Goals from Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund gave Manchester United a scarcely-deserved 2-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion as they ended an underwhelming Premier League campaign on Sunday ahead of next week’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.

The victory sees United end the season in eighth place — their lowest position in the Premier League era — on 60 points and behind Newcastle United on goal difference, while Brighton ended 11th on 48 points.

What looked like a final-day game between two mid-table teams with nothing to play for took on greater significance on Saturday with the abrupt announcement that Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi would part ways with the club after the game.

His side proceeded to play United off the park in the first half and they should have taken the lead early in the second, but Joao Pedro’s shot from close range was cleared off the line by Casemiro.

After barely creating anything of note, United took the lead in the 73rd minute as a defensive error by Igor Julio allowed Portuguese midfielder Dalot to nip in behind the defence and tuck home a long ball from Casemiro.

That goal took the wind out of the sails of the Seagulls and substitute Hojlund wrapped up the three points in the 88th minute to give Erik ten Hag’s side a boost ahead of their Wembley clash with City, who will be seeking to complete a domestic double after winning the league.

“It is not good enough by far … eighth is the worst performance. It is the truth, but we should have done better,” Ten Hag told the BBC.

“Hopefully we will have a good week and everyone is on board. We will put a competitive team out and we will fight for the (FA) Cup,”

-Reuters

Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Everton proved in vain as their hopes of a first Premier League title for 20 years were crushed on the final day of the season on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s side began the day needing a win and for Manchester City to fail to beat West Ham United — a scenario that few inside The Emirates Stadium believed would happen.

All hope looked lost when Idrissa Gueye’s deflected free kick put Everton in front and City led 2-0 but Takehiro Tomiyasu levelled before halftime at around the same time that West Ham halved the deficit at City.

Kai Havertz fired home Arsenal’s winner late meaning they ended the season with six successive victories but they had to settle for the runners-up spot for the second successive season as City wrapped up a record fourth consecutive title by beating West Ham 3-1.

Arsenal ended with 89 points to City’s 91.

-Reuters

Liverpool delivered much-loved manager Juergen Klopp a victory in his final game with the team on Sunday, a 2-0 win over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield in an emotional Premier League season finale.

Alexis Mac Allister and Jarell Quansah scored on a day that did not impact the Reds’ third-placed finish in the table, but one that Liverpool fans had been dreading since the 56-year-old German manager announced in late-January that he would leave the club at season’s end after almost nine years at the helm.

“I’m probably surprised, I thought I’m already in pieces to be honest, but I’m not, I’m so happy. I can’t believe it,” Klopp told the Anfield crowd after the game. “I’m so happy about you all, about the atmosphere, about the game, about being part of this family, about us, how we celebrated this day. Thank you so much!”

Klopp’s men, who were on course to give their manager a fairytale ending before a string of bad results last month derailed their title challenge, finished the season on 82 points, nine behind winners Manchester City and seven behind second-placed Arsenal.

“I’ve got no words, it’s a very emotional day,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk — fighting back tears — told Sky Sports. “It was always going to be a tough afternoon. We wanted to make sure that we do our job basically and then obviously we can all be very emotional after the game.

“(Klopp) deserves every bit of love that he’s getting.”

Wolves were reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute when Nelson Semedo was sent off for his ugly tackle on Mac Allister. Six minutes later, the Argentine midfielder headed home Harvey Elliott’s curling cross, bringing Klopp to his feet with a huge smile. Quansah doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 40th minute when he poked in Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah’s shot.

Klopp bade farewell to the Anfield faithful — including owners John Henry and Tom Werner who flew in from Boston for the occasion — having won 305 matches, including penalty shootouts, with the Reds.

A crowd more than a dozen deep and bathed in red smoke squeezed shoulder to shoulder along the road leading into Anfield on Sunday to welcome the team busses as they pulled in before kick off.

If Liverpool’s pre-game singing of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — the song by 1960s Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers that became the club anthem — raises goosebumps most games, the Anfield crowd sang at the top of their lungs on Sunday while Klopp raised a hand to his heart.

“This morning I woke up and I was completely in game mode,” Klopp told Sky Sports before kickoff. “We had a normal team meeting and the 60,000 here and the few million watching deserve that.

“People call it the last dance, so let’s dance!”

Klopp won seven trophies since joining the club in 2015, including the Champions League in 2019 and a first English League title in three decades in 2020. He also won the Club World Cup, FA Cup, League Cup twice and UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Community Shield.

But the German was beloved as much for his passionate demeanour as his on-field success with the Merseyside club. He delighted fans with his high-octane goal celebrations and his post-victory fist pumps. He wrapped his players in huge bear hugs.

Fans’ appreciation was on full display over the final few minutes of Sunday’s game with supporters on their feet singing their version of the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” over and over.

“I’m so glad that Juergen is a Red, I’m so glad he delivered what he said!”

Klopp bowed his head several times struggling to control his emotions. His wife Ulla dabbed at tears.

After Liverpool lifted the League Cup in February, there was talk of a fairytale ending for the manager but they were eliminated from the FA Cup and Europa League and then dropped down the league standings.

Salah, who made his 250th league appearance for the club on Sunday, finished as the season’s top scorer with 18 league goals, while the team totalled 142 across all competitions, the second-highest in the club’s history after the 2021-22 season (147).

-Reuters