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On Sunday, the English Premier League season came to a close. Although the champion was already clear, the decisive round lacked intrigue - the main battle was for the second and fourth places, which were taken by the "Man Utd" and "Arsenal" clubs respectively.
The fate of the silver medals was mainly decided at Old Trafford stadium, where "Man Utd" easily defeated "Charlton" 4-0 and secured the second place. Interestingly, the intrigue began before the match - the top scorer of the "Red Devils" Ruud van Nistelrooy left the stadium three hours before the match and did not return.
Despite that, the hosts started confidently - in the 19th minute, Louis Saha scored the first goal with a header after a corner, and a few minutes later, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo scored from close range, practically securing the victory for his team. Later, Jason Euell scored an own goal, and Kieran Richardson finished the visitors off with a great strike.
In this match, after a long eye injury treatment, Paul Scholes once again represented the "Man Utd" team. The Englishman's performance was successful - in the second half, the midfielder created several dangerous opportunities near the opponents' goal.
Meanwhile, in the battle for the last spot in the Champions League, everything turned upside down in the final round - the London-based "Arsenal" club, who had been lagging behind their rivals for almost the entire season, won against "Wigan" and unexpectedly surpassed a stumbling "Tottenham", securing a place in the prestigious tournament for the next season.
However, the "Gunners" did not have an easy task against the Wigan team. Robert Pires scored the opening goal in the final match at the old Highbury stadium, but soon "Wigan" responded with two goals, and it seemed that the dream of reaching the Champions League was slipping away from Arsene Wenger's proteges. However, then one of the best players on the planet, "Arsenal" captain Thierry Henry, took matters into his own hands, scoring three goals in a row and ensuring a memorable victory for the "Arsenal" team on the stadium's closing day.
These victories weren't enough if "Tottenham" won three points. Yet, Martin Jol's team, missing several players due to food poisoning, lost 1-2 to "West Ham" in a London derby away and will have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup next season.
The place in the Intertoto Cup tournament also went to the long-struggling "Newcastle" club, who defeated the non-main "Chelsea" team 1-0 at home on Sunday. The only goal was scored by defender Titus Bramble. Interestingly, the referee disallowed two goals from the London club - William Gallas was deemed to handle the ball, and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored from an offside position.
