Man City, Chelsea, and Newcastle secure Champions League spots as Liverpool lift Premier League trophy

Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle have qualified for next season’s Champions League on a chaotic final day of the Premier League season, while champions Liverpool were presented with the trophy.

It meant Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest missed out after losing to Manchester United and Chelsea, respectively.

Newcastle finished fifth despite losing 1-0 at home to Everton and Manchester City, who won the Champions League in 2023, won 2-0 at Fulham.

The party has started at Anfield, where Liverpool drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

The club has been celebrating its 20th top-flight league title, and they were presented with the trophy by former Liverpool great, Alan Hansen.

After collecting their medals and parading the trophy, the squad linked arms and joined fans in a rendition of the club’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone.

A tearful Trent Alexander-Arnold said goodbye to his boyhood club, coming on as a substitute ahead of his expected transfer to Real Madrid.

The last time Liverpool won the Premier League was in 2020, when matches were being played behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The joyous scenes at Anfield were in sharp contrast to those at Old Trafford, despite a 2-0 victory over 10-man Aston Villa, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim apologised to the crowd for their worst-ever Premier League finish of 15th.

He said: “First of all I want to apologise for this season. I’m really disappointed with the team. Second thing I want to say is thank you. We are very grateful for your support during the season.

“I know it was really hard to support us in many games. But now we have to make a choice or we stay stuck in the past.

“This season is in the past, is over. We fight each other or we stick together and move forward.”