It was another final day of the Premier League that had twists and turns throughout.
Five teams - Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest - were vying for three places in the top five, while Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford were looking to finish in eighth in case it offered a UEFA Conference League spot.
Here is a timeline of how it happened.
16:00 All 10 matches kick off. Here's how the table looked.
16:09 Crystal Palace take the lead against Liverpool through Ismaila Sarr.
16:17 Dominic Solanke puts Tottenham Hotspur ahead from the penalty spot against Brighton.
16:20 Bryan Mbeumo scores to put Brentford in front and the Bees into eighth place above Brighton.
16:21 Ilkay Gundogan’s spectacular overhead kick gives Man City the lead at Fulham to consolidate their hold on third.
16:46 Emiliano Martinez is shown the red card at Old Trafford to hit Villa’s top-five bid. As things stand at the time of his red card they lie in sixth.
16:48 It's half-time in all 10 matches and as things stand, Man City are third, Newcastle are fourth and Chelsea fifth.
Nervy matches in the race for the Champions League…
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 25, 2025
As it stands, Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea will occupy the last three qualification spots! pic.twitter.com/Mjvh1HpMf9
17:03 The matches at Spurs and Wolverhampton Wanderers resume.
17:07 The matches involving the teams vying for the top five start their second halves.
17:10 Jack Hinshelwood levels the score at Spurs to move Brighton back up to eighth.
17:11 Levi Colwill scores to put Chelsea in front at Forest and send the Blues into fourth and keep their opponents in seventh.
17:12 Southampton score through Ross Stewart, so Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya can no longer keep a clean sheet; he therefore shares the Golden Glove award with Forest’s Matz Sels after 13 clean sheets each.
17:22 Hinshelwood strikes again to put Brighton in front and cement the Seagulls’ hold on eighth.
17:27 Carlos Alcaraz heads Everton in front at St James' Park and drops Newcastle to sixth, lifting 10-man Villa into the top five, where they will stay if they can hold onto a point at Old Trafford.
17:32 Marshall Munetsi equalises for Wolves, causing Brentford to fall four points behind Brighton.
17:34 Erling Haaland converts a penalty to double Man City’s lead at Fulham.
17:37 Morgan Rogers thinks he’s put Villa in front but the goal is disallowed for a foul on Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir which the referee blows for before the ball was put in the net, meaning VAR cannot intervene.
17:38 Man Utd go ahead through Amad, which pushes Villa down to sixth, with Newcastle replacing them in fifth.
17:42 Mohamed Salah equalises for Liverpool to take his tally of goal involvements this season to 47, equalling the Premier League record set by Alan Shearer in 1992/93 and Andrew Cole in 1994/95, both in 42-match campaigns.
17:49 Christian Eriksen scores from the penalty spot to put Man Utd 2-0 up and make Villa’s task harder.
17:53 Full-time at Molineux where a draw for Brentford means they cannot catch Brighton in eighth.
17:54 Full-time at Anfield where Liverpool have drawn.
17:56 Chris Wood misses a great chance to equalise for Forest in the fourth minute of stoppage time but they would still need another goal to get into the top five.
17:56 Arsenal’s victory over Southampton is confirmed, meaning that they will finish as runners-up.
17:58 Full-time at St James’ Park where a defeat for Newcastle should not matter unless Forest can score twice in the final two minutes of stoppage time.
18:00 Full-time at the City Ground and jubilation for Chelsea as their 1-0 win over Forest secures fourth spot and a place in the UEFA Champions League next season. There’s joy at St James’ Park as well as the news filters through that Newcastle are also in the Champions League next season because of a superior goal difference over Villa.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 84 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +35 | 74 |
| 3 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +28 | 71 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +21 | 69 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +21 | 66 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +7 | 66 |
| 7 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | +12 | 65 |
| 8 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | +7 | 61 |
| 9 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
38 | +12 | 56 |
It’s disappointment for Forest as they finish seventh and will play in the UEFA Conference League next season, while Villa will be in the UEFA Europa League after finishing sixth.
By Chelsea finishing fourth, it means that eighth place can no longer earn a spot in Europe next season. Brighton are therefore denied a return to UEFA competition.