Chelsea win EPL trophy on Terry’s farewell
Premier League champions Chelsea beat Sunderland 5-1 yesterday as captain John Terry waved goodbye to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues legend, who has spent 22 years at the club, played 26 minutes after starting his second match in a row and was replaced to a standing ovation and a guard of honour from his team-mates.
Willian’s equaliser (8) had already cancelled out Javier Manquillo’s third-minute strike by that point, and Eden Hazard (61) and Pedro (77) scored after the break to put the hosts in control.
Substitute Michy Batshuayi grabbed a late double (90, 90+2) to seal a record-breaking 30th Premier League victory this season.
It was the perfect prelude to the lifting of the trophy after the match and for Chelsea’s FA Cup final against Arsenal on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Liverpool secured fourth place in the Premier League and qualification to the Champions League with a 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough yesterday.
Goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana meant that Jurgen Klopp - in his second season in charge - guided the Reds into the top four for just the second time in the last seven seasons.
The result saw Arsenal miss out on Champions League football for the first in 20 years by finishing fifth, while Manchester City will join Liverpool in playing Europe’s elite after they finished third.
Klopp’s men will face a twolegged play-off in August to make the Champions League group stage and they could face the likes of Hoffenheim, Napoli or Sevilla.
For already-relegated Middlesbrough, who had a strong appeal for a penalty for a foul on Patrick Bamford turned down at 0-0, this defeat was their 18th consecutive away game without a win - the club’s longest run since 1980.
Also, Josh Harrop scored on his debut as Manchester United’s disappointing Premier League campaign ended with a comfortable victory over Crystal Palace.
Harrop was one of four players given their first top-flight starts as manager Jose Mourinho named the youngest United line-up in Premier League history, with an average age of 22 years and 284 days.
The 21-year-old midfielder was brimming with confidence and lashed in a superb finish from inside the box in the first half, and could have had a second, but curled an effort narrowly wide.
Paul Pogba doubled the advantage with a low strike before being replaced by Michael Carrick with Wednesday’s Europa League final against Ajax in mind.