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          Premier League final day timeline: How the Champions League and relegation battles played out

          • Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerJul 26, 2020, 06:11 PM

          Although the 2019-20 Premier League title was tied up by Liverpool in record-breaking fashion weeks ago, we were still able to enter the final day with plenty left to play for at both ends of the table.

          Liverpool and Manchester City had laid claim to the top two spots, but the other two Champions League qualification berths were still up for grabs. Manchester United and Chelsea began the day occupying third and fourth place, respectively, with both clubs level on 63 points and Leicester City poised a single point behind them in fifth.

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          As fate would have it, United travelled to face the Foxes at the King Power on the final day, knowing that they had to avoid defeat to ensure a top-four finish. Likewise, were Leicester to grab a win and Chelsea to avoid defeat in their last game at home against Wolves, United would be ousted from the reckoning and wash up in fifth.

          Meanwhile, in the relegation mire, Sunday began with two from three clubs knowing they would be jettisoned from the Premier League come close of play. Although Norwich City were long gone, a sliver of hope remained for Watford, Aston Villa and Bournemouth, though the latter knew they required something akin to a miracle.

          Watford, who recently took the decision to sack manager Nigel Pearson, despite his being the man responsible for dragging them off rock-bottom, travelled to Arsenal knowing that they had to better Villa's result against West Ham to guarantee their survival. Should both Watford and Villa produce draws or match each other's results, Villa would stay up on goal difference. But with only one goal separating the two teams before kickoff (minus-26 versus minus-27), it would definitely be a "skin of the teeth" situation.

          As for Bournemouth, the towering odds didn't favour them. However, the Cherries could still beat the drop on goal difference (they began the day on minus-27, too) by beating Everton and hoping beyond hope that both Villa and Watford lost.

          In short, a large number of nervous fans around the country were following events from behind the couch, and there were also the Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards to be claimed and several records to potentially be broken. Here's how the final day of the 2019-20 season panned out.

          16:01 BST -- Newcastle United 1-0 Liverpool: Well, that didn't take long! Newcastle United's Dwight Gayle scores against the champions within a minute!

          16:04 BST -- Arsenal 1-0 Watford: Things get off to a nightmarish start for Watford, as they concede a penalty with just four minutes on the clock at the Emirates. After a protracted VAR check validated Mike Dean's decision, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang steps up to put the Gunners ahead with his 21st league goal of the season. The race for the Golden Boot is on!

          16.08 BST -- Manchester City 0-0 Norwich City: Norwich look to be going out on a high, as Onel Hernandez scores against Manchester City, but it's ruled out for offside. That keeps City keeper Ederson level with Burnley's Nick Pope in the race for the Golden Glove for most clean sheets.

          16:12 BST -- Manchester City 1-0 Norwich City: Manchester City compound Norwich's woe by scoring the opening goal themselves. Gabriel Jesus scores, but all eyes are on the assist, as Kevin De Bruyne is one away from equalling Thierry Henry's record of 20 in one Premier League campaign. On this occasion, it isn't the Belgian who is the creator.

          16:12 BST -- Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Kane opens the scoring for Tottenham at Selhurst Park. It's the England captain's seventh goal since the restart, and it boosts Spurs' hopes of qualifying for the Europa League next season.

          16:13 BST -- Everton 0-1 Bournemouth: Despite having never won an away game against Everton in the Premier League, Bournemouth prove that they are up for the fight, as a Josh King penalty thrusts them into an early lead at Goodison. The goal, King's 50th for the club, sees the Cherries move up into 18th spot, above Watford on goal difference and just one point behind Aston Villa in 17th.

          16:17 BST -- Everton 0-1 Bournemouth: Bournemouth are very nearly afforded a golden chance to double their lead from the spot, but a VAR review sees Eddie Howe's plucky side deprived of a second penalty in the space of five minutes.

          16:21 BST -- Burnley 0-1 Brighton: Yves Bissouma scores past Pope, giving Ederson one hand on the Golden Glove.

          16:24 BST -- Arsenal 2-0 Watford: After a relatively bright start, Watford are visibly stunned to fall two behind against Arsenal as Kieran Tierney's limp, deflected shot creeps inside the post to put a further dent in the Hornets' precarious goal difference (WAT minus-29, BOU minus-26).

          16:32 BST-- Leicester City 0-0 Manchester United: Bruno Fernandes looks to have scored a wonderful opener for United after applying a svelte finish to Paul Pogba's delightful through ball, only to see it chalked off for an offside in the buildup.

          16:33 BST -- Arsenal 3-0 Watford: Watford look to be sinking into the mire without a trace as Aubameyang adds a third for Arsenal with only their third shot on target. A mix of clinical finishing and poor defending see the Gabon striker score his 22nd goal of the season with a clever overhead kick. He's now just one behind top scorer Jamie Vardy, who has 23.

          16:36 BST -- Leicester City 0-0 Manchester United: Fernandes receives treatment on his ankle. Fred goes for a warm-up on the touchline, but the Portuguese maestro stays on the field.

          16:38 BST -- Newcastle United 1-1 Liverpool: Virgil van Dijk scores a header, making him the league's top-scoring defender of the season, with five goals.

          16:41 BST -- Everton 1-1 Bournemouth: Moise Kean creeps in at the back post to equalise for Everton and bump a suddenly deflated Bournemouth team back beneath Watford into 19th place.

          16:43 BST -- Arsenal 3-1 Watford: Watford become the latest team to capitalise from David Luiz's generosity, as the Arsenal defender donates his fifth penalty of the season to the stricken Hornets. Troy Deeney has the necessary nerve to convert from the spot and give his side just the faintest glimmer of hope.

          16:46 BST -- Chelsea 1-0 Wolves: At the very end of a fairly uneventful half, Mason Mount tucks away a lovely free kick to put Chelsea ahead and send them above Manchester United into third place.

          16:46 BST-- Manchester City 2-0 Norwich City: De Bruyne curls in a beauty to make it 2-0 vs. Norwich, but he's still looking for that elusive assist.

          16:46 BST -- Everton 1-2 Bournemouth: Dominic Solanke puts Bournemouth back on the front foot with his third goal in three games. The striker's header nudges the Cherries back above Watford in the standings, thanks to their slightly superior goal difference.

          16:49 BST -- Chelsea 2-0 Wolves: Olivier Giroud doubles Chelsea's lead as Frank Lampard's side look to be cantering toward Champions League qualification. United are still occupying the fourth spot, as the first half of their winner-take-all scramble against Leicester ends goalless.

          HALF-TIME -- Phew.

          17:18 BST -- Leicester City 0-0 Manchester United: Leicester send a shot across the bows early in the second half, as Jamie Vardy rattles the United crossbar with a looping header.

          17:22 BST -- Newcastle United 1-1 Liverpool: Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino replace Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Just because Jurgen Klopp can.

          17:27 BST -- Arsenal 3-2 Watford: It takes a former Gunner to restore Watford's belief, as Danny Welbeck pulls another one back for the Hornets. Despite having come back from 3-0 down, Watford are still below Bournemouth and know that only the completion of an incredible turnaround will be enough to deliver them from the drop.

          17:28 BST -- Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United: It is perhaps unsurprising that United finally manage to break the deadlock from the penalty spot -- their 14th spot-kick of the season, a new Premier League record. Fernandes does the honours after Anthony Martial is bowled over by Jonny Evans in the Leicester box.

          17:30 BST -- Leicester City 0-0 Manchester United: Leicester make a triple change -- Demarai Gray, Ashley Barnes and Dennis Praet replace Marc Albrighton, Youri Tielemans and Hamza Choudhury. Not quite the same, is it?

          17:35 BST -- Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United: Jesse Lingard comes on to replace Mason Greenwood, denying the youngster the chance for an 18th goal that would have seen him surpass George Best and Wayne Rooney with United's highest-scoring season by a teenager.

          17:39 BST -- Everton 1-3 Bournemouth: Junior Stanislas adds another goal for Bournemouth by firing a shot straight underneath Jordan Pickford. The Cherries did everything within their power to stay up on the final day, but always looming was the nagging doubt that they might have left it too late.

          17:37 BST: Manchester City 3-0 Norwich City: Raheem Sterling scores his 20th league goal of the season, but it's all about the creator: De Bruyne has equalled Henry's record!!!

          17:44 BST -- West Ham 0-1 Aston Villa: It took a long time, but Jack Grealish finally finds the breakthrough at the London Stadium, as the homegrown hero scores to power Villa away from the dotted line of doom.

          17:46 BST -- West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa: Well, that was nice while it lasted! Andriy Yarmolenko takes 100 seconds to burst Villa's bubble. As it stands, Bournemouth and Watford are still joining Norwich in the Championship, but another goal for the Hammers would see Villa slip out of the top flight.

          17:52 BST -- Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United: With the Champions League getting away from Leicester, frustration boils over at the King Power in stoppage time, as Evans gets himself sent off for an ugly challenge on Scott McTominay. Evans was booked for the earlier penalty incident but is shown a straight red here.

          17:55 BST -- West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa: Full-time at the London Stadium. As it stands, Villa are safe, but there are anxious faces as the visitors await final results elsewhere.

          17:55 BST -- Everton 1-3 Bournemouth: They gave it their best, but with West Ham failing to find another goal against Villa, Bournemouth fall short at the very death. The anguished look on Eddie Howe's face says it all.

          17:55 BST -- Leicester City 0-2 Manchester United: Lingard puts the cap on United's afternoon by adding a second goal, robbing Kasper Schmeichel to score with effectively the last kick of United's season, thus sealing his side's Champions League qualification on goal difference as Chelsea tie up the fourth spot.

          17:57 BST -- Arsenal 3-2 Watford: Full-time at the Emirates brings with it emotional scenes, as Watford realise they have been consigned to their fate.

          FULL-TIME

          There we have it. Several months later than scheduled, the 2019-20 Premier League campaign is finally done and dusted. The final day certainly lived up to its billing, as tense teams traded blows and rungs on the Premier League ladder right until the very last.

          Manchester United and Chelsea ended the afternoon three points better off, but ultimately things remained the same in the Champions League berths, as Leicester missed out.

          At the bottom, Bournemouth managed to smuggle themselves a slightly better finish than perhaps anticipated, but alas, it wasn't enough, as both the Cherries and Watford will join Norwich in the Championship next year.

          Leicester lost, but Jamie Vardy won the Premier League Golden Boot despite not scoring in Leicester City's 2-0 defeat against Manchester United.

          Ederson edged Nick Pope to win the Premier League Golden Glove award, 16 clean sheets to 15. The Manchester City goalkeeper was unbeaten in the 5-0 win against relegated Norwich, and Pope was unable to shut out Brighton in a 1-1 draw.

          That's one more Premier League campaign in the books. But don't worry, there are only 48 days until we get to do it all again in 2020-21!