CENTURIONS!
Man City first team to hit 100 English Premier League points
CHAMPIONS MANCHESTER City left it to virtually the last kick of their last match to reach the magical 100-point barrier as the loose ends were tied up on a typically high-scoring final day of the English Premier League season yesterday.
Gabriel Jesus, on as a substitute, found space to lift the ball over goalkeeper Alex McCarthy in the fourth minute of additional time, prompting wild celebrations among City’s players.
Pep Guardiola reacted to the team’s 106th league goal of the season by leaping out of his seat in the dugout and punching the air. Jesus removed his shirt and twirled it in celebration in front of City’s supporters.
The players were still on the field 20 minutes after the final whistle.
City will celebrate on the streets of Manchester today with an open-top bus parade.
Elsewhere, Liverpool qualified for the UEFA Champions League at the expense of Chelsea, and Swansea were relegated. It was also the end of an era in England’s top flight, with Arsene Wenger taking charge of his final game as Arsenal manager after 22 seasons. He went out with a 1-0 win at Huddersfield.
Liverpool only needed to draw with Brighton to secure another season in the Champions League, but manager Jurgen Klopp fielded an attacking team and was rewarded with a 4-0 victory at Anfield. Mohamed Salah scored one of the goals, taking the Egyptian to a league-high 32 goals for the campaign – the most in a 38-game Premier League season.
That meant Chelsea will not be playing in Europe’s elite competition for the second season in three years. The London club finished fifth after a 3-0 loss at Newcastle, in what could prove to be Antonio Conte’s last league game as manager.
The final-day “miracle” that Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal required didn’t happen, with the Welsh club losing 2-1 to Stoke to end its seven-year stay in the league and ensure Southampton stayed up.
Swansea had needed to win and Southampton to lose to Man City, with a 10-goal swing in goal difference. So it did not matter that Southampton conceded late to lose 1-0 to City, although that did mean Pep Guardiola’s side became the first team to post 100 points in an EPL season.
It is the latest milestone reached by City, which has also claimed the most total wins (32), goals (106), victories in a row
(18) and away wins (16) in this record-breaking season. The 19point margin to second place Manchester United is also a record, as is the goal difference of plus 79. Tottenham beat Leicester 5-4 in the highest-scoring game yesterday to secure third place above Liverpool. United was already assured of second place before its 1-0 win over Watford, in Michael Carrick’s final game for the club.