Sunday Evening Hot Links
Okay, so that’s that. We already knew who would be 1st and 2nd in the Premier League (Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively). What we weren’t 100% sure of is who would end up in the Champions League and, buddy, it was not without its drama. So here’s how it shakes out:
1st: Liverpool - Premier League Champions for the first time since 2020, second time since the Premier League was founded (1992-93).
2nd: Arsenal - Champions League. It’s the third straight year that Arsenal have finished 2nd in the Premier League. No, they’ll never actually win it.
3rd: Manchester City - Champions League. 3rd Place is Manchester City’s worst finish in the Premier League since 2017.
4th: Chelsea - Champions League. Their win over Nottingham Forest today guarantees them Champions League play for the first time in three seasons.
5th: Newcastle United - Champions League. Despite losing to Everton at home, other results went their way and they have their 3rd straight Top-Half finish.
6th: Aston Villa - Europa League. Controversy (but you have to put the emphasis on the “trov” syllable)! Aston Villa had a perfectly good goal disallowed and ended up losing to Manchester United. More on this down below.
7th: Nottingham Forest - Europa Conference League. While it’s Forest’s best top-flight finish since 1989 they’re awfully pissed off because (a) they lost to Chelsea on Sunday and (b) on April 1, with eight games to play, Forest were in 3rd Place, eight points clear of 4th. Then they went and got eight points over those last eight games and find themselves in the 3rd-tier European tournament.
On to the links:
Aston Villa is pissed, and rightfully so, and have issued a Complaint (which is, like Threat Level: Midnight when it comes to British anger) about the decision and about the 35-year old referee Thomas Bramall. Villa Director of Football Operations Damian Vidagany: The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the selection of the referee - one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League. It's not about the decision, clearly it was a mistake. The complaint is about the referee. The problem is why the international referees were not here today.
Aston Villa were down to 10 Men after goalkeeper Emi Martinez was (absolutely correctly) issued a red card. Because Bramall blew the whistle before the ball went in the net, it was not reviewable by VAR. Villa’s disallowed goal would have put Aston Villa up 1-0 with 17 minutes left. Here are the extended highlights from the game, which includes the straight-up body check by Martinez AND the disallowed goal. Everyone is mad at that referee.
Speaking of Aston Villa, Jack Grealish, for whom Manchester City paid Aston Villa $140 million less than four years ago, is at a crossroads. Grealish’s Minutes Played for Manchester City, year-by-year: 1,914 (2021-22), 2,055 (2022-23), 1,009 (2023-24), 721 (2024-25).
Ruben Amorim did indeed apologize to Manchester United fans after they beat Aston Villa on Sunday. Amorim: First of all I want to apologise for this season. I know you are really disappointed with me and really disappointed with the team. I want secondly to say thank you. We are very grateful for your support during the season. I know it was really hard to support us in many games but now we have to make a choice: we fight each other or we stick together and move forward.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe promises a big transfer window to prepare for the Champions League next season.
FourFourTwo: Sunderland’s Wembley win have brought local vibes to a global stage.
Southampton have appointed Will Still to be their manager on a three-year deal. This Masterclass from Will Still on how he managed Reims to a 0-0 draw against PSG is phenomenal.
Charlton Athletic beat Leyton Orient 1-0 to win promotion to the second tier of English soccer, which is good for Charlton Athletic manager/Absolute Weirdo Nathan Jones.
Xabi Alonso has been officially named manager of Real Madrid, whereas he was unofficially named as Real Madrid manager back in, like, March. ESPN: How Xabi Alonso made the rise from rookie coach to Real Madrid.
Leeds United have been recently linked to AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott, but may be a little less so given that Alkmaar want 25 million for him.
Elsewhere
A taunt so egregious that the opposing team walked off the field, the guy that hit the walkoff got tossed, as did the pitcher, pitching coach, assistant coach, shortstop, and shortstop’s mom.
Primoz Roglic cracked going up the Monte Grappa during Stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia.
Texas Monthly: The New Y’allternative Sound is Straight Out of Abilene.