London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

City champions, Forest safe, Everton clinging on

City champions, Forest safe, Everton clinging on

Manchester City wrapped up their fifth Premier League title in six seasons a day earlier than expected thanks to Nottingham Forest's victory over second-placed Arsenal on Saturday.

A title race that had come to the boil since March ended abruptly as Forest won 1-0 at the City Ground to end Arsenal's slim hopes while ensuring their own survival.

City, who have now won three in a row, have 85 points with three games remaining beginning at home to Chelsea on Sunday when they will be presented with the trophy.

Arsenal, who held an eight-point lead over City as recently as March, have 81 points with one game left.

"To have helped the club win a third straight Premier League title is something very special," City captain Ilkay Gundogan said. "It has been a season I will never forget."

Forest's victory, courtesy of a first-half goal by Taiwo Awoniyi, lifted them to 37 points and means they will enjoy successive top-flight seasons for the first time in 27 years.

"First of all congratulations to Manchester City for winning the championship but it is a sad day for us," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said after his side's third defeat in five league games. "Now we must heal. It is very painful."

Forest's joy was unbridled at the final whistle and manager Steve Cooper, who has used 33 players this season, said it would allow the former European champions to build.

"Really proud of the club, supporters and players and really proud of that performance," Cooper said.

With Forest safe it is only the fourth time in the Premier League that all three promoted clubs survived.


RELEGATION BATTLE


But the relegation battle beneath them will go down to the wire with two of Everton, Leeds United and Leicester City to join already-relegated Southampton.

Everton needed an equaliser by Yerry Mina in the ninth-minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers -- a point that could prove vital in their bid to extend their unbroken 69-year stay in the top flight.

Wolves had led through Hwang Hee-chan goal at Molineux.

"That could be a massive goal for us. We'll recover ready for next weekend now. One more big final to go," Everton defender James Tarkowski said.

Everton are 17th with 33 points, two points above the relegation zone with one game left against Bournemouth next weekend, but Leeds (31 points) and Leicester (30) both still have two games left.

Leeds visit West Ham United on Sunday with Leicester at Newcastle on Monday. Leeds then end at home to Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday and Leicester host West Ham.

At the other end of the table Roberto Firmino scored an emotional late equaliser in his last home game for Liverpool to salvage a 1-1 draw for his side against Aston Villa that just about kept their hopes of a top-four finish alive.

Liverpool had won seven games in succession to make a late dash for Champions League qualification but defeat by Villa would have guaranteed that Newcastle United and Manchester United would finish in the top four.

Villa led at Anfield thanks to Jacob Ramsey's headed goal in the 27th minute, five minutes after Ollie Watkins missed a penalty for the visitors.

Liverpool's top-four hopes looked over with Manchester United winning at Bournemouth, but Brazilian Firmino, making his Anfield farewell after eight trophy-laden seasons, struck an equaliser in the 89th minute after coming off the bench.

"Bobby comes on, plays top football, is between the lines and scores a fantastic goal," Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. "Wonderful story, well deserved the story."

Even the point leaves their chances wafer thin, though, as fourth-placed Manchester United and third-placed Newcastle have 69 points with two games left while Liverpool have 66 with one remaining.

Casemiro's superb acrobatic volley was enough for Manchester United to win 1-0 and one more point from their last two games will guarantee them Champions League football.

Newcastle can seal their return to Europe's elite competition after a two-decade absence if they take a point against relegation-threatened Leicester on Monday.

Firmino's late goal left Villa in seventh place with 58 points, below Brighton & Hove Albion on goal difference although Brighton have three games still to play.

Victory for Brighton at home against relegated Southampton on Sunday will seal European football for the first time in the south coast club's history.

Spurs slipped down to eighth with 57 points as they surrendered an early lead given to them by Harry Kane's superb free kick to lose 3-1 at home to ninth-placed Brentford for whom Bryan Mbeumo scored twice in the second half.

Fulham drew 2-2 at home to Crystal Palace.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×