What happened on Premier League’s final day – and who Liverpool will play in 2020/21

Liverpool head into the 2020/21 Premier League as reigning champions, with Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth dropping out while Leeds and West Brom make the step up.

The Reds recovered from conceding within the first 30 seconds at St James’ Park to produce a comfortable 3-1 win over Newcastle to finish on a club-record 99 points.

It was, for a long time, a foregone conclusion that Liverpool would end the season as champions, having clinched the title with seven games to play.

But there were many other stories to tell on the final day, as sides battled for European qualification and against relegation.

 

Final Premier League Table

* Premier League table courtesy of BBC Sport.

 

Who was relegated?

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, August 9, 2019: Norwich City's Grant Hanley reacts after scoring an own goal during the opening FA Premier League match of the season between Liverpool FC and Norwich City FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth

Norwich were already confirmed to be playing Championship football next season, and fell to a 5-0 defeat to Man City to further highlight the gulf in quality for the Canaries.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham, but Jack Grealish’s goal was enough to keep the Villans up.

It came against the odds, after a sub-par season for the promoted side, and their success came at the expense of Watford, who lost 3-2 to Arsenal, and Bournemouth, who beat Everton 3-1.

It was too little, too late for the Cherries having lost their mojo this season, and they return to the second tier for 2020/21.

 

Who is being promoted?

Leeds United's Ben White

Leeds, West Brom and TBD

Leeds, winners of the Championship, and West Brom, who finished in second place, take two of the three spots in the Premier League, with the playoffs still to come.

Swansea, Brentford, Cardiff and Fulham will contest those, with Rhian Brewster hoping to fire the Swans back to the top flight.

 

Who qualified for the Champions League?

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, January 19, 2020: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (R) and Manchester United's Luke Shaw during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester United FC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool, Man City, Man United and Chelsea

Leicester‘s decline in the second half of the season culminated in a failure to qualify for the Champions League, with Brendan Rodgers’ side falling to a 2-0 loss at home to Man United.

United qualify and so do Chelsea, who beat Wolves by the same scoreline to book their place in Europe’s top-tier tournament.

Liverpool, Man City, Man United and Chelsea will therefore represent the Premier League in next season’s Champions League.

 

Who qualified for the Europa League?

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, December 1, 2019: Leicester City's Jamie Vardy during the FA Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Everton FC at the King Power Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Leicester and Tottenham

Though the Foxes won’t be in the Champions League, finishing fifth means they are guaranteed a place in the Europa League.

Tottenham, who were 1-1 away to Crystal Palace, will take part in the second qualifying round, ensuring a busy start to the season for Jose Mourinho’s side.

Wolves could miss out, having lost to Chelsea, and despite beating Watford on the final day, Arsenal finish in a miserable eighth place.

But Wolves may still qualify for Europe: if Chelsea win the FA Cup, they will enter the Europa League; if Wolves win this season’s Europa League, they will enter the Champions League.

 

When will next season start?

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, July 22, 2020: Liverpool’s captain Jordan Henderson collects the Premier League trophy during the trophy presentation as the Reds are crowned Champions after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield. The game was played behind closed doors due to the UK government’s social distancing laws during the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

September 12

The new Premier League season has been confirmed to begin on the weekend of September 12/13, with the final round of games to be played on the weekend of May 22/23.

Liverpool now have a seven-week break before returning to action, with the transfer window to open on July 27.