Eberechi Eze’s brace continued Crystal Palace’s vibrant end of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

Gary O’Neil’s side looked bright to start with, but fell behind when Eze fired his side ahead late in the first half.

It was not all good news for Roy Hodgson’s hosts, who saw Wilfried Zaha forced off after the break. However, Eze added a second for the Eagles, who had already secured mathematical safety, while the visiting Cherries still need one more point to mathematically avoid the drop.

Neither side was able to create any clear-cut chances inside the first 10 minutes though Bournemouth frequently tested the fortitude of centre-back pairing Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen.

Michael Olise curled an effort wide of the far post from the edge of the area before his side were able to stave off a sustained wave of pressure from the opposition as the period ticked past the halfway point. Joel Ward evaded two black shirts in the corner to set up Olise for a second attempt, coming closer with a cross to force Neto into a leaping grab.

Olise entered the afternoon with nine assists and nearly added another when he sent a cross to Wilfried Zaha at the far post, who misdirected his effort from three yards out.

VAR was called in for the first time following an altercation between Andersen and Jefferson Lerma inside the Cherries’ area for a potential red card on the Palace defender, but the hosts remained at full strength after the review.

Palace had failed to make anything of six corners to Bournemouth’s two, but the statistics were otherwise closely split as the contest approached the 40-minute mark as both sides searched for a breakthrough.

It was the hosts who finally achieved it, sparked by Zaha, who battled his way around his marker at the edge of the area before cutting back to Jordan Ayew. He took a quick backwards touch to direct the ball to Eze, who gave Neto no chance as he fired home from centre after 39 minutes.

Will Hughes quickly tested Neto to start the second half but the Selhurst faithful soon witnessed a worrying scene when Zaha, only recently recovered from a hamstring injury, pulled up and was replaced by Odsonne Edouard. The Eagles talisman, out of contract at the end of this campaign, was treated to a rousing chant by the home support, possibly wondering if this would be the last time they would watch him walk off the pitch in a Palace shirt.

Eze bagged his second in the 58th minute, a solo effort that saw him collect the ball from Olise on the left before a mazy run through centre put him in position to fire his 10th of the season into the top right.

Palace’s corner tally ticked over into double-digits but the scoreline stood as the hosts survived a late free-kick from a dangerous position.

Palace survived before substitute Jairo Riedewald tried to make up for his involvement in the set-piece by attempting to tee up Edouard for a late third – but two was ultimately all it took.

Chelsea produced yet another below-par performance as Nottingham Forest picked up a crucial point in their survival push with a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Forest’s bid to stay in the Premier League has been centred on their home form, with just one League win away from home all season, but that record counted for very little when coupled with a Chelsea side continuing to look all at sea.

Both Taiwo Awoniyi and Raheem Sterling netted braces at Stamford Bridge, as Forest earned a draw that leaves them three points clear of the bottom three and the Blues stumbled to a result that further emphasises their desperation for the season to to finish.

Edouard Mendy started for the first time since Frank Lampard’s return to the club, and he played a major role in the visitors taking the lead. A hopeful cross was sent into the box, Mendy came flying off his line, got nowhere near the ball and left his goal unmanned as Awoniyi nodded home.

Chelsea offered very little until a seven-minute spell after the break first got them level and then saw them edge in front. Trevoh Chalobah got in behind on the right and cut the ball back for Raheem Sterling, who provided the finish with the help of a deflection.

He needed no assistance for his second, as he cut inside after being played through by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and fired a strike beyond Keylor Navas and into the far corner, to raise the prospect of Chelsea winning at home for the first time in Lampard’s second spell in charge.

Within four minutes though, they had been pegged back. Chelsea half-cleared the danger, but Orel Mangala lobbed the ball back into the box and Awoniyi was once again there to beat Mendy with a header that proved to be enough for Forest fans to leave Stamford Bridge with real belief that they will be back next season.

Premier League

P	Team	M	W	P
1	Manchester City	34	26	82
2	Arsenal	35	25	81
3	Newcastle United	35	18	66
4	Manchester United	35	20	66
5	Liverpool	35	18	62
6	Tottenham	36	17	57
7	Aston Villa	36	17	57
8	Brighton	33	16	55
9	Fulham	36	15	51
10	Brentford	35	12	50
11	Chelsea	35	11	43
12	Crystal Palace	36	11	43
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	36	11	40
14	Bournemouth	36	11	39
15	West Ham	35	10	37
16	Nottingham Forest	36	8	34
17	Everton	35	7	32
18	Leeds	36	7	31
19	Leicester	35	8	30
20	Southampton	36	6	24

Super Eagles duo, Joe Aribo and Paul Onuacho have been relegated from the English Premier League to the Championship with their club, Southampton.

Their relegation was confirmed after their 0-2 defeat to Fulham at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday.

The Saints managed to get just 24 points from 36 games this season and are at the bottom of the Premier League standings.

They became the first club to be relegated this campaign.

Joe Aribo joined Southampton from Rangers FC last summer, while Onuacho arrived from Belgian side, Genk in a shock move in January

Premier League

P	Team	M	W	P
1	Manchester City	34	26	82
2	Arsenal	35	25	81
3	Newcastle United	35	18	66
4	Manchester United	35	20	66
5	Liverpool	35	18	62
6	Tottenham	36	17	57
7	Aston Villa	36	17	57
8	Brighton	33	16	55
9	Fulham	36	15	51
10	Brentford	35	12	50
11	Chelsea	35	11	43
12	Crystal Palace	36	11	43
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	36	11	40
14	Bournemouth	36	11	39
15	West Ham	35	10	37
16	Nottingham Forest	36	8	34
17	Everton	35	7	32
18	Leeds	36	7	31
19	Leicester	35	8	30
20	Southampton	36	6	24

Tottenham Hotspur striker, Harry Kane, on Saturday equalled Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah’s record for the most matches scored during a Premier League season and he still has two games left to claim the record outright.

Kane netted from the penalty spot late on against Aston Villa to score his 27th goal for Tottenham this season as they lost 2-1 in an away Premier League encounter.

Two goals from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz ensured Aston Villa defeated Tottenham at Villa Park.

However, Kane’s goal against Aston Villa means the England captain has now scored in 24 different Premier League matches this season – the same tally Salah managed in the 2017-2018 season.

Although Manchester City striker Erling Haaland leads the scoring charts with 35 goals, the Norway international has only netted in 22 different matches so far – two less than Kane.

Haaland does, of course, still have four matches left to try and draw level with Kane and Salah, or perhaps even surpass the duo.

Anthony Martial put Manchester United’s bid for a top four finish back on track as the French forward ended his goal drought in Saturday’s crucial 2-0 victory against Wolves.

Martial had gone eight games without scoring before he netted in the first half at Old Trafford.

United’s first win in three matches was wrapped up by Alejandro Garnacho’s stoppage-time goal.

After successive defeats at Brighton and West Ham threatened to ruin their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, Erik ten Hag’s side restored order at Old Trafford.

Fourth-placed United, who sit behind Newcastle on goal difference, moved four points clear of Liverpool, who are fifth and play at struggling Leicester on Monday.

After that fixture, United will still have three matches left while Liverpool will have only two to play, leaving Ten Hag’s men in control of their top four destiny.

“Vital. We had to bounce back after big defeats. We had no energy and played slow in those games. Today we had to win and we did it,” Ten Hag said.

Critical of United’s finishing despite the win, Ten Hag added: “We are very good at making the opponents’ goalkeeper man of the match. We have to be more clinical.

“We have to work on better conversion. Every game is difficult. You have to be ready for every match.”

Former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was back at Old Trafford for the first time since being sacked in November 2021.

Solskjaer was all smiles as he took photos with fans before kick-off, but even the Norwegian’s most ardent fan had to acknowledge the impressive progress made under Ten Hag this season underlined the failings of his own troubled reign.

– Rashford sidelined –

Ten Hag made three changes as Marcus Rashford was sidelined by a leg injury, while Wout Weghorst and Tyrell Malacia dropped to the bench, with Martial, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane coming in.

United had scored only six times in their previous nine games, offering Liverpool renewed hope after six successive wins for Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Wolves went close to snatching a shock lead when Craig Dawson fired just wide after Pedro Neto pulled the ball back to the defender inside the United area.

But Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick forced a save from Wolves’ rookie keeper Daniel Bentley as United’s pressure gradually mounted.

The chances kept coming for United as Christian Eriksen whistled his strike just wide from long-range before Antony headed wastefully over from six yards.

Martial finally delivered in the 32nd minute as the French striker scored only his second league goal in 2023.

Fernandes’ pass triggered Antony’s incisive raid and when Bentley rashly came off his line the Brazilian unselfishly cut back to Martial, who finished with ease.

Martial could have doubled United’s lead before half-time but he shot straight at Bentley from Antony’s pass.

Wolves missed a good chance when Max Kilman headed a corner down to Hwang Hee-chan and the substitute screwed his shot wide from an acute angle.

Fernandes was unable to beat Bentley from close-range and the Wolves keeper made another good save to keep out Sancho’s effort.

Weghorst, still waiting for his first Premier League goal for United, headed over from six yards.

With seconds left, Garnacho sprinted onto Fernandes’ pass and finished with aplomb.

Golden Eagles defender, Yahaya Lawali has been named by CAF’s Technical Study Group (TSG) in its Best XI of the group stages at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament enters semi-final phase on Sunday with Mali, Senegal, Morocco and Burkina Faso searching for a place in the final. 

The final will be played on Friday 19 May 2023 at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers at 22h00 local time (21h00 GMT).

Two-time champions Mali have three players in the Best XI following their impressive run in the tournament so far. 

Senegalese tactician Saliou Dia Serigne has been named the best coach, having led his side to the semis for the first time ever with an unbeaten record, while his skipper and tournament top scorer Amara Diouf has been named the best player of the group phase. 

Diouf has scored five goals so far, breaking Victor Osimhen’s 2015 goal scoring record of four goals. 

Mali’s Bourama Kone, having kept three clean sheets so far in the competition, is selected as the best goalkeeper He has the highest save percentage rate in the competition thus far. 

His defence is made up of Nigeria’s right back Yahaya Lawali, who was twice named man of the match in the group stages. Burkina Faso’s Lassina Traore has been selected as the best left back so far in the competition.

Senegal’s Fallou Diouf, part of a backline that has not conceded a single goal in the tournament so far, and Morocco’s skipper Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal have been named as the best two centre backs. 

Morocco’s anchorman Adam Chakir has been crucial for the Atlas Cubs so far in the competition, dictating the tempo and sits at the basement of the Best XI’s midfield. 

Mali’s Angel Martial Tia, scorer of the opening goal against Congo in the quarters as well as one half of the Wumba Niati Congolese twins, Abiga, make the midfield three. 

Senegal skipper Diouf, Burkina Faso’s Souleymane Alio and Mali’s Mamadou Doumbia complete the front three. Doumbia has scored three goals so far in the tournament while Alio has two.

Tottenham Hotspur’s wretched Premier League away form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday that left their hopes of qualifying for Europe in the balance.

Goals by Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz extended Tottenham’s winless away streak to seven matches while Villa’s sixth successive home win kept their European hopes very much alive.

Ramsey smashed home Villa’s opener in the eighth minute and Villa should have been out of sight against a Spurs who failed to have a goal attempt in the first half.

Tottenham showed more desire after the break but there was no coming back after Luiz found the net with a 72nd-minute free kick that keeper Fraser Forster should have saved.

Villa were full value for the points, although they did have anxious moments late on after Harry Kane fired home a penalty and Son Heung-min thought he had equalised seconds from the end but was well offside.

Unai Emery’s side moved up a place to seventh with 57 points – the same as sixth-placed Tottenham with both teams having two games left to play. Eighth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, who face Arsenal on Sunday, are two points behind both Villa and Spurs but have three games in hand.

The side finishing sixth are likely to join the fifth-placed finisher in the Europa League with the club coming seventh destined for the Europa Conference League.

While the sun shone at Villa Park, the gloom in the end occupied by the away fans was palpable as Tottenham produced another bland display lacking spirit and flair.

Villa, who have been transformed from possible relegation strugglers to top-six contenders since Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in late October, were quickly in front as Leon Bailey picked out Ramsey who finished clinically.

Ollie Watkins almost doubled Villa’s lead with a diving header and Emiliano Buendia clipped the top of the crossbar with a shot after Bailey’s cutback.

Tottenham finally roused themselves in the second half and Kane should have equalised when he seized on a mistake by Luiz but he fired his shot straight at keeper Emiliano Martinez.

Tottenham substitute Dejan Kulusevski also curled a left-footed effort agonisingly wide for the visitors.

Villa doubled their lead when Cristian Romero gave away a free kick and Luiz’s shot was too good for Forster who will be disappointed not to have kept it out.

Kane was brought down by Martinez late on and after a lengthy VAR check the England captain tucked away his spot-kick for his 27th league goal of the season.

Bayern Munich powered past struggling Schalke 04 6-0 on Saturday, with two goals from Serge Gnabry, to stay a point clear at the top with two games remaining and close in on their 11th straight Bundesliga crown.

The Bavarians are on 68 points, with Borussia Dortmund a point behind following their 5-2 victory over visiting Borussia Moenchengladbach.

“This win gives us a good atmosphere for the next two matches,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We created chances from the start but there is no need to be euphoric. It was a good performance and the next step in the right direction.

We gained a bit of confidence and that helps us. We created many chances, scored many goals and that makes us feel good. Now we need to carry this energy into the next week.”

Thomas Mueller, whose future at the club has been in doubt since his benching with the arrival of Tuchel in March, made the most of a rare start, opening their account in the 21st minute.

Joshua Kimmich doubled their lead eight minutes later with a well-struck penalty and, with Schalke offering no resistance, the Bavarians picked up where they had left off after the break.

Gnabry drilled in his shot in the 50th after Joao Cancelo’s superb early work in the box and the Germany international bagged his fourth goal in the last three games 15 minutes later with a dizzying 50-metre sprint.

Gnabry is now Bayern’s top scorer in the Bundesliga this season with 13 goals so far.

Substitute Mathys Tel also got on the score sheet from a Jamal Musiala assist and then turned provider himself for Noussair Mazraoui in stoppage time to make it half a dozen goals for the hosts.

The win was much-needed respite for club bosses, under fire following the team’s German Cup and Champions League exit under Tuchel who succeeded Julian Nagelsmann.