Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics and tactical lessons from the first seven games in Matchweek 37, including:
- Everton’s Goodison Park goodbye reminds us of football’s purpose
- Emery’s 100th game is a time to celebrate how far he has taken Villa
- Arsenal escape final-day drama but Newcastle are dragged back in
- Chelsea bolster top-five bid as Man Utd prepare well for Europa League final
- Forest keep Champions League dream alive as Potter faces a big summer
- Vardy gets his perfect send-off as Leicester claw back respectability
- Brentford’s wild season summed up in five-goal thriller with Fulham
Everton’s Goodison Park goodbye reminds us of football’s purpose
As early as 8am on Sunday, the streets surrounding Goodison Park were packed with supporters, log-jammed by a sea of blue shirts and blue flares four hours before kick-off.
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Everton fans were determined to give their grand old stadium the perfect farewell, and the club did not disappoint.
David Moyes’s players did their bit, scoring early and seeing out a comfortable 2-0 win over Southampton, and then the tears flowed as the extended Everton family came together on the pitch to say goodbye.
"This was an extraordinary atmosphere," Moyes said. "The crowd were amazing inside Goodison Park, as it was outside before the game. Just unbelievable. The job was to win the game and see ourselves out at Goodison in a good light.
"I thought it was as if everyone had come together as one club. Everyone standing together."
He’s right, and for neutrals watching on, it was a reminder of the power and purpose of football.
Winning trophies and qualifying for Europe brings joy, sure, but when all is said and done, the true meaning of football is much deeper.
That might sound corny, but the atmosphere at Goodison Park - the raw emotion of fans old and young - showed us how football clubs bind together families and communities.
"If we can get an atmosphere like this in the new stadium it'll give us every chance of winning games," Moyes said.
"Goodison Park will be remembered for one thing: the people."
Emery’s 100th game is a time to celebrate how far he has taken Villa
Eight wins from nine in the Premier League still hasn’t been enough to put Aston Villa in control of their own destiny, but there remains a fairly good chance that victory at Old Trafford on Sunday will secure Champions League qualification for the second year running.
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After easing past a second-string Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, Villa need Newcastle United or Chelsea to drop points on the final day or Manchester City to lose one of their last two games.
In other words, they only miss out on the top five if every single team around them wins. That would be a tad unlucky.
Supporters will be disappointed if they have to settle for Europa League football but they will certainly keep perspective; victory in the final home game of the season, and in Unai Emery’s 100th Premier League game in charge, was a moment to drink in how much he has done for the club.
Emery has won 54 of his 100 Premier League games, eight more than any other Villa manager in their first top-flight century, surpassing Ron Atkinson (46) and European Cup winner Tony Barton (46).
Villa were 17th when Emery took the reins two-and-a-half years ago. Now, they are one of the best teams in the country, Champions League quarter-finalists, and preparing for their third successive year in Europe.
No matter what happens on Sunday, Villa supporters will be among the happiest in the Premier League.
Arsenal escape final-day drama but Newcastle are dragged back in
A nervous and exhausting 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium ended with new battle lines drawn in the race for Champions League football.
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Mikel Arteta can breathe a sigh of relief. Arsenal’s season is over now, a third successive runners-up spot all but secured.
They have avoided what could have been a damaging drop into third place ahead of a crucial summer.
Eddie Howe wasn’t so lucky, and it says a lot about the remarkably tight race for the top five that Newcastle have gone from dreaming of second to worrying about seventh.
They managed five shots on target in the opening 17 minutes on Sunday but none after that, reflecting a dramatic slowdown after racing out of the blocks.
Frankly, Newcastle looked pretty tired, which isn’t a good sign ahead of the visit of Everton, especially with Alexander Isak a doubt.
"I don't know at this moment in time [if Isak will be fit for Sunday]," Howe said of his absentee, after the game.
"He felt pain after training and went for a scan. It depends a lot on how he reacts."
That’s not the only bad news. Howe’s recent switch to a 3-4-3 formation was primarily because he only had two senior central midfielders fit enough to play, but it’s unlikely the system will be suitable against Everton’s combative midfield and low block.
Newcastle will need to switch back to a 4-3-3, which means relying on Joe Willock, who is still recovering from an injury.
On Sunday’s evidence, Newcastle may struggle against a resilient Everton.
Chelsea bolster top-five bid as Man Utd prepare well for Europa League final
The scale of the celebrations at full-time showed just how important this victory was for Chelsea, but also how much self-belief their recent run of form has generated.
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After beating Liverpool last weekend, Enzo Maresca has defied the odds to keep Chelsea in the driving seat ahead of their showdown at Nottingham Forest on the final day.
Unfortunately for them, playing at the City Ground represents a completely different tactical challenge, and against Forest’s counter-attacking approach we might see Chelsea’s prosaic and stale possession return.
Nevertheless, four wins from their last five in the Premier League has put Chelsea in a strong position.
Manchester United, too, were relatively happy with their day’s work on Friday.
"It was the good things we talked about before the game," Amorim told Sky Sports, seemingly pleased with his side's response following their defeat at home to West Ham the week before. "We had some moments, we improved the way we play football, we pressed quite well, we had some chances."
Man Utd extended their winless run to eight in the Premier League, but they were unlucky not to take a point from Stamford Bridge, while the cohesion in central midfield between Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Mason Mount bodes well for the Europa League final.
If they play like that on Wednesday, Man Utd can expect to outmanoeuvre Spurs’ injury-hit midfield.
Forest keep Champions League dream alive as Potter faces a big summer
Forest are still clinging on, still capable of making this one of the greatest underdog stories in Premier League history by qualifying for the Champions League.
They were deserved winners at the London Stadium in what was a classic Nuno Espirito Santo performance of defensive resilience and clinical finishing.
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It leaves them needing to beat Chelsea on the final day and hoping Villa or Newcastle drop points.
Meanwhile, West Ham remained in 15th after making it five in a row without a Premier League home win, draining any of the optimism that had had come with the 2-0 victory at Man Utd the weekend before.
Graham Potter faces a huge task to lift the club this summer. His defensive team selection, with only two attackers on the field, drew some criticism but West Ham are stuck in limbo at the moment, unable to open up for fear of conceding.
Like so many Premier League clubs, West Ham have an enormous summer rebuild ahead of them.
Vardy gets his perfect send-off as Leicester claw back respectability
Jamie Vardy got his moment – and it could hardly have gone any better for him at King Power Stadium.
On his 500th and final appearance for Leicester City, he scored his 200th goal for the club with a powerful run and neat finish that was classic Vardy.
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He is without doubt one of the greatest players in Premier League history, his starring role in Leicester’s 2015/16 title giving him iconic status in this competition.
It’s a shame that Vardy's time at Leicester ends with the club’s relegation, although recent results have at least clawed back some respectability, with the Foxes rising to 18th on Sunday.
They have won seven points from four matches since their relegation was confirmed, as many as in their previous 19. What’s more, by beating both Ipswich Town and Southampton, Ruud van Nistelrooy has ensured that Leicester are the best of the promoted teams.
That’s hardly worth celebrating in a season like this one. Nevertheless, after such a long and painful campaign, Leicester supporters will be grateful for one last moment of celebration with Vardy.
Vardy's final Leicester goal
Brentford’s wild season summed up in five-goal thriller with Fulham
In the end, the events of an unwieldy west London derby at the Gtech Community Stadium may not matter much.
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Crystal Palace’s victory in the FA Cup final gave Oliver Glasner’s side a place in the Europa League next season and reduced the chances of eighth position in the Premier League providing a spot in Europe.
There are now only two scenarios in which the team finishing eighth can qualify for European football. It could happen if Chelsea win the Conference League and finish seventh, or if they win the Conference League and finish sixth and Newcastle finish seventh.
The simplest set of results leading to that is Forest beating Chelsea, Villa beating Man Utd, and Man City getting at least a point from their final two matches.
Brentford can still dream, then, despite letting a 2-1 lead slip on Sunday: it would take Brighton & Hove Albion beating Liverpool on Monday night or AFC Bournemouth winning at Man City on Tuesday for Thomas Frank’s team to be ousted from eighth place before the final weekend.
