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• Gary Lineker congratulates Everton but ‘gutted’ as Leicester suffer relegation

  Gary Lineker has congratulated Everton after his former club survived in the Premier League at the expense of his boyhood team Leicester.

  The two clubs had been in jeopardy heading into the final round of fixtures on Sunday but ultimately Everton’s 1-0 victory over Bournemouth ensured they avoided the drop.

  At one stage it looked as though it could be the Foxes who stayed up as they took an early lead against West Ham but their eventual 2-1 win was rendered academic by Everton’s result.

  The Toffees ended the season in 17th place, two points ahead of Leicester, while Leeds were also relegated after a 4-1 loss to Tottenham.

  Former England striker Lineker, who began his career at Leicester before spending a season at Everton in the mid-1980s, tweeted: “Absolutely gutted, but glad it’s Everton. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations.”

  Leicester’s relegation comes seven years after they were crowned Premier League champions and just two years after they won the FA Cup.

  Lineker added: “A word on Leicester. If eight years ago, you’d have given me the option of winning the Premier League and the FA Cup and then get relegated, I’d have snapped your hand off. Also I’d have told you not to be so utterly ridiculous.”

  It has been a dismal season for Leicester and TV pundit Roy Keane was not sure how quickly they could recover.

  The former Manchester United midfielder said on Sky Sports: “They didn’t seem to get any momentum into the season from a bad start. It’s no surprise to see them where they are.

  “Clubs can bounce back but it isn’t easy. I think it is a rebuilding job at Leicester.”

  Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League ended in a whimper as they were thrashed by Spurs at Elland Road.

  The club had brought in Sam Allardyce in a last-ditch attempt to escape relegation with four games remaining but the former England boss was unable to engineer a recovery.

  The team collected just one point from Allardyce’s games and finished in 19th position, five points behind Everton.

  Keane was scathing of their performances.

  He said: “They’ve looked weak over the last month or two, even with Sam coming in.

  “They were fighting for their lives today and conceded four goals at home. That’s nowhere near good enough.

  “Sam obviously came in too late. Defensively they look so weak. Some of the goals – it’s almost pub team defending.

  “Not strong enough mentally, that desire – nowhere near good enough.”

  Chelsea, meanwhile, aimed a parting shot at Leeds on social media.

  Rivalry between those two clubs dates back to some hard-fought clashes in the 1960s and 70s.

  In August, Leeds trolled Chelsea on Twitter during their 3-0 victory over the London club.

  In that game, Chelsea tweeted the Blues were “starting to assert ourselves” just moments before Leeds opened the scoring and quickly followed with a second goal.

  “Life comes at you fast!” Leeds tweeted in reply.

  Now, nine months later, Chelsea have got their own back.

  “It certainly does,” they tweeted.

• Juventus 0-1 Milan: Giroud decides top-four battle in Rossoneri's favour

  Milan secured a top-four Serie A finish with a 1-0 win at Juventus as Olivier Giroud's header dealt a knockout blow to the Bianconeri's own hopes of Champions League qualification.

  Still reeling from their 10-point deduction and Monday's miserable 4-1 defeat at Empoli, Juve required a win at Allianz Stadium to take the top-four battle to the season's final matchday.

  However, the Bianconeri's lack of attacking thrust was on full display once again, with Giroud scoring the only goal of the game with an outstanding header as half-time approached on Sunday.

  The Rossoneri were comfortable from there as they ensured Juve's chaotic season will end on another sour note, piling more pressure on embattled head coach Massimiliano Allegri.

  Sandro Tonali headed Junior Messias' delivery over as Milan started brightly, but Juve soon improved, with Angel Di Maria failing to hook Moise Kean's cut-back home on the stretch.

  More Bianconeri chances came and went as Federico Chiesa hammered over and Kean worked Mike Maignan from distance, but Juve found themselves behind five minutes before half-time.

  Davide Calabria's hanging cross from the right was met with a textbook header from Giroud, who planted the ball beyond Wojciech Szczesny's despairing dive.

  Adrien Rabiot forced a comfortable save from Maignan as Juve toiled after the restart, failing to make any attacking headway without injured striker Dusan Vlahovic.

  Szczesny stuck out a leg to deny Alexis Saelemaekers and Rafael Leao fired over on the break, while Danilo had a close-range effort blocked in a goalmouth scramble as Juve's bid for Champions League football ended with a whimper.

  What does it mean? Milan profit from Juve woes

  When Juventus' 10-point deduction was confirmed earlier this week, Milan were the chief beneficiary after being propelled into the top four.

  Stefano Pioli's men were determined not to let that advantage slip here, the Rossoneri weathering the Juve storm midway through the first half and deserving the three points after Giroud's goal. 

  Milan thus completed just their third Serie A double over Juventus in the last 50 years, also doing so in the 1990-91 and 2009-10 campaigns.

  Giroud the man of the moment

  Giroud has so often been the man for the big occasion for both club and country, and he gave Szczesny no chance with a firm header just as Juventus looked to be in the ascendency.

  The 36-year-old striker has now scored 12 times in Serie A this season, his best return in one of Europe's top five leagues since he hit as many Premier League goals for Arsenal in the 2016-17 campaign.

  Fatal blow for Allegri?

  Allegri has faced stern criticism for most of the campaign, and the pressure may just become intolerable now they will finish outside of Italy's top four for the first time since 2010-11 (when they finished seventh).

  Having also fallen short in the Europa League semi-finals, the Bianconeri have suffered three successive defeats for the first time since doing so in 2011 under Luigi Delneri.

  What's next? 

  Milan wrap up their Serie A season against Verona next Sunday, while Juventus will be playing for a Europa League place when they visit Udinese on the same day.

• Real Sociedad qualify for Champions League despite defeat at Atletico Madrid

  Real Sociedad claimed a place in the Champions League despite a 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid in LaLiga on Sunday.

  Fifth-placed Villarreal’s loss at Rayo Vallecano by the same scoreline meant Sociedad could not be caught in fourth spot.

  Antoine Griezmann and Nahuel Molina were on target for Atletico at the Civitas Metropolitano with Alexander Sorloth hitting a late reply for the visitors.

  Atletico’s victory took them back within a point of second-placed city rivals Real Madrid.

  Raul de Tomas and Isi Palazon struck either side of the hour-mark for Rayo Vallecano against Villarreal at the Vallecas Stadium. Giovani Lo Celso gave the Yellow Submarine hope seven minutes from time but it was not enough.

  At the other end of the table, Espanyol were relegated after conceding a late equaliser to draw 2-2 at Valencia.

  Samuel Lino struck three minutes into added time to seal Espanyol’s fate after they had replied to Diego Lopez’s opener with goals from Cesar Montes and Martin Braithwaite.

  Valladolid remain in the bottom three with a game remaining after drawing 0-0 with another troubled side, Almeria, who are just a point above them.

  Cadiz boosted their survival hopes with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Celta Vigo and Getafe did likewise as they saw off Osasuna 2-1.

  Champions Barcelona, meanwhile, extended their unassailable lead at the top of the table to 11 points with a 3-0 win over 10-man Mallorca at the Nou Camp.

  Ansu Fati opened the scoring in the first minute before doubling the lead after the dismissal of Mallorca’s Amath Diedhiou. Gavi wrapped up the win 20 minutes from time.

  Sergej Milinkovic-Savic struck an 89th-minute winner as Lazio moved back into second place in Serie A with a 3-2 victory over relegated Cremonese.

  It was the Serbian’s second of the game at the Stadio Olimpico with Elseid Hysaj also on target for the Rome side.

  Cremonese had hit back from 2-0 down through Pablo Galdames and a Manuel Lazzari own goal.

  Hellas Verona remain in the bottom three after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 1-1 with Empoli.

  The hosts had led at the Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium through Adolfo Gaich but Giangiacomo Magnani turned into his own net in the sixth minute of time added on.

  Their survival fight will still go to the final day, however, with the result having pulled them level on points with Spezia.