Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy on Sunday, May 25, while Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle United have qualified for next season’s Champions League.
The European spots were decided on a dramatic last day of the 2024-25 campaign. Goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland did the business for Pep Guardiola’s City, while Levi Colwill scored the only goal between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
Newcastle were beaten 1-0 by Everton but, thanks to Manchester United’s home win against 10-man Aston Villa, will return to the Champions League for the second time in three years.
Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah capped off a brilliant season with his 29th league goal in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
A big summer is coming up and then the new Premier League season kicks off on Friday, August 15.
The fixtures for the campaign will be announced in less than a month’s time — Wednesday, June 18 for that.
Chelsea Make It To Champions League
Levi Colwill’s goal clinched Chelsea’s place in the Champions League next season with a narrow and nervy win on Sunday at Nottingham Forest, who qualified for the Conference League despite defeat.
The defender’s second-half strike meant Enzo Maresca’s side finished fourth in the Premier League and ended Forest’s own hopes of returning to Europe’s top table.
Chelsea can prepare for the Champions League – a goal which was expected and demanded – with Maresca confirming their transfer targets depended on which competition they are in next season.
Victory also gave them the perfect platform for Wednesday’s Conference League final against Real Betis in Poland.
It was disappointment for Forest, who survived on the final day last term, but even after missing out on the top five their season and seventh place is a success.
Two wins in their final eight games meant they fell away having sat in the top four for large parts of the season, and they will now play in the Conference League, three years after returning to the top flight after a 23-year absence.
Forest ended the campaign winless in four at home and could not rediscover their form as a tense game initially struggled to live up to its billing.
While intriguing, it lacked the drama of a shootout for a Champions League place.
Pedro Neto and Chris Wood turned over the bar in the first half but there was little action, though that changed when Colwill turned the ball home from close range five minutes after the break.
The hosts could not respond – there was plenty of effort but little quality, and Wood fired over in stoppage time to miss their best chance.
Forest’s Season Of Success – Not Disappointment
Forest gave it their all but fell short. The disappointment of the final few weeks should not overshadow what has been a renaissance at the club, who return to Europe for the first time since 1996.
They ran out of steam, the last few weeks of the season proving too much for a side who looked like they would reach the Champions League in March.
Any recency bias could suggest the season has ended in failure but scatter the results through the entire season and finishing seventh is exceptional.
Nuno Espirito Santo has helped shape a squad of players who bounce off each other and enjoy their team-mates’ company – and that has been evident on the pitch.
The Conference League may not bring the riches of the Champions League, but Forest can now go into a European competition with a viable chance of winning it and building on the exceptional efforts of the season.
Villa Complain After Refereeing ‘Big Mistake’ Costs Them Champions League
Aston Villa have complained to referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after a “big mistake” by official Thomas Bramall contributed to them losing 2-0 at Manchester United and missing out on the Champions League.
With the match goalless and Villa down to 10 men after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was correctly sent off, the visitors thought Morgan Rogers had given them the lead.
Rogers nudged the ball away from United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir as he attempted to gather and slotted home.
However, Bramall blew for a foul, thinking Bayindir had two hands on the ball, though television footage showed otherwise.
Because Bramall stopped play before the ball entered the net, the video assistant referee (VAR) could not intervene.
Moments later, Amad Diallo headed United in front – and Christian Eriksen’s late penalty condemned Villa to a defeat that meant they finished sixth and missed out on Champions League football on goal difference.
In Villa’s post-match news conference, director of football operations Damian Vidagany said the club were unhappy 35-year-old Bramall had been given such an important game.
“We are going to send a complaint,” said Vidagany. “The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the selection of the referee – one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League.
“It’s not about the decision, clearly it was a mistake. The complaint is about the referee. The problem is why the international referees were not here today.”
It was initially indicated that Villa would complain to the Premier League, but they later said they had written to PGMOL.
Villa stated their belief a “more experienced referee” should have been appointed to a game “with such high stakes”.
“Of the 10 referees to officiate across the Premier League today, Mr Bramall was the second least experienced,” the club said.
“The decision to disallow Morgan Rogers’ goal, which would have given the club a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the match, was a major contributing factor to the club not qualifying for the Champions League.
“We acknowledge the outcome will not change, but we believe it is important to address the selection methodology to ensure high-stakes matches are treated as such with regards to officiating and to ensure the implemented VAR technology is allowed to be effective.”
Bramall first refereed in the Premier League in August 2022 and his games this season have largely been in either the top flight or the second tier, with 11 in the Premier League and 12 in the Championship.
Villa manager Unai Emery was visibly furious with the decision to disallow Rogers’ goal – and award United their late penalty.
Speaking after the game, he said: “The TV is clear but, of course, we have to accept it. It was a mistake. A big mistake.”
PGMOL – the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football – declined to comment.
How Costly Will Villa Not Making The Champions League Be?
Villa were probably the club in greatest need to qualify for the Champions League next season because they have made the second highest losses in Premier League history (£678m) – only exceeded by Chelsea (£1.257bn).
While Villa will have earned record revenues in 2024-25 (after revenue of £276m in 2023-24), they are still substantially behind the ‘Big Six’ – Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea – the clubs their owners want to challenge for Champions League places on a regular basis.
Since being promoted to the Premier League in 2019, Villa – under new owners Wes Edens and Nas Sawiris – have been one of the bigger spenders in terms of transfer fees – investing more than £868m on players.
The owners have backed a series of managers – Steve Bruce, Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery – but at a significant cost.
The good news for Villa fans is the funding for the transfers has come from the owners’ pockets in the form of shares, instead of borrowing and incurring interest costs.
A lot of the transfers have been on credit terms which, while not unusual in the Premier League, means Villa owe more than £150m in previous purchases.
Champions League qualification would have helped the club deal with the cash requirements in respect of some of these former player purchases.
Villa have only managed to break even once in the past 15 years, and that was solely because of the sale of Jack Grealish.
Former owners Randy Lerner and Tony Xia both walked away from the club having lost over £100m.
