An absolutely insane final day of the Premier League season saw places up and down the Premier League table change hands throughout the course of the day.
On Sunday, May 22, the final matchday of the season provided incredible drama. The Premier League title, the European places, and the relegation battle all saw dramatic conclusions to the campaign. In fact, the end to the 2021-22 season was the first in Premier League history where every single table position could potentially change heading into the final matchday.
At the top, Manchester City saw a dramatic three-goal comeback to win the title, despite at times looking like Liverpool had the trophy in their grasp. Jesse Marsch and Leeds United completed a great escape at the bottom, instead seeing Burnley sent down to the Championship. Finally, Tottenham secured the final Champions League place, with Arsenal missing out.
Here is a snapshot of each race below (Note: Tables are updated as of matches on Sunday, May 22).
The story of the #PL season... 📈 pic.twitter.com/O9oKCWhu4c
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 22, 2022
MORE: Premier League top goal scorers
Premier League title race
Manchester City had a one-point lead over Liverpool heading into the final day, and while it looked for some time like the Reds would have a chance to see out a miraculous comeback, it wasn't to be.
Pep Guardiola secured the Premier League title with a miraculous comeback on the final day, coming from 2-0 down to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 and secure the crown. It was Man City's second straight come-from-behind win in league play, with a similarly incredibly 3-2 result against West Ham last time out, also seeing City come back from 2-0 down.
Due to the goal difference (first tiebreaker) advantage to Man City, it meant Liverpool needed to win to have a chance at the title, but with the Reds topping Wolves 3-1, it meant City's final-day comeback victory was necessary to complete the charge.
MORE: What would have happened if Man City, Liverpool finish tied
| Place | Team | PTS | GP | GD | Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Man City | 93 | 38 | +73 | — |
| 2. | Liverpool | 92 | 38 | +68 | — |
| 3. | Chelsea | 74 | 38 | +43 | — |
PTS = Points, GP = Games Played, GD = Goal Difference
Champions League places: Top 4 chase
The race for the final Champions League berth also came down to the wire, and Tottenham Hotspur secured its place in Europe's top competition with a final-day obliteration of Norwich City by a 5-0 scoreline.
Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea had all clinched spots coming into the final day of the season, and all three won as well, meaning they maintained their positions.
Arsenal fell just short, with the North London derby loss to Spurs not two weeks before the end of the season proving fatal. Manchester United also came up well short, finishing 13 points out of the Champions League places.
| Place | Team | PTS | GP | GD | Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.* | Chelsea | 74 | 38 | +43 | — |
| 4.* | Tottenham | 71 | 38 | +29 | — |
| 5. | Arsenal | 69 | 38 | +13 | — |
| 6. | Man United | 58 | 38 | 0 | — |
* = Teams that finish in 3rd and 4th place join the 1st- and 2nd-place teams in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Premier League race for European places
In addition to the four Champions League spots, there are three other European berths:
- Europa League (2 berths): One automatically goes to the 5th-place Premier League team, and the other goes to the FA Cup winner;
- Europa Conference League (1 berth): This goes to the League Cup winner.
However, since Liverpool won both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and have already qualified to the Champions League based on their top four finish — the berth automatically assigned to each domestic cup winner is transferred to the next highest team in the Premier League standings that has not already qualified for a European competition.
Thus the Europa League berth that goes to the FA Cup winner will fall to the 6th-place finisher, and the Europa Conference League playoff berth that goes to the League Cup winner will go to the 7th-place team.
Arsenal and Manchester United will play in the Europa League next season. West Ham had the chance to finish above Man United after the Red Devils lost to Crystal Palace on the final day, but the Hammers came up short as well, falling to Brighton, meaning West Ham finish in the Europa Conference League spot.
| Place | Team | PTS | GP | GD | Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.* | Tottenham | 71 | 38 | +29 | — |
| 5.** | Arsenal | 69 | 38 | +13 | — |
| 6.** | Man United | 58 | 38 | 0 | — |
| 7.*** | West Ham | 56 | 38 | +9 | — |
| 8. | Leicester City | 52 | 38 | +3 | — |
| 9. | Brighton | 51 | 38 | -2 | — |
| 10. | Wolves | 51 | 38 | -5 | — |
| 11. | Newcastle | 49 | 38 | -18 | — |
| 12. | Crystal Palace | 48 | 38 | +4 | — |
| 13. | Brentford | 46 | 38 | -8 | — |
| 14. | Aston Villa | 45 | 38 | -2 | — |
* = 4th place earns a berth in the UEFA Champions League.
** = 5th & 6th place earn a UEFA Europa League berth next season.
*** = 7th place will gain a Europa Conference playoff berth.
Premier League relegation battle
While the top of the table came down to the final day of the season, so did the bottom.
Headed into the final day, Leeds United and Burnley were battling for Premier League safety, and only one could remain above the relegation zone. Burnley had the goal differential advantage coming into the final day, but a loss to Newcastle saw the Clarets fall down to the Championship. It was a famous escape for Jesse Marsch and Leeds United, who beat Brentford to secure Premier League status for next season.
Norwich City were the first team to mathematically suffer relegation with four matches remaining in the season, and they were joined by Watford a week later. Both sides will be heading right back down to the second-tier Championship just one year after earning promotion.
| Place | Team | PTS | GP | GD | Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | Southampton | 40 | 38 | -24 | — |
| 16. | Everton | 39 | 38 | -23 | — |
| 17. | Leeds United | 38 | 38 | -37 | — |
| 18.* | Burnley-X | 35 | 38 | -19 | — |
| 19.* | Watford-X | 23 | 38 | -43 | — |
| 20.* | Norwich City-X | 22 | 38 | -61 | — |
* = The bottom three teams are relegated to the second tier Championship.
