Football writer Alex Keble highlights the hot topics and tactical lessons from Matchweek 38, including:
- Villa errors cost top-five place as Man Utd show signs of ‘good days’ coming
- Chelsea beat Forest but both sets of fans should be happy
- Newcastle squeeze into UCL as Everton lay groundwork for a strong 2025/26
- Man City secure UCL place but does it really feel "like a title"?
- Saints make unwanted history while Arsenal's summer priorities are clear
- Salah leads celebrations, but is post-title drop-off a concern?
- West Ham end on a high but Potter faces huge summer
- Brighton unlucky to miss Europe but Hurzeler era is just getting started
- Cherries celebrate season best, while Leicester bow out with a whimper
- Wolves have closed the gap to Brentford under Vitor Pereira
Villa errors cost top-five place as Man Utd show signs of ‘good days’ coming
Aston Villa left Old Trafford unhappy about losing a place in the UEFA Champions League, but in truth their own errors had a big impact on their crushing defeat.
TV Info - Broadcasters
A nervous Villa performance, defined by loose touches and big spaces between the lines, should have resulted in Manchester United going at least 3-0 up, before Emiliano Martinez compounded a Matty Cash error and was sent off when the score was still 0-0.
A 2-0 win for the hosts was a fair reflection of the contest. Man Utd had 10 shots on target, their most in a Premier League match since Ruben Amorim took charge.
Man Utd shot map v Aston Villa
Click here to zoom in on image
Days after the disappointment of losing in the UEFA Europa League final, it was perhaps a shock – to Man Utd fans as well as others, that this was surely their single best performance of the season under Amorim.
A sharpness and energy in their interplay betrayed a season of underachievement.
Mason Mount and Amad both impressed, hinting at a new inside-forward partnership with the intelligence to make Amorim’s 3-4-3 work.
"The good days are coming," Amorim, standing in the centre circle, told supporters after the match. On this evidence he might just be right.
As for Villa, once the pain subsides, they will look forward to a season in the Europa League, a competition Unai Emery has won four times with previous clubs Sevilla (three) and Villarreal (one).
A year from now they could be lifting the trophy in Istanbul, with the bitterness of this defeat a distant memory, if that.
Chelsea beat Forest but both sets of fans should be happy
Enzo Maresca deserves all the plaudits for masterminding a 1-0 win at the City Ground that meant Chelsea qualified for the Champions League at Nottingham Forest’s expense.
TV Info - Broadcasters
His youthful team – at 24 years and 36 days, the average age of Chelsea’s starting XI is the youngest ever in a single Premier League campaign – held their nerve impressively to put them one UEFA Conference League final victory away from a dream debut season for Maresca.
His tactical preferences have come under fire at times but he has been vindicated at the last, bringing Champions League football to Chelsea for the first time since the BlueCo takeover.
Defeat for Forest was a bitter pill to swallow, especially given that results elsewhere meant they would have finished fourth with a win, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side might relish being in Europe’s third tier. With time, their fans will be almost as happy as Chelsea's.
Forest stand a realistic chance of going all the way in the Conference League, whereas playing in the Europa League or Champions League might have been too much for their squad to handle.
More to the point, Forest have had a brilliant season despite what happened on the final day.
Nuno has brought European football to the City Ground for the first time since 1995/96, while Forest have become the first side in Premier League history to double their points tally from one season to the next.
Forest's last two seasons compared
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | |
| Forest 23/24 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest 24/25 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 65 |
Newcastle squeeze into UCL as Everton lay groundwork for a strong 2025/26
For the first time since 2011/12, Newcastle United ended a Premier League season with back-to-back defeats… and yet they were celebrating wildly at the final whistle, benefitting unexpectedly from a perfect set of results elsewhere.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Champions League qualification is huge for Eddie Howe and his team. Had Newcastle failed to make it, despite not having any midweek European action this season, there would have been questions over the club’s direction of travel.
But now, after the EFL Cup victory at Wembley, Newcastle supporters can celebrate a dream season – and a resumption of the upward trajectory they’ve enjoyed under Howe.
Everton, too, have reason to celebrate. Since Everton’s first win under David Moyes on 19 January, only three sides have won more points than their 31.
Most PL points gained since 19 January 2025
| Team | Matches | W | D | L | Pts |
| MCI | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIV | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 34 |
| CHE | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 32 |
| EVE | 18 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| ARS | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 30 |
Extended over a full season, their record of 31 points in 18 matches is equivalent to 65 points in 38 – just one point short of Newcastle’s total of 66 this season.
That’s not suggesting Everton will qualify for the Champions League next season, but there’s no doubt Moyes has laid the groundwork for a successful 2025/26.
Man City secure UCL place but does it really feel ‘like a title’?
There are plenty of things about Manchester City’s end to the season that indicate they are on their way back.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Pep Guardiola has overseen a 10-game unbeaten run to end the season. Rodri is almost back to full fitness, just in time for the FIFA Club World Cup, which starts on 14 June. Erling Haaland has put a two-month goalscoring drought to bed.
But Guardiola’s assertion that qualifying for the Champions League is "like a title" is maybe overstating it.
"It's like a title, [because of] the obstacles," he told BBC Match of the Day. "When you continue [a run of poor form] you finish 10th, 11th, 12th or 13th.
"People can say, 'I don't want to fight again, just to qualify for the Europa League.' We continued playing good and we were there."
Man City certainly did have to show "fight" to make it, but given the quality at their disposal this was probably the bare minimum expectation.
Guardiola will know this. His team finished outside of the top two for only the second time in his 16 seasons as a manager; the previous occasion was at the end of 2016/17, his first campaign at the club.
The win at Fulham was essential, but the celebrations will be muted. City will put this season behind them, and start again this summer on tour in the USA.
Saints make unwanted history while Arsenal's summer priorities are clear
They may have just beaten Derby County’s record low points total of 11, but Southampton hit a different unwanted landmark by becoming the first team in Premier League history to lose 30 games in a season.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Thankfully for Saints, they are already looking to the future. The arrival of new manager - Will Still, in attendance on Sunday, is something of a coup.
He is one of the brightest young coaches in Europe and gives Southampton an excellent chance of promotion at the first attempt.
Arsenal also finished with an unwanted record, of sorts. They have become the first team in a quarter of a century to finish runners-up in three consecutive seasons.
The reason why they couldn’t go one further this year was rammed home again on Sunday.
Arsenal haven’t conceded more than twice in any of their 58 games in all competitions this season, becoming just the third Premier League side to do so. There’s nothing wrong with the defensive side of things.
But despite Martin Odegaard’s late winner, it is noteworthy that Arsenal looked pretty blunt in attack.
Southampton v Arsenal match xG timeline
Their top scorer this season in the league was Kai Havertz, with only nine goals, making this the first time since 1923/24 that Arsenal haven’t had a player reach double figures for league goals in a campaign.
It is fairly easy to work out where the club’s summer priorities should lie.
Salah leads celebrations, but is post-title drop-off a concern?
Mohamed Salah equalled the all-time record for most goal involvements in a Premier League season (47) and led the celebrations as Liverpool lifted the Premier League title in front of the Anfield crowd for the first time.
TV Info - Broadcasters
COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 meant the last title win couldn’t be celebrated with the supporters, making the scenes on Sunday afternoon extra special.
It was a day of uncomplicated joy for supporters, but if we are to look for lessons to learn from the game itself, then perhaps a few doubts creep in.
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace means they end the campaign on a four-game winless run, and while that might not mean much considering they already had the title sewn up, it does hint at the need for reinforcements.
Arne Slot made at least four changes in all four of their Premier League matches since sealing the title against Tottenham Hotspur, and the players he rotated into the team struggled to impress.
On the one hand, that highlights what a brilliant job Slot did with a thin squad.
On the other, it tells us Liverpool will need greater depth if they are to retain the title in 2025/26.
West Ham end on a high but Potter faces huge summer
West Ham United secured consecutive away Premier League wins for the first time since September, ensuring they end the campaign with six points from their last two matches.
TV Info - Broadcasters
That’s a strong return that should lift spirits in the dressing room after what has been a tough season for the club.
Graham Potter has averaged 1.11 points per game and has a win rate of 28 per cent, lower than his predecessor Julen Lopetegui’s 1.15 points and 30-per-cent win rate.
In fact, in the club’s Premier League history, only Avram Grant (0.89 points per game) has a worse record.
But these are early days, and the win at Ipswich Town could transform the atmosphere at West Ham when they return to training in July.
Potter faces a huge summer rebuild.
Brighton unlucky to miss Europe but Hurzeler era is just getting started
Brighton and Hove Albion benefitted from Spurs’ heroics in the Europa League on Wednesday, winning 4-1 in north London after Ange Postecoglou made seven changes to his starting line-up.
TV Info - Broadcasters
The result means that the Seagulls ended the campaign with 13 points from a possible 15, completing a very impressive debut campaign for Fabian Hurzeler: eighth is as high as Brighton could probably have hoped for this season.
And despite coming sixth in 2022/23, this year Brighton only won one point fewer than in that campaign; Hurzeler’s first season was, more or less, as good as it could have been for the club.
That’s an exciting prospect for supporters, given that Hurzeler – and a decent portion of his squad – are newcomers to the division, still learning the ropes.
Next year promises to be even better.
Cherries celebrate best season, while Leicester bow out with a whimper
They might not have made it into Europe, but AFC Bournemouth have enjoyed their best-ever Premier League season.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Andoni Iraola’s side have collected eight more points than their next-best year, which was in 2023/24, and finished in a joint-record high ninth, three places higher than last season.
Bournemouth also set a club record for Premier League goals, with 58.
Iraola’s revolution continues, and a place in Europe looks on the cards in 2025/26.
Leicester City, on the other hand, sink back to the Championship with a whimper.
They lost 25 Premier League games this season, their joint-most ever (along with 1994/95), and their defeat at the Vitality Stadium was their year in microcosm.
Leicester didn’t manage a single shot on target – for the third time this season.
Wolves have closed the gap to Brentford under Vitor Pereira
Brentford secured their second-ever top-10 finish in the Premier League with the draw at Molineux, and there is plenty for Thomas Frank’s side to celebrate, not least setting a new club-record of 16 top-flight wins.
TV Info - Broadcasters
But what we learnt is that Wolverhampton Wanderers have closed the gap.
Since Vitor Pereira’s first game, Wolves have won 33 points, the same number as Brentford in that time and enough to put them joint-10th in the form table.
Wolves won’t be in a relegation battle next year. Keep this up, and they might just be in the hunt for a place in Europe.
