Yahoo Sports Abdoulaye Doucoure the saviour, Tottenham’s crossroads and 6 Premier League final day talking points
A topsy-turvy final day of the Premier League season saw 33 goals scored across the ten simultaneous matches, with Everton ultimately surviving the three-way relegation battle and Aston Villa beating Tottenham to a place in Europe next season.
Here are the five key talking points as the 2022/23 season came to a close:
Leicester changes leave Dean Smith wondering what might have been
Dean Smith made a bold call in Leicester's penultimate game to drop James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, which paid off after the woodwork smiled on the Foxes.
Both players returned as Smith rolled the dice, admittedly with little choice. But the response from Barnes was magnificent. Full of running, sharp turns and intelligence on the ball, the Leicester star's neat finish after an explosive run underlined his class.
Barnes was hardly at risk of playing in the Championship next season, given the inevitable interest this summer, but his reputation was enhanced here with his attitude and composure under the utmost pressure of a final day relegation decider.
It was not to be enough and now a move and opportunity, perhaps at a club poised to play in Europe, awaits Barnes following Leicester's heartache.
Doucoure in from the cold to play the part of saviour
Everton needed a hero, enter: Abdoulaye Doucoure. Frozen out by Frank Lampard and destined to depart, the Toffees faithful will be thrilled circumstances enabled an extended stay.
A double at Brighton in the 5-1 win inspired one of the shocks of the season and a swing of a leg here shattered the tension engulfing Goodison Park after Harvey Barnes' goal for Leicester had them destined for the Championship.
Doucoure, now 30 years of age, and just one year remaining on his deal, might not have much of a future on Merseyside, but his name will be remembered fondly after inspiring the great escape.
Arsenal take the handbrake off...after the pressure departs
The Gunners certainly took massive strides forward this season and wrapped up their campaign 5-0 against Wolves - though it didn’t matter with the title race long since done.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had a habit over the last few years of falling short when the pressure is really cranked up and that’s exactly what they did again this term. The difference being, of course, that this time it was in a top-two battle, rather than trying to finish off the job merely qualifying for European places.
With no pressure on them their fantastic football has them a class apart; improving mental resilience has to be job No.1 for next term.
Spurs end on bittersweet note with future no more clear than Leeds’
Harry Kane scores twice, Spurs win 4-1, Lucas Moura nets an emotional goodbye goal. It sounds like a fine day for Tottenham, but when the dust settles fans will quickly realise they’re at a massive crossroads.
The north London club have no manager, no director of football and no European action for next term - and rumours persist that Kane could depart too.
Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce didn’t really come close to keeping Leeds up despite taking the fight to the final day. His side fell apart two minutes into each half after defensive errors and that has been the story of the last two seasons for them, this one proving too costly to recover from.
How they rebuild and who they place in charge will determine whether the talent they unquestionably have in their ranks is enough to bounce straight back, or whether Leeds face another long fight to regain a place among the nation’s elite.
Villa go from relegation fears to European hopefuls
Unai Emery has done it. Mocked for so long in English football, yet the Spaniard has transformed Villa and provided fresh hope for perhaps a sleeping giant of English football.
Back in Europe, in the Europa Conference League, having held their nerve here against Brighton to resist Tottenham, who claimed all three points against relegated Leeds, there is fresh vigour to this team.
The noise and buzz around Villa Park illustrates the delight at the spectacular job Emery has executed. Jacob Ramsey is one of Europe's most exciting talents and his surge from deep led to Ollie Watkins' 15th goal of the season - enough to resist late Brighton resistance. Now Villans will dare to dream, with Emery, they have a coach with the experience and wisdom to spark a famous European adventure next season.
Exactly why Liverpool fell short and Southampton fell down
The game of the day in terms of excitement and goalmouth action was also an absolute irrelevance, with neither Southampton nor Liverpool able to go up or down than 20th and fifth respectively.
It made for an entertaining encounter and an eventual 4-4 draw - but also showed where both teams have been lacking this season.
The Reds led by two early on including a farewell Roberto Firmino goal, but defensive lapses, a lack of midfield power and some poor game management saw Jurgen Klopp’s side concede four without reply to the league’s worst side, before eventually clawing back a draw. That’s a big lesson to be learned from why they are outside the Champions League next term, having had a soft centre all year this time around.
Saints, meanwhile, certainly fared better in attack on the day than they generally have this season, but shipping four on home turf to still not win a game points to where their own deficiencies have been. They have to rebuild for life in the second tier, after ending this term on a 13-match winless streak.
Premier League final day results:
Arsenal 5-0 Wolves
Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Everton 1-0 Bournemouth
Leeds 1-4 Tottenham
Leicester 2-1 West Ham
Man United 2-1 Fulham
Southampton 4-4 Liverpool
