivia in New Jersey on Thursday, before facing the USA at the Arrowhead Stadium next Tuesday.
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