The longest, strangest Premier League season ever contested nevertheless came to a familiar dramatic close on Sunday, almost a year after the coronavirus-cursed 2019-20 campaign — which was interrupted for more than three months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — began.
Manchester United and Chelsea clinched the final two spots in next season’s UEFA Champions League, joining runaway Prem winner Liverpool and runner-up Manchester City. Leicester’s failure to beat United Sunday forced the Foxes to settle for a fifth-place finish and the Europa League berth that comes with it.
On the other end of the 20-team table, Aston Villa, which looked like a relegation shoo-in just a few weeks ago, completed its great escape by going undefeated over its final four games.