Blackpool and Birmingham relegated

EPL: Survival Sunday proved detrimental for Blackpool and Birmingham as they drew the curtain on their respective standings as premier league outfits.

Having led 2-1 at Old Trafford at one point in the game, Blackpool waved goodbye to life in the top flight after eventually going down 4-2. Alex McLeish’s Birmingham joined Blackpool being relegated as their side went down 2-1 away to Tottenham, a result that secured fifth spot as Liverpool lost 1-0 at Aston Villa. Wolves lost 3-2 at home to Blackburn, but both sides stayed up. Wigan emerged as the big away day winners as they earned survival with a 1-0 win at Stoke City.

Hugo Rodallega was hero for the Latics, who successfully fought off relegation for a second-consecutive season. The Blue half of Manchester won the battle for third spot with an easy 2-0 win over Bolton with their rivals Arsenal faltering yet again in a 2-2 draw with Fulham. West Ham concluded their uneventful and forgetful season with a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland.

Jermaine Beckford produced a moment of brilliance to lift Everton to a 1-0 win over coachless Chelsea who sacked Carlo Ancelotti shortly after the game. West Brom have transformed under Roy Hodgson and made a brilliant fight back against Newcastle who had raced to a 3-0 lead. Somen Tchoyi produced easily his beat performance of the campaign with a hat-trick to haul West Brom back in the game.

Ronaldo now a legend

La Liga: Christiano Ronaldo established a new mark for goals scored in a Spanish league season when he scored the 40th of the campaign in Real Madrid’s 8-1 rout over Almeria. The tally surpasses the previous best of 38 that was jointly held by former Real striker Hugo Sanchez and ex-Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra.

Emmanuel Adebayor waved goodbye to the Madrid faithful with a hat-trick and Karim Benzema bagged himself a brace. Youth team player Joselu notched one at the end to take Real’s tally for the season to 102 goals.

Spanish champions Barcelona did without many of their first team players at Malaga, but came away with a 3-1 victory to end the campaign four points clear of Real Madrid. Relegated Hercules played out a goalless draw with Sporting Gijon. Meanwhile, Zaragoza avoided the drop with a hard fought 2-1 win over Levante. Deportivo were relegated after going down 2-0 to Valencia while Getafe and Real Sociedad played out to a 1-1 draw.

Osasuna also retained their La Liga status after Alvaro Cejudo’s goal secured a 1-0 win over fourth-placed Villarreal. In a thrilling seven-goal encounter, Mallorca lost out 4-3 to Atletico Madrid. Sevilla ended their season on a high with a close 3-2 victory over Espanyol while Fernando Llorente sealed a 2-1 victory for Bilbao over racing.

No Europe for Juventus

Serie A: Inconsistent Juventus did little to help their cause of a place in Europe as t hey drew 2-2 with high-flying Napoli. The draw was not enough to secure a place in next season’s Europa League, as rivals Roma were 3-1 winners over relegated Sampdoria. Udinese qualified for the Champions League for only the second time in their history after a 0-0 draw at home to AC Milan secured fourth place. Lazio missed fourth spot despite beating 10-man Lecce 4-2. Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice in Inter’s 3-1 win over Catania while Chievo were also convincing 3-1 winners at Palermo.

Francesco Grandolfo scored a hat-trick on his first Serie A start as relegated Bari ended on a high with a 4-0 victory at Bologna. Brescia were relegated after a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina. Cesena was defeated 3-2 by Genoa while Parma and Cagliari played out to a 1-1 draw.

Schalke win German Cup

Bundesliga: Schalke ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-0 hammering of Duisburg in the DFB Pokal final.

Two goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar helped the Royal Blues register the victory over the second division. Schalke will now certainly play in next season’s Europa League ending a torrid domestic season on high.