It was their first title since 2006, and Zenit St Petersburg’s 3-1 win over Nizhny Novgorod proved in vain. In Portugal Porto secured the title for the third year in a row after a 2-0 win over Pacos Ferreira. Benfica’s 3-1 win over Moreirense was ultimately futile.
In England the race for the Champions League came to a dramatic end as Gareth Bale’s late strike gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over Sunderland that could have given them a top four spot, only for Arsenal to hold on to a victory over Newcastle by the same scoreline. Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 to secure third place in the league. Manchester United drew 5-5 with West Brom, conceding an unprecedented three goal lead in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final ever match in management. Manchester City lost 3-2 at home to Norwich City to round off a miserable campaign.
In Italy there was a dramatic finale to the season too as AC Milan secured third place and the final Champions League spot available to Italy. They had looked set to miss out as they were down to 10 men and losing 1-0 late on to Siena, whilst Fiorentina were beating Pescara 5-1. But a late penalty from Mario Balotelli and Phillippe Mexes’ winner sent them into raptures. Napoli lost 2-1 at Roma as they finished second but Walter Mazzarri resigned afterwards. Juventus lost 3-2 to Sampdoria as the champions signed off with disappointment. Udinese secured the final Europa League spot with a 5-2 win over Inter Milan that means the Nerrazzuri finish ninth.
In Germany Schalke 04 beat Freiburg, their closest rival for a top four spot, 2-1 to ensure they will play in the Champions League next season. But Freiburg can console themselves with Europa League football, as can Eintracht Frankfurt, who capped a superb season following promotion with a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg that secured sixth place. Hoffenheim won 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund to secure their top flight status for another week, although they now face a play off to survive, after relegating Fortuna Dusseldorf, beaten 3-0 by Hannover. Champions Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-3 to finish the season with a remarkable 91 point tally, an incredible finish for a 34 game league.
In Spain the weekend saw huge drama as Atletico Madrid claimed their first win over Real Madrid for 14 years with a 2-1 win after extra time in the Copa del Rey final at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo were sent off in a tempestuous game. The race for the top four in Spain looks like it will finish dramatically, after Real Sociedad came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 to keep themselves above Valencia on their head to head record. Valencia beat Getafe 1-0. The battle against relegation hots up after Deportivo beat Espanyol 2-0 to climb out of the drop zone. Real Zaragoza are in the bottom three after losing 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao, as are Celta Vigo and Real Mallorca. Barcelona beat Valladolid on Sunday 2-1 to stay on track for 100 La Liga points.
In France Lyon moved closer to securing a top three spot and Champions League qualification after a 1-1 draw with Nice that all but ends their opponents’ hopes of finishing there instead. Lyon are now two points clear of local rivals St Etienne, who beat second place Marseille 2-0 to keep their hopes alive. Lille’s 0-0 draw with Montpellier may mean they have too much to do to finish third, but they meet St Etienne next week. Paris St Germain beat Brest 3-1 as David Beckham said au revoir to Paris. Nancy were relegated after losing 2-1 at home to Bastia, and Troyes beat Bordeaux 1-0 to keep themselves in with a chance of survival.
In the United States Tim Cahill struck a late winner for New York Red Bulls against LA Galaxy to put them top of the Eastern Conference. Sporting Kansas remain second after a 1-1 draw with DC United. FC Dallas are top of the Western Conference in spite of a 4-2 defeat to Seattle Sounders, whilst Real Salt Lake crushed Chivas USA 4-1 to go second.
America beat Monterrey 4-3 on aggregate after a 2-1 win in the second leg of their Mexican Clausura semi final to set up a meeting with Cruz Azul. Cruz Azul beat Santos Laguna 2-1 to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory in all.
Newell’s Old Boys drew 1-1 with Quilmes in Argentina to remain top of the Argentine Clausura championship. River Plate drew with Union 2-2 so it is as you were in Argentina this weekend. Boca Juniors beat Colon 1-0 and Independiente beat San Martin 3-1.
