Action across three of the top five European leagues continued this past weekend and here is what you may have missed.
The Premier League 2019/20 season finally came to an end on Sunday with two sides joining Norwich City in dropping back to the championship.
One of them was AFC Bournemouth who despite winning their match-day 38 fixture, finished in 18th to return to the English Championship after five years in the top flight.
On the day, the Cherries defeated Everton 3-1 away from home. Joshua King put them ahead from the spot on 13 minutes after Richarlison handled in the area. Everton then levelled matters through Moise Kane on 45 minutes but Dominic Solanke restored the visitors’ lead at the stroke of halftime. Bournemouth then sealed the points 10 minutes from time through Junior Stanislas.
However, the victory was not enough for the Cherries as Aston Villa drew 1-1 at West Ham to finish 17th on 35 points, one ahead of Eddie Howe’s side. Jack Grealish put Villa ahead on 84 minutes at London Stadium before Andre Yamalenko equalized for the Hammers a minute later.
The other side that got relegated was Watford.
Despite a spirited display, the Honets lost 3-2 away to Arsenal. Gunners captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring from the spot after Alexander Lacazatte was bundled over in the area before the Gabonese striker netted his 22nd of the season after Keiran Tierney had scored his first goal for Arsenal, to ensure Mikel Arteta’s charges raced into a 3-0 lead afte 33 minutes. Troy Deeney then tucked away a penalty to ensure the game went into halftime at 3-1. Former Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck scored six minutes after the hour mark to pull another goal back for Watford but they could not force a draw in the end.
The result meant that Watford finished 19th on the standings with 34 points from 38 games.
For Norwich City who had already been relegated earlier in the season, they were hammered 5-0 by Man City at the Etihad.
In what was David Silva’s last Premier League game for the Citizens, Kevin De Bruyne scored twice and also made his 20th season’s assist to equal the all time record by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling-who scored 20 goals this season, netted the other three goals for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Norwich ended the season bottom of the log with just 21 points while City who finished second had 81 points, 18 behind champions Liverpool.
For the Champions, they came from behind to beat Newcastle United away from home.
Dwight Gayle put the hosts ahead inside the opening minute but goals from Virgil Van Dijk, Divock Origi and Sadio Mane ensured the Reds secured a record equaling 32nd victory of the season.
In the battle for the two final Champions League positions, Man United overcame Leicester City 2-0 to secure third place.
After a nervy opening 70 minutes, Bruno Fernandes put away a penalty with 19 minutes to play following a foul by Wes Morgan and Jonny Evans on Anthony Martial. Evans would then be sent off in the 90th minute for a challenge on Scot McTomminy, barely a minute before Jesse Lingard scored United’s second.
The loss means Leicester finish 5th while United finish third on 66 points, level with Chelsea (4th) but with a superior goal difference.
Chelsea were also victorious in their game, defeating Wolves 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Two goals in first half stoppage time through Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud did the trick for Frank Lampard’s side against the Foxes who ended the season in 7th spot with 59 points.
Sixth spot went to Tottenham Hotspur following their 1-1 draw away to Crystal Palace.
Harry Kane scored for Spurs on 13 minutes but Palace who went into the game on a 7-match losing run, equalized through Jeffrey Schlupp.
In the other day’s games, Brighton defeated Burnley 2-1 away from home while Southampton beat Sheffield United 3-1 at St. Mary’s.
Leicester City’s Jimmie Vardy finished as the top scorer with 23 goals, one ahead of Southampton’s Danny Ings and Aubameyang.
In France, Neymar Jr’s 14th minute strike was all that PSG needed to defeat Saint Etienne on Friday night and in the process, secure a record 13th French Cup.
It was a hotly contest affair with lots of hard tackles, one of which saw Etienne captain Loic Perrin sent off on 31 minutes after a season ending challenge on Kylian Mbappe.
PSG have now won two titles this season after securing the League when then season was ended pre-maturely at the start of June.
Tomas Tuchel’s side have a chance to complete a hat trick of title next weekend when they face Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue final.
In Italy, Juventus secured a 9th consecutive Serie A title after beating Sampdoria 2-0 on Sunday.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi did the trick for the Old Lady who have now won a record 35 Scudetto titles.
Victory means Juve climb onto 83 points, seven ahead of second placed Inter Milan with just two games to play.
Inter too were victorious on the weekend thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku (*2) and Alexis Sanchez in the 3-0 win away to Genoa.
Third placed Atalanta could only manage a 1-1 draw away to AC Milan on Friday. Hakan Calhanoglu put the hosts ahead on 14 minutes but Duvan Zapata equalized 20 minutes later.
Atalanta are now a point behind inter and level with Lazio who occupy 4th spot.
Lazio were also in action on Sunday and they hammered Hellas Verona 5-1 away from home despite falling behind on 39 minutes. Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile scored a hat trick while Joaquin Corea and Milinkovic-Savic netted the other two goals for Simione Inziaghi’s side.
In the battle for Europa League football, both AS Roma and Napoli were victorious.
Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 thanks to goals by Elseid Husaj and Allan while Jordan Veretout scored two penalties as Roma defeated Fiorentina 2-1 at the Olimpico.
Roma stay 5th with 64 points. Napoli are in 6th on 59 points, one behind 5th placed AC Milan.
In the other Serie A games played on the weekend, Parma beat Brescia 2-1, Bologna were 3-2 winners at home to Lecce, SPAL drew 1-1 with Torino while Udinese overcame Cagliari 1-0.
