Hull City were relegated from the Premier League on
Sunday after drawing 0-0 at home to Manchester United on a final day
marked by high scores and high-profile departures.
Hull, beaten FA
Cup finalists last season, needed to defeat United to stand any chance
of staying up, but their failure to do so left them three points adrift
of safety.
"It is one of those awful experiences," said Hull
manager Steve Bruce, the former United captain, whose club had spent two
seasons in the top flight.
"It is not a time for excuses. You have to take your medicine and come back as strongly as you can."
Hull
made an enterprising start as Paul McShane and Dame N'Doye saw goals
ruled out for offside, while United's stand-in goalkeeper Victor Valdes
saved brilliantly from Ahmed Elmohamady.
The visitors, missing
injured goalkeeper David de Gea and on-loan striker Radamel Falcao, lost
Angel di Maria to injury and saw substitute Marouane Fellaini sent off
for an ugly foul on McShane in the second half.
But Bruce was
unable to engineer a first managerial win over his old employers as Hull
sank into the Championship and Louis van Gaal's United finished the
campaign in fourth place.
Newcastle United were the only other
team at risk of relegation, but they secured their top-flight status
with a 2-0 victory at home to West Ham United.
Jonas Gutierrez,
who returned to action last month after a 17-month battle with
testicular cancer, was Newcastle's saviour, teeing up Moussa Sissoko for
a 54th-minute header and scoring with a deflected effort.
"Every
player deserves credit," said Newcastle manager John Carver. "We have
not had a good season, but I am going to enjoy this moment."
Gerrard, Lampard, Drogba depart
Newcastle
owner Mike Ashley, criticised by fans for a perceived lack of
investment, had vowed prior to the game not to leave until the club win a
trophy or qualify for the Champions League.
West Ham, meanwhile,
announced after the match that manager Sam Allardyce's contract will not
be renewed and he will leave the club with immediate effect.
Liverpool
captain Steven Gerrard scored in vain on a wretched 710th and final
appearance for the club as Brendan Rodgers's side capitulated in a
humiliating 6-1 defeat at Stoke City.
With Raheem Sterling benched
over his contract stand-off, Liverpool conceded five first-half goals,
with Mame Biram Diouf scoring twice and Jonathan Walters, Charlie Adam
and Steven Nzonzi also on target.
Gerrard replied in the second
half, to give the visiting fans one last goal before his departure for
the Los Angeles Galaxy, but ex-Liverpool striker Peter Crouch restored
Stoke's five-goal cushion late on.
Liverpool's sixth-place finish
nevertheless takes them into the Europa League, alongside Tottenham
Hotspur, who won 1-0 at Everton courtesy of Harry Kane's 21st goal of
the league campaign and 31st in all competitions.
But Rodgers
conceded that his position was now under scrutiny, saying: "I have
always said if the owners want me to go, I will go. But I still feel I
have a lot to offer here."
Gerrard's former England team-mate
Frank Lampard also found the net in his final game before leaving
England for the United States, but he scored in a winning cause as
runners-up Manchester City beat Southampton 2-0.
The 36-year-old
midfielder, who is due to join New York City, converted a cross from
James Milner in the first half at the Etihad Stadium, with Golden
Boot-winner Sergio Aguero scoring his 26th goal of the campaign late on.
Walcott hat-trick
City's
win condemned Southampton to seventh place, which will yield a Europa
League spot only if Arsenal beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final.
Another
departing Premier League stalwart, Didier Drogba, was carried off the
pitch by his team-mates after injuring himself in the early stages of
Chelsea's 3-1 win at home to Sunderland.
At that point, the
champions trailed to a 26th-minute Steven Fletcher header, but after
Diego Costa, Drogba's replacement, equalised with a penalty, Loic Remy
scored twice in the second half.
Chelsea were presented with the Premier League trophy after the game.
Arsenal
rubber-stamped third place, and automatic Champions League
qualification, by demolishing West Bromwich Albion 4-1 as Theo Walcott
staked a claim for a cup final starting place with a first-half
hat-trick.
Jack Wilshere was also on target, with Gareth McAuley replying for West Brom.
Villa
will go into the cup final on the back of a defeat after a first-half
Danny Ings header saw them beaten 1-0 at relegated Burnley.
Leicester
City celebrated their stunning escape from relegation with a 5-1 romp
at home to relegated Queens Park Rangers, with new England call-up Jamie
Vardy opening the scoring.
In the day's other game, Crystal Palace beat Swansea City 1-0 courtesy of a 57th-minute goal by Marouane Chamakh.