The dust has settled on the 2024-25 Premier League season, with the final ten fixtures taking place on Sunday afternoon.
Heading into this weekend, there would be no drama at either end of the championship table. Liverpool had already been crowned winners, and the promoted teams would be heading back down for a second consecutive year.
However, there were still a couple of important issues at stake, making the season’s conclusion at least somewhat intriguing. The final three Champions League spots were up for grabs, and the battle for eighth place, which could still lead to European football next season, was also worth keeping an eye on. Additionally, individual awards were to be decided, and club records—whether positive or negative—could yet be determined.
With so much happening on the final day, it’s easy to overlook key moments. But don’t worry—Squawka is here to highlight what you might have missed.
Champions League football decided
Heading into the last round of fixtures, arguably the biggest talking point surrounded who would join Liverpool, Arsenal, and Europa League winners Tottenham in securing Champions League football next season. Three spots were up for grabs, with Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest separated by just three points.
Fulham entertained Manchester City, which proved to be only the third game in Premier League history to see no English players in either starting XI (after Portsmouth vs Arsenal in December 2009, and Arsenal vs Chelsea in January 2019). Pep Guardiola’s dethroned champions knew a point could be enough to guarantee their Champions League place.
Newcastle, armed with the knowledge that a victory would assure them a top-five finish, hosted Everton, while Chelsea (in the same boat as the Magpies) visited Forest, who needed results to go their way. The same applied to Aston Villa at Manchester United.
In the end, Man City, Chelsea, and Newcastle secured passage into next season’s competition. Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland’s goals confirmed Man City’s victory at Fulham. Chelsea secured Champions League qualification for next season, while Forest’s impressive season ended in seventh place. And though Eddie Howe’s men suffered a 0-1 home loss to Everton, results elsewhere allowed them a fifth-place finish as Man Utd ran out 2-0 winners over ten-man Villa.
Another record for Salah
Before today’s game, Mohamed Salah had two goal involvements across his previous eight Premier League appearances (one goal and one assist). It didn’t look like the Egyptian forward would add to his overall tally with Liverpool trailing Crystal Palace and a man light after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. But Salah cancelled out Ismaila Sarr’s ninth-minute opener five minutes from the end, registering his 47th goal involvement of the 2024/25 campaign. This equalled the all-time Premier League seasonal record, which he now shares with Andrew Cole (1993–94) and Alan Shearer (1994–95).
Home discomforts
It simply hasn’t been a welcome return to Premier League action for Southampton and Ipswich Town, with the latter ending a 22-year wait. Both head back to the drawing board and will seek immediate promotion in a highly competitive second division. Wins have been hard to come by; both share six apiece, but four of those have come on the road.
Indeed, after today’s final setbacks—losing to Arsenal and West Ham respectively—the Saints and Tractor Boys now equal Sunderland’s (2005/06) and Derby County’s (2007/08) record for the lowest number of home victories (one) in a Premier League season. For the club from England’s south coast, when it rains, it pours, as Southampton also became the first side to suffer 30 defeats in a single Premier League season.
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Fallen giants
It’s not unusual to see both Arsenal and Manchester United finish a season without securing a major piece of silverware.
Gone are the days when the Premier League title was decided between them. Though it’s a third consecutive runners-up spot for the Gunners, while United end up languishing in 17th place as beaten Europa League finalists, they do share one final outcome.
Until this season, neither club has ever ended a Premier League campaign without a single player reaching double figures. Arsenal’s highest goalscorer is Kai Havertz (9), meaning the Gunners have gone through a league season without anyone netting at least 10 goals for the first time since 1923-24, whereas Bruno Fernandes is United’s top scorer with eight goals. The last time the Red Devils failed to have a single player reach double figures in a single top-flight campaign was 1973-74, when Sammy McIlroy was their top scorer with six.
Even more damaging for the Red Devils is the fact that they finished this Premier League campaign without winning two matches in a row all season—it is only the third time in the club’s history that they have gone an entire league season without winning back-to-back games, after 1893–94 and 1921–22.
Martinez sees red
Villa’s outside chance of reaching next season’s Champions League became more challenging when Emiliano Martinez was given his marching orders on the stroke of half-time against Man Utd due to a last-man foul. He subsequently became the first goalkeeper Opta has on record since 2003-04 to make five saves and be sent off in the first half of a Premier League game. Before today, only Jordan Pickford (24) had been shown more yellow cards without ever being sent off than Martinez (23) in England’s top division among goalkeepers.
Golden glove shared
Martinez wasn’t in the running for the Premier League Golden Glove, which proved to be a tight affair with David Raya and Matz Sels both on 13 clean sheets heading into the final day. Raya seemingly had the kinder fixture, with Arsenal visiting Southampton, while Sels kept goal at home against fellow Champions League chasers Chelsea.
Both conceded within moments of each other. Levi Colwill breached Sels’ goal in the 50th minute, and Ross Stewart netted past Raya six minutes later. Consequently, it meant both would finish on the same number of clean sheets heading into the final weekend, thus the prize would be shared. It’s a consecutive Golden Glove for Raya, his second overall, and Sels’ first.
The curious case of Tottenham
A 17-year trophy drought ended for Tottenham earlier this week, securing Champions League football next season. You can hardly blame Spurs supporters for not heavily investing in today’s home meeting with Brighton, even though what transpired wasn’t a good look.
Having gone ahead through a Dominic Solanke penalty, two second-half strikes from Jack Hinshelwood turned the game around, before Matt O’Riley converted an 89th-minute spot kick and Diego Gomez netting in stoppage time, ultimately condemning Spurs to a 22nd league defeat of the campaign—a number they hadn’t suffered since 1934–35, when they finished bottom of the top flight. In fact, Ange Postecoglou’s team is the first side in top-flight history to lose 22 games in a 38-game season and not be relegated.
Despite the result and guaranteeing an eighth-place finish, Brighton missed out on Conference League qualification due to Chelsea’s aforementioned win at Forest.