EPL ends with Man City's 1-0 loss to Brentford, Everton's escape from relegation

Football

Published: 29 May. 2023, 18:34 Updated: 30 May. 2023, 12:48

EPL ends with Man City's 1-0 loss to Brentford, Everton's escape from relegation

Manchester City's Phil Foden, front, duels for the ball with Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo during the Premier League match against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

The 2022-23 Premier League ended on Sunday with league champions Manchester City finishing the season with 89 points after a 1-0 loss to Brentford, while Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton faced relegation to the English Football League (EFL) Championship.

Manchester City, which had secured their third successive league title on May 20, rested their best XI for the last league game, ahead of their two remaining finals — the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday and the Champions League final against Inter Milan on June 10.

The league champions were formidable this season, having scored 94 goals total, 36 of which came from the league’s top scorer Erling Haaland, who joined Manchester City ahead of the season and became the player to score the most goals in a single Premier League season.

Arsenal, who ceded the top spot on the table to Manchester City with a 3-1 loss to the champions in February, finished in second place with 84 points.

Although Arsenal failed to win the coveted league title, they still booked a ticket to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Manchester United, who won the Carabao Cup in February — the team’s first trophy since the 2016-17 Europa League title — came in third and also secured a spot in the next season’s Champion League after missing out in the 2022-23 season.

New Castle, who came in 11th place last season, finished the 2022-23 season in fourth place and booked a spot in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

Last season’s runners-up Liverpool, who had struggled in the early days of the 2022-23 season, displayed improvements in the second half of the season but still failed to manage a top-four finish and came in fifth, booking a place in the Europa League next season instead of the Champions League.

Brighton, who finished one spot below Liverpool, also secured a place in the Europa League, while seventh-place Aston Villa booked a ticket to the Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur won their last league game against Leeds United 4-1 thanks to Son Heung-min’s sixth assist of the season and Harry Kane’s brace but finished in eighth place with no UEFA competition for the next season.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min, right, and Leeds United's Liam Cooper battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Elland Road, Leeds, England on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Tottenham, who came in fourth place last season, struggled throughout this season, with Son being much less prolific than last season — 23 goals as the top scorer last season and 10 goals this season.

Chelsea struggled even more than Tottenham this season, coming in 12th place, even behind the likes of ninth-place Brentford, 10th-place Fulham and 11th-place Crystal Palace.

Wolverhampton Wanderers lost their last match against Arsenal 5-0 on Sunday and came in 13th place. Hwang Hee-chan was in action but could not get on the scoresheet.

West Ham United finished in 14th, with AFC Bournemouth coming in 15th and Nottingham Forest in 16th.

Meanwhile, Everton barely managed to avoid relegation by winning their last game against Bournemouth and finishing in 17th.

Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Three teams — 18th-Leicester City, 19th-Leeds United and last-place Southampton — were relegated.

Three EFL teams — Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town — were promoted and will compete in the Premier League next season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]