Roy Hodgson believes an 11th-placed finish for Crystal Palace is an excellent achievement.
A 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest saw the south London outfit finish in their highest position since 2017-18, in a campaign that saw the 75-year old replace Patrick Vieira in March.
A Will Hughes effort cancelled out an opener for Taiwo Awoniyi, but Hodgson – who refused to be drawn on his future – was proud of the club’s accomplishment.
“An 11th place for Palace, in any season, is always acceptable. At the moment that is definitely where we want to be at least,” Hodgson said.
“We can always hope we have a better season and some of the seasons beyond that, and hope we get into the top half.
“But I think there’s always going to be a gap to teams which spend £200million or more on putting their playing staff together, whose only interest is getting into the Champions League.
“I hope our fans and the club realise that’s a hell of an ask where you can finish higher than 11th or 12th.”
Nottingham Forest took the lead in a 60-second spell that could have seen them fall behind.
A shot by Eberechi Eze on the hour was blocked by Jordan Ayew, with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey turning away a Hughes shot on the rebound.
A long ball out of the Forest half almost immediately by Morgan Gibbs-White found Awoniyi, who got the better of Joachim Anderson in the box and slotted home.
Palace equalised in the 65th minute, albeit with some good fortune. A cross by Michael Olise into the box was flicked on by Hughes past Hennessey – although the ball deflected off the challenging Willy Boly.
While both sides were looking for a winning effort to round off the season, it proved to be a satisfactory – if winless – ending for both sides.
Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper revealed his appreciation for Hodgson, and also believed the travelling support got a deserved reward.
“I said to Roy at the end it was an honour to come up against him. I’ve only done four years of this first-team lark,” Cooper said.
“For him to do as much as he’s done and to have the career he’s done, I’m full of admiration. He doesn’t need any kind words from me, but at the same time it’s a privilege to come up against him.
“We wanted to win and I think it was important to give the supporters a result.
“Our away support has been incredible and we haven’t given them enough in terms of results and sometimes performances.
“It could have been any result today and it would have been the same atmosphere, they’ve given us that.”
Burnley 1-4 Newcastle United: Clarets’ survival hopes take a hit as Magpies soar at Turf Moor
Burnley’s hopes of a great escape took a huge blow as they were hammered 4-1 by a rampant Newcastle United at Turf Moor.
Having gone unbeaten in three Premier League matches heading into Saturday’s clash, Burnley had hoped to leapfrog Luton Town – who drew with Everton on Friday – into 18th.
Yet their survival hopes are now dangling by a thread after Newcastle turned on the style – Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes sending Eddie Howe’s side into a three-goal lead by half-time.
Alexander Isak atoned for a penalty miss by scoring his 20th league goal of the season early in the second half, with Dara O’Shea grabbing a late consolation for Burnley as the Magpies moved above Manchester United into sixth place.
It was not all plain sailing for Newcastle. Martin Dubravka had to be alert early on to smother an attempt from Jacob Bruun Larsen, before Lorenz Assignon had a penalty appeal turned down after his weaving run was halted by Guimaraes.
Yet Newcastle hit the front after 19 minutes, with Wilson on hand to tap home after Arijanet Muric denied Isak from point-blank range.
Muric made a fantastic stop to deny Tino Livramento, but Burnley’s goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Newcastle doubling their lead when Jacob Murphy’s cutback was slotted into the bottom corner by Longstaff.
It was game over five minutes before the break – Assignon’s error resulting in Anthony Gordon teeing up Guimaraes for a straightforward finish from just inside the box.
Lyle Foster lashed over at the end of a promising Burnley move as the Clarets searched for a swift response after the break, though their defensive frailties were soon exposed again.
Josh Brownhill foolishly tugged on Gordon’s shirt as the winger drove into Burnley’s box from the left, and referee Anthony Taylor duly pointed to the spot.
Muric made a fine save to thwart Isak, with play eventually continuing after a VAR check for possible encroachment.
Once proceedings did resume, Isak got his goal, coolly firing in after he was picked out by Murphy to complete the rout, with O’Shea heading in late on to reduce the arrears for Burnley.
Wilson going out in style?
It looks as though Wilson’s time at Newcastle could well come to an end after the season, with Howe having suggested the striker will be allowed to leave should the right offer come in.
But handed a rare start alongside Isak, the former Bournemouth man was excellent in leading Newcastle’s line and tormenting Burnley’s defence. He was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring, and also played a crucial role in the visitors’ second, when he held up the play before releasing the onrushing Murphy.
Wilson's goal was his 47th Premier League goal for Newcastle, meaning he is second to only the legendary Alan Shearer (148) when it comes to the Magpies’ goalscorers in the competition.
A mention for Gordon, too. He has become the third Newcastle player to register double figures for both goals and assists in a single Premier League campaign, after Andrew Cole in 1993-94 (34G 13A) and Ruel Fox in 1994-95 (10G 11A).
Relegation beckons?
With Nottingham Forest having claimed a big win over already-relegated Sheffield United, it looks increasingly likely that the three promoted teams are all heading straight back down to the Championship.
Burnley, who face Tottenham and Forest in their final two matches, are two points behind 18th-placed Luton, who themselves are three behind 17th-placed Forest, and Vincent Kompany cut a glum figure on the touchline.
There are no such fears for Newcastle, who host Brighton next before taking on Man United in what looks set to be a pivotal game in the hunt for Europa League qualification.
Arteta lauds Saka hunger after Arsenal put pressure on Man City
Mikel Arteta lauded the consistency of Bukayo Saka and his increased hunger to win after Saturday's routine 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium.
The Gunners swept aside Bournemouth as Saka's penalty opened the scoring before late second-half finishes from Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice sealed another much-needed victory.
With two games to spare, Arsenal have equalled their Premier League win tally from last season (26), only in 1930-31 (28) and 1970-71 (29) have the Gunners won more games in a single top-flight campaign.
That is in large part thanks to Saka, who became the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season (all competitions) since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20 (29 goals).
He is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott in 2012-13 (21 goals) and Arteta was quick to praise star winger Saka.
"The level of consistency compared to last year is very similar," the Arsenal manager said at his post-match press conference.
"There are areas he's better in. I see a different edge to him in the way he competes. He loves winning more than three months ago."
Kai Haverz won Saka's first-half penalty, though Bournemouth may feel the Arsenal forward triggered contact with goalkeeper Mark Travers.
The Cherries also had a goal disallowed at 2-0 down when Dominic Solanke was adjudged to have fouled David Raya before Antoine Semenyo turned into an empty net.
A lengthy VAR check followed both decisions but Arteta refused to comment on either incident, suggesting he had not seen them back yet.
"The honest answer is I haven't seen any of the incidents because I knew you were going to ask me," he added.
"They said do you want to see it and I said no so I can give you an honest answer!"
All 10 of Arsenal’s outfield starters attempted at least one shot in this game, the first time this has happened in a Premier League game for the Gunners since January 2022 against Burnley.
Gabriel Magalhaes almost got in the act but his strike was ruled out late on for offside, before Rice managed to add gloss to a dominant performance.
Rice was playing for West Ham last season as Arsenal capitulated in the title race against Man City, though the England international is hoping for a different outcome this time around.
"I wasn't here last year but I can sense that we are embracing it," the Arsenal midfielder told TNT Sports as Man City prepare to host Wolves later on Saturday.
"Man City are a machine and they don't lose many. Anything can happen in football. Surprises can happen and miracles can happen and we just have to stay focused."
Arsenal will continue to go about their business in hope of Man City slipping up, the Gunners have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games in 2024 (D1 L1), scoring 51 goals and conceding just eight in reply.
Indeed, the Gunners have won the most points in the competition since the turn of the year (43), but Arteta's side remain reliant on favours from elsewhere in the title race.
Ipswich Town promoted to Premier League after 22-year absence
Ipswich Town secured their return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence by seeing off Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Saturday.
Kieran McKenna's side, who only earned promotion from League One last year, required a point on the final day of regular-season fixtures.
Wes Burns put Ipswich on their way with a 27th-minute strike, before Omar Hutchinson sealed the deal early in the second period.
As it turned out, even a loss would have seen Town go up as Leeds failed to pick up the three points they needed in a 2-1 loss to Southampton.
Joel Piroe cancelled out Adam Armstrong's goal, but Will Smallbone restored the visitors' lead before half-time at Elland Road and at it remained that way.
Leeds will now face Norwich City in the play-offs after the Canaries dropped from fifth to sixth with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City.
West Brom's 3-0 win over Preston North End ensured they finished the season in fifth, meaning a play-off semi-final date with Southampton.
Despite their home win over Norwich, Birmingham joined Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in being relegated to the third tier.
That is due to Plymouth Argyle defeating top-six chasers Hull City 1-0, while Sheffield Wednesday eased to a 2-0 victory at Sunderland.
Rotherham's relegation was confirmed last month, while Huddersfield were effectively already down barring a miraculous set of results on the final day.
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