Premier League Review: 6-10

Crystal Palace - 10th (48 points)

After Tony Pulis, the man who turned Palace's season around last year, decided to leave the club only 48 hours before the opening game, a lot of people wrote them off. When Neil Warnock started his second stint in charge of the club, people still didn't know what was going to happen. 

In their first four games, they picked up two wins and two draws. It was starting to look up, but all too soon, things turned around. In this period of poor form they did pull together for a memorable win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park in late November, but that was the only bright spark at this time. They went their next 6 games without a win. By the time the club came to the decision to sack Warnock at the end of December, he had a dismal record of only 1 win in 12 games which had landed his team in the bottom three.

This was the point in the season where everything turned around again, but this time for the better. Alan Pardew was installed as manager and he injected some new life into his squad. He brought the best out of many of the players, including Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray among others. His first match in charge saw him lead them to a 4-0 win against Dover in the FA Cup, and he followed this up with a 2-1 win over Spurs in the Premier League. After winning 10 games out of Pardew's first 15, Palace started their move up the table. Other highlights of their season was their 2-1 win over Manchester City and a Bolasie hat-trick that helped to seal a 4-1 win away at Sunderland. 

However, they did have a small slip up towards the end of the season and went on a run of four consecutive defeats after the win at Sunderland. These losses included very narrow defeats to both Chelsea and Manchester United, but they bounced back in brilliant style. Three of the players that had been invigorated under Pardew helped their team to come from a goal down to ruin Steven Gerrard's final farewell at Anfield. Taking all of this into consideration, the future for Palace looks extremely bright.

Stoke City - 9th (54 points)
This was a brilliant season for Stoke in many ways; they've never won as many games or accumulated as many points in a Premier League season before. However, many fans, along with Mark Hughes, will be left wondering just how different things would have been if they had found some much needed consistency. 

It took Stoke until the third weekend to register their first win of the campaign, and they did it in style. A 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad looked like it would propel them onto a good run, but this wasn't the case. It took another 3 games for Stoke to register their next win. 

The home fans also had to wait until the end of September for their team's first win at the Brittania, and other losses to Burnley, Manchester United and Liverpool left them just 3 points above the drop at the beginning of December.

In the game against Arsenal at this point in the season, they put in a remarkable first half performance which saw them take a 3-0 lead at the break, and then hold on for a 3-2 win. This result kick-started a strong mid-season for the team and they only lost 3 of their next 14 games. In this period, Jonathan Walters became the first Stoke player to score a Premier League hat-trick to earn his team a win over QPR, and late goals against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton secured the points to lift their team up the eighth. 

Consecutive defeats following this to West Brom, Crystal Palace and Chelsea - despite a wonder strike from Charlie Adam from inside his own half - stopped their brilliant progress. However, they were further boosted again after recording impressive wins over West Ham, Southampton and Spurs. They saved the best until last though when they rounded off the season in style with a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Brittania Stadium. 

Two three-game losing streaks was as bad as it got for Stoke throughout the season and after registering wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and doing the double over Spurs, they can have a lot of hope and confidence going into the new season.

Swansea City - 8th (56 points)
In Garry Monk's first full season in charge, he led the club to its highest Premier League finish and passed a previous top points tally with games to spare, making this one a very successful season. He also made some great signings in the shape of Federico Fernandez, Jefferson Montero, Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson who helped lift Swansea to this position. 

They started the season with three consecutive wins, including an opening day 2-1 win over Manchester United. However, they then followed this up with a 3 match losing streak, which left a lot of people questioning the manager. Swansea did find their form again though for a short time following this which left them in and around the Europa League spots. Monk did suffer through some difficulties such as injuries, suspensions and the big money departure of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in the January transfer window. This didn't dampen their team spirit in any way though. 

The festive season and into the New Year wasn't exactly great for Swansea, but they still managed to pick up a lot of points from their many draws. The first match of their FA Cup campaign ended in a brilliant 6-2 away victory to boost morale, but it was quickly over for them in the fourth round after defeat to Blackburn. 

Bafetimbi Gomis found his form after Bony left the club, which boosted them and led them to more victories and draws due to his goals. They also managed to do the double over both Manchester United and Arsenal which sent out a strong message to the rest of their opposition. 

Leading towards the final weekend it was looking up for Swansea, especially after a hard fought win in the Arsenal game, but it didn't end in the best way. It looks like Swansea will be in for another good season under Monk if they can recreate even some of the performances from this one. 

Southampton - 7th (60 points)
It's safe to say that Southampton defied all expectations this season. After losing many of their star players - Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers - and their manager, many had them tipped for relegation. Instead, Ronald Koeman recruited wisely and had the critics eating their words just a few weeks into the season.

Summer signings Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic surprised many and took the Premier League by storm along with helping Southampton to 11 wins out of their first 14 games. This included a superb display in their 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland at St Mary's and a 2-1 win away at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup. A few hiccups along the way simply remained just that, as the brilliance of the team took them away with another great performance a week later. 

They also recorded another win over Arsenal on New Year's Day which saw Southampton sitting in fourth place with a 2 point advantage over Spurs and their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino. Then, in their next Premier League game, they rallied for a great 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. These performances looked to have cemented them in their challenge for a Champions League spot. 

However, they couldn't quite recreate their consistency from the first half of the season. Their challenge for a Champions League spot faded over the remainder of the season, but the fans were still left with plenty to cheer about. 

Their challenge for a Europa League place remained alive until the end. Southampton may have had a rocky second half to their season, but they certainly ended it in style. Their last match at home ended in a brilliant 6-1 win over Aston Villa, and Saido Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick in history. Due to Arsenal winning the FA Cup as well, Southampton's seventh place finish earned them a well-earned place in next season's Europa League. 

Liverpool - 6th (62 points)
Last season was an absolute high for Liverpool and for a long time towards the end of the season, it looked like they would be crowned the champions. However, one terrible moment prevented that from happening. Many fans still believed that their momentum would carry them forward into the new season, but everything came crashing down around them instead. They lost both of their main strikers; Luis Suarez made the summer move to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge was out for the majority of the season with a host of different injuries. 

They did win their first game of the season, but from then, their form was incredibly inconsistent. By the end of November, they found themselves out of the title race due to losing 6 games out of their opening 12, which left them 18 points behind Chelsea. That run included losses to Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace. At this point, they has also been eliminated from the Champions League after a poor run during the group stages. It was clear to everyone watching just how much they missed the presence and fire power of Suarez and Sturridge. 

The festive period was a turning point for Liverpool though and they seemed to find some much needed form. From the end of December, they went on a 12 match unbeaten run. The return of Sturridge in this period also helped to boost morale and it looked like they would be in with the chance of claiming an unlikely top-four finish and possibly a first trophy win under Brendan Rodgers as well. 

However, semi-final defeats in both domestic cup competitions, by Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ended hopes of a trophy. Also, with the knowledge that the final games of the season would mark Steven Gerrard's last games for the club, everyone was hoping for a bright end to the season. They only won once in their last six games though and two of the losses were devastating for them. Gerrard lost his last game at Anfield to Crystal Palace and got thrashed 6-1 by Stoke in his last game in the Premier League. Overall, this is probably a season many Liverpool fans will want to forget in a hurry, but they'll also be in for a rough summer as the transfer saga surrounding Raheem Sterling goes on. 

Premier League Review: 11-15

Newcastle United - 15th (39 points) 

It's a season that Newcastle fans will be wanting to forget in a hurry. They suffered a horrendous start to the campaign after failing to win in August and September. Their first win came midway through October after they faced Leicester. This game marked the start of a brilliant turn around by Alan Pardew to set Newcastle on a 5 match winning streak.

Things got even better following this when the team became the first to inflict defeat on Chelsea in all competitions when they recorded a 2-1 victory at St James' Park, but then at the end of the month, Pardew saw himself facing the exit door. His tenure ended in a 3-2 win over Everton when he left to become the Crystal Palace boss. This was definitely a turning point in their season.

Fans had been calling for Pardew to get sacked for a long time, but they could never have anticipated just how bad things would get under the leadership of his successor, John Carver. Newcastle were in ninth upon Pardew's departure and Carver took a few matches to get in his stride and eventually got his first win against Hull, but struggled to get any consistency going. They embarked on a terrible run of 8 consecutive defeats from March onwards. This marked their worst run in the Premier League history and the worst by any club this season.

Possibly the lowest moment in their season was the 3-0 defeat to Leicester. Daryl Janmaat and Mike Williamson were both sent off, and the latter was accused of deliberately getting a red by Carver. They did scrape a point against West Brom but followed this up with defeat to QPR which left them in an extremely dangerous position going into the last weekend. 

The situation pushed Newcastle into playing possibly the best game of their season. They needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and did it in emphatic style. The game ended in a 2-0 win, which included a goal from recent cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez on his final game for the club. The fans will be hoping this isn't going to become a regular position for them in the table and that they can go onto better things in the next campaign. 

Leicester City - 14th (41 points)

Arguably, Leicester's successful survival mission was the story of the season. Their first month in the Premier League would never have suggested that they would have been in trouble. They recorded two great draws against Everton and Arsenal and an extremely memorable 5-3 win against Manchester United at the King Power stadium. 

For them, the international break came at the wrong time. Following the United game, Nigel Pearson's side went on a dismal run of 13 games without a win which left them down at the bottom of the table with very little hope. They picked up their first win after this against Hull City and a lot of people thought they were finally getting what some of their previous performances had deserved. It looked as if the ship had steadied when they won four of their first six games after Christmas. This included a brilliant comeback against Spurs in an FA Cup tie, where it took two late strikes from Leonardo Ulloa and Jeffrey Schlupp to secure their progress to the next round. 

However, it was around this time that Pearson landed himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He got a lot of attention after footage of him grabbing James McArthur around the neck and reports emerged stating that he'd been sacked. These claims were quickly retracted though, but it still looked to have affected the team. Leicester failed to win their next 6 games which left them 7 points adrift of safety and to many people they looked like they would be the first team relegated.

Then the miracle happened. A late 2-1 win at him to West Ham ended a run of 8 games without a win, which they followed up with a 3-2 triumph over West Brom; sealed through an injury time winner. The manager found himself in the headlines again after losing his temper with a journalist following the Chelsea game, but this was soon forgotten. They recorded impressive victories over Newcastle and Southampton before rounding off the season with an astonishing 5-1 win over already relegated QPR. If the end of the season is anything to go by, next season will be promising for them.

West Bromwich Albion - 13th (44 points)

West Brom eventually finished the season with little problems and without being dragged into a relegation battle after Tony Pulis steadied the ship. 

At the end of the previous season after Pepe Mel left the club, Alan Irvine was his surprise replacement. He didn't have the greatest start with the team, and it took them a few weeks to pick up their first win of the season against Spurs, which they followed with a big victory over Burnley. Consistency was a problem for them though, and they only picked up another 2 wins between then and January. At this point, they were just one point above the drop, with a lot of terrible statistics trailing closely behind them.

With the turn of the New Year, came their turn of fortune. Pulis completely flipped around the club and took a very different approach to Irvine. He put in place a more defensive outlook which saw his team lose only 6 league games in the second half of the season.

He also led the team to some incredibly good wins against the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea towards the end of the season. He also brought the best out of Saido Berahino who hit double figures in his goal tally and helped his team claim some very important points.

The fans will be looking forward to next season now they've had a taste of what Pulis can do for their team. Even though their campaign finished in a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, they'll have confidence to push on into the beginning of next season. 

West Ham United - 12th (47 points)

Sam Allardyce was one of the early picks to be the first manager sacked at the beginning of the season, but he went on to prove a lot of his critics wrong. In an attempt to appease the owners who wanted a more free-flowing style of football, he brought in Teddy Sheringham to help with the attacking side of things. 

West Ham had a particularly good start to the season. After losing their first game, they went on to pick up a lot of important points including beating Liverpool 3-1 and Manchester City 2-1 at home. 

Due to a lot of the teams that fans expect to see at the table not playing as well as previous seasons, West Ham took full advantage. On Christmas Day, West Ham were sitting in fourth place, and were looking extremely strong. 

However, Boxing Day was the big turning point in their season. They lost to both Chelsea and Arsenal before drawing with West Brom on New Year's Day. But this was just the beginning of their nose-dive in form. The players like Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, Alex Song and Stewart Downing who had helped their team to this point all failed to replicate their stunning form from the first half of the season. 

Although they were collecting less points, their defensive record was still impressive. They conceded fewer goals than in the last two seasons, and their disciplinary record was so good that it earned them a place in the qualifiers of next season's Europa League. Neither of these things took away from the fact that performances were dwindling though. If the season had begun on Boxing Day, West Ham would have been sitting in 17th position come the final day. Their season finished in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle and this proved to be the final nail in Allardyce's managerial coffin at West Ham as he lost his job at the end of the season. 

Everton - 11th (47 points)

Last season showed so much promise for the blue side of Liverpool, but in the end, it couldn't have ended worse for them. 

After finishing fifth and adding the talents of Romelu Lukaku to their squad, it looked like they would push onto even better things this season. However, they only won one of their first seven games, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of their season. Many of their fans expected them to be challenging for Champions League this term, so this kind of run was definitely unexpected. Things didn't look up for them in the league any time soon and one of their defeats was a heavy blow dealt by Chelsea which gave no one hope.

Even the darkest of moments include some good times though. For Everton, this was in the Europa League. They beat Wolfsburg both home and away and Lille at Goodison which helped them to secure the top spot in their group.

Even after these great performances, Everton still struggled domestically, especially over the festive period. They only put together to wins throughout December and January, but even then their European form continued to impress. On their return to Europe, they beat Young Boys 7-2 on aggregate to reach the last 16. The next leg of the competition looked good for them as they beat Dynamo Kiev at home 2-1, but the return leg was disastrous. The bright spark of their campaign came to an end through a 5-2 loss. 

Their exit from the Europa League allowed them to put all of their focus into the league. 4 wins from 5 matches, including a very good performance against Manchester United to win 3-0, soon took away the relegation worries of the fans and helped them to climb up to mid-table by the end of the season. Without the added pressure of the Europa League next season, Everton may mount more of a challenge if they can sort out their consistency problems. 

Premier League Review: Bottom 5

QPR - 20th (30 points)

QPR have never had much luck when it comes to England's top flight of football. They looked like a team ready for the top following their play-off win at the end of the previous season though.

They didn't get off to a winning start, but it didn't take them too long to get their first points on the board with their win against Sunderland. Their home form was good and they earned some good results there including a 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

The Christmas period wasn't exactly great for the team as they didn't pick up a single win. They didn't stop scoring goals though, mostly due to the brilliant form that Charlie Austin was in. He was in fine form throughout the season, and it was arguably him that kept the hopes of their Premier League survival alive.

In February, Harry Redknapp left the club due to health issues and was replaced by Chris Ramsey who greatly improved the team's terrible away form, at the cost of their home form it seemed. After a win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in early February, they went on a losing streak which ended in style with a big win against West Brom.

Consistency was a problem for QPR in the second half of the season which proved to be costly in their downfall, but if they can keep their key players over the summer, they'll have a solid foundation behind them as they try and fight their way back up.

Burnley - 19th (33 points)

Being one of the newly promoted teams, Burnley were predicted to be relegated almost instantly. Going into their first game against Chelsea, the team that many predicted would win the Premier League this season, people just didn't give them any chance. Even though they lost the game, the fact that they had scored the opening goal meant that fans saw that they could be a threat to their opposition. Sean Dyche's team worked hard on the pitch and it saw them get their rewards. At the end of August, Burnley held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Turf Moor and things really began to look up for them going into the international break.

Only, things didn't exactly go as expected. Following the draw with United, they went on a dismal run of eleven games without a win. A big problem for Burnley was the one in front of goal. They were without one half of the strike partnership that lifted them up the Championship table last season and it really showed.

Then in early November, they turned it around. At Turf Moor, they battled to a 1-0 victory against Hull City which gave them a lift. In the run-up to Christmas, Burnley managed to rack up some good results, and got Danny Ings back on top form in front of goal which gave them a big boost going into the New Year. These results included a brilliant comeback to earn a draw against Manchester City and a hard fought win against Southampton.

However, following this good run of form they just couldn't establish any consistency. Dyche stood by his team throughout, but they just didn't show up in a lot of games which caused them to drop many needless points. They regularly fell short in front of goal, and they finished off the campaign as they League's lowest scorers. Every so often, they managed to give their supporters some morale boosting wins over Manchester City and Hull City towards the very end of the season.

Despite that win over Hull in May, the results elsewhere during that weekend caused their relegation fate to be confirmed. Overall, it was a mixed season for Burnley, but with enough bright sparks to give them optimism when looking forward to the next season.

Hull City - 18th (35 points)

Many people had high hopes for Hull's season after their last one. They recorded one of their best points tallies and were narrowly beat in the FA Cup final by Arsenal; so they definitely showed a lot of promise. Steve Bruce also brought in some big names to the club that looked like they would help the team further improve on the season before.

This didn't go to plan though. Their record signing Abel Hernandez didn't police up to expectation in front of goal, Robert Snodgrass and Mo Diame suffered serious injuries that kept them out for big parts of the season and Jake Livermore tested positive for cocaine towards the end of the campaign. Loan signings Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez also didn't make the impact that Steve Bruce had hoped for.

Hull did get through their first Europa League qualifier in August but didn't make it to the group stages after falling just short. They started the season with a terrible run of only one win in 16 games. Although the team was playing well, they kept dropping needless points in games they possibly could have won. Due to this run of games, by Christmas they sat in the relegation places.

They did pick up two good wins over the Christmas period against Stoke and Everton though. However, just like Burnley, they couldn't find any consistency which let them down in the second half of the season. They did get a good result against Manchester City, a game they could have won if not for a last minute goal and they almost earned a draw against Chelsea if not for another late goal in that match. 

Against the big teams, Hull had a knack for putting in a big performance, but at the end of the season, this didn't happen. They suffered consecutive defeats to Arsenal, Burnley and Spurs in May which left them needing a win against Manchester United on the final day of the campaign. Their goalless draw, coupled with Newcastle's win, just wasn't enough to save them. 

Aston Villa - 17th (38 points)

Like many previous seasons, this one brought on a fresh relegation battle for Villa. Paul Lambert didn't get his team into a rhythm at the beginning of the season as he only racked up a few wins, including ones against Stoke, Hull and Liverpool. It didn't go too well though and in February, the club were still seeking a new manager.

Aston Villa was another team that didn't enjoy the Christmas period as they struggled to pick up three points overall, never mind in just one game. One thing that did prove to be a highlight in their season though was the FA Cup. 

Another bright spark in Villa's season was Tim Sherwood. Many of the fans didn't see him as their ideal replacement for Lambert, but they soon changed their minds. Within five days, he had led the team to two consecutive victories over rivals West Brom and that was only the start. 

Towards the latter end of the season, Sherwood led his team to victories against both Sunderland and Spurs which started moving Villa away from the danger of relegation and had the fans dreaming of a Wembley finish to the season as well as they progressed further in the competition. 

Their form remained consistent unlike the teams below them, but when those teams did find form, Sherwood's team kept their cool by picking up important points, including those from wins against West Ham and Everton.

One of their best results of the season came at Wembley when they faced Liverpool in the semi-final and knocked them out to the surprise of many people. Even though Christian Benteke had returned to form, the results after that went downhill, including a heavy 6-1 defeat to Southampton.

Although Villa were pulled back into the relegation battle towards the end, their survival was confirmed before the final day. Their form at the end of the campaign took its toll though and the crushing defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final was one of the only downsides to the Sherwood reign.

Sunderland - 16th (38 points)
Gus Poyet came up with some magic at the end of last season to keep Sunderland in the Premier League. Even though they went the first six games without a win, they did earn 5 draws, including ones against Manchester United and Spurs, which suggested they were in for a better season than before. They did follow this with a win against Stoke to give them a further boost.

However, they couldn't follow this up. Humiliation followed in the shape of an 8-0 loss away to Southampton. They rallied back in terms of performance, but couldn't put together one that would win them the three points until their game against Crystal Palace. The one thing lacking from their season was consistency and Poyet just couldn't stabilise this. 

The best result during Poyet's tenure was the last gasp win against Newcastle through Adam Johnson's last minute goal. They weren't close to the drop at this point, but things soon took a turn for the worse. In the next 12 games, they only managed one win, which was against Burnley, and they were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford. 

Poyet's last match in charge ended in a 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. All of the goals were scored in the first half which sparked a mass exodus from the stadium. The club acted quickly in finding his replacement and installed Dick Advocaat when they were just one point above the relegation places.

His reign started with a defeat, but just like Poyet he gave the fans hope through a derby win. Although, again, just like Poyet, the game after that ended in a loss, so it looked as if Sunderland might be dragged into a last day relegation battle. This didn't happen though, as Advocaat turned things around and went on a five-game undefeated run which meant their survival was confirmed with one match to spare.

MATCH REPORT: Slovenia vs England [Euro16 Qualifier]

After last weekend's dull draw against the Republic of Ireland for England, Roy Hodgson would be expecting a lot more from his team in a game which has more at stake. England are currently 6 points clear of their opponents at the top of their group and inch closer to qualification if they win this game today. However, it wasn't going to be an easy game, as Slovenia have a lot more to play for in their bid to gain the second automatic qualification spot. England can go into the game with confidence though, as they remain unbeaten in their qualifiers and knowing that they did beat Slovenia 3-1 the last time that the two teams faced each other.

England started the game fast and kept a lot of possession in the opening minutes of the game. Within five minutes, Wayne Rooney had picked up the ball in a dangerous position up the field, and managed to play it forward before the defender took him down. His pass still managed to find Raheem Sterling who could only side foot the ball over the crossbar from a very close range. Not even two minutes later, Slovenia also proved what they could do. From a corner, Milivoje Novakovic made a good run to get in front of Phil Jones and he flicked his headed shot towards goal that only went wide because of a deflection off Jones which the referee didn't spot meaning Slovenia didn't get a second corner.

England were dominant in the first half in terms of possession and they did well to keep Slovenia off the ball, and they created a few chances for themselves. Rooney slipped in Sterling again, but this time they were further away from goal which allowed him to run at the defenders. He did well to get through the crowd and his shot at the end took a nick off the opposition player to take it just wide of the post. On the 22nd minute, Fabian Delph is allowed time and space with the ball and he plays the ball forward to Rooney. The captain took the shot with his left foot and directed it low towards the bottom far corner of the goal. The keeper got a good hand to it to tip the ball past his far post and out of play. 

After this, England lost their foothold in the game. Slovenia won a free kick before the half hour mark near the halfway line. The ball was put into a good area of the box and Branko Ilic moved away from the crowd after brushing off the two England defenders around him and glanced the ball towards goal with his head. Joe Hart was already in a good position though, and he calmly collected the ball. 

Unlike England, when Slovenia gained confidence in the game, they took the chances that they were presented with. From a throw near the corner flag in the half of the pitch that England were attacking, Jones gave the ball straight to a Slovenian player. When Josip Ilicic got the ball, he ran at the England defenders who had clearly been caught out by this, and put a great ball forward to Novakovic. He pulled away from the England defence who were holding a very high line and were calling for offside. He wasn't though, and carried on forward leaving him in a one-on-one situation with Hart, who had come off his line early and was committed to closing the player down. The keeper tried to spread himself, but Novakovic read the situation well and sent his shot low across the ground into the bottom far corner of the net. 

This goal was the first one that England had conceded from an opposition player in their qualifying campaign and for all the chances and possession they'd had in the first half, they just didn't make it count. However, if they wanted to carry on their unbeaten run, they needed to change their mentality towards this game. At the beginning of the second half, England came out full of energy once again and were pressing the ball when they didn't have it, but they just couldn't get close enough to the Slovenian goal to create any clear cut chances. Slovenia were doing extremely well to make sure the England players didn't get any space around their goal. 

However, on the hour mark, one of their players stepped up and turned the game around. Jack Wilshere, who had been good throughout the game by winning back possession and pushing the team forward, found himself in a position to change the game for his side. Ilicic gave the ball away to Sterling in his own half, who quickly passed it onto Adam Lallana, who had replaced Jones at half time. The defenders closed him down quickly and managed to crowd him out and clear the ball. The clearance was poor though and it landed at the feet of Wilshere, on the edge of the box, he hit the shot sweetly and it swerved up, and even though the keeper got his hand to the ball, he had no chance of stopping it from nestling into the top corner.

Suddenly, it was all England again. Sterling created another chance straight after the goal, this time for Rooney. From a close range, he turned the ball over the crossbar. Moments later, Rooney was set up with another opportunity that looked just as simple as the last one, but it just didn't look like it was going to be his day in front of goal as this time he turned the ball wide of the target. Andros Townsend also had a chance in the 70th minute. Using a move that he is known for, he shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and from outside the box he took on the shot, sending the ball just wide of the near post. 

The big talking point of the last 15 minutes in the match? Goals. Wilshere stepped up to the plate again after brilliant build up play by England. It started from a defensive position where Townsend flicked the ball onto Jordan Henderson who was allowed to make a run down the right wing due to the Slovenian players being drawn towards Townsend. He crossed the ball across to Lallana early, who deftly flicked the ball behind him onto Wilshere. He shifted the ball onto his left foot and fired it directly over the keeper and let it nestle in the same top corner as his last goal. 

Slovenia weren't ready to give up yet. England seemed to sit back a little after the second goal, which allowed them to push forward one again. None of the England players went to close down the player as they put the ball into the box. Kieran Gibbs was also at fault as he didn't try and challenge Nejc Pecnik for the ball in the air, so the midfielder was allowed to get a good leap and head to the ball before he powered it past Hart in the goal. 

It wasn't over yet though. Henderson tried to play his original pass forward to Theo Walcott, but the defender cleared it. Rooney latched onto the clearance easily though and he kept running at the keeper, and calmly slots the ball into the far bottom corner of the net when the keeper stepped off his line. He had had a terrible day in front of goal, but he managed to round off his performance with a goal that took him within one of levelling Bobby Charlton's record. This was the final blow for Slovenia, and the goal was scored so close to full time that they didn't have enough time to try and push forward for another equaliser.

This leaves England just one win from winning their group. As their next game is against San Marino, a game they are expected to win, it is likely that they will be crowned winners of the group with three games still left to play. Slovenia started the afternoon in second, but due to Switzerland's win later in the evening, the dropped into third place, which leaves them with a lot of work still to go before qualifying for the competition. This result for England also confirmed a whole season of going unbeaten, which no England team has done since the 1990/91 season, and it is a record that they hope sends out a message to their future opponents at the competition.

MATCH REPORT: Champions League Final

This is the night that truly rounds off the football season. There have been many ups and downs for a lot of teams in the competition, but I'm sure many people would agree the best two throughout the competition got what they deserved by getting to Berlin. In their journey to get here, Barcelona have beaten the English champions, the French champions and the German champions on their run to the final and were now faced with the Italian champions. Juventus may the underdogs in the game, but it is worth remembering that they beat Real Madrid over the two legs of the semi-final to be in Berlin so they could prove to be good competition for Barca. Also, both teams have the dream of the treble on their minds, but only one can accomplish it. 

By the fourth minute, Barcelona proved why they were the force to be reckoned with throughout the season, on their first challenge as they moved forward. It was a typical Barcelona goal as Neymar got the ball on the left side of the area and quickly laid it off to Andres Iniesta. As he was being closed down by the defenders around him, he made an even quicker lay off to Ivan Rakitic who took his goal so calmly and made it look extremely easy as he converted it. Gianluigi Buffon had absolutely no chance of getting to the ball as he was left scrambling across his line due to misjudging what Iniesta was going to do. 

This didn't dim the Juventus spirit in any way. Not even 5 minutes after the Barcelona goal, Alvaro Morata made a lung bursting run down the wing, and Javier Mascherano couldn't keep up with him, which allowed Morata to put a good ball into the box. He found Arturo Vidal, who leaned back as he took the shot which caused the ball to fly high over the crossbar, but it was still an attempt from Juve and it also proved to Barca that they were still ready to give them a good competition. 

Up at the other end of the field, Lionel Messi was performing his usual magic and he made a really clever diagonal pass across to Neymar who was ready to make a run from the edge of the six yard box. As he tried to bring the ball down closer to the goal, he slipped which caused him to lose sight of the ball, meaning that the chance went to waste. Buffon was also called into action once again and made a brilliant reflex save with his arm to prevent Barca from doubling their lead. The save that he made didn't go off the pitch, but the defenders cleared their lines before Barca had another chance to put the ball into the box. 

Both teams had a few half chances following this, but most of them resulted in the box flying high over the crossbar, or just not causing the keepers any problems at all. Just before half time, Barca game forward with a lot more threat and looked like they could find the second breakthrough of the match. First chance came after Luis Suarez turned his defender and was allowed to run with the ball, and he took on the low diagonal shot to the far corner of the goal, but the ball was just inches wide of the post. One minute later, a pass to Neymar was cut out as the defender blocked off the player, but he could only deflect the ball into the path of Suarez who curled the ball upward, which caused Buffon to get his hand up well and tip the ball over the crossbar. The third chance just before half time was created after a Buffon mistake. The goalkeeper tried to pass the ball out to his left back, but it was extremely poor, and Neymar quickly intercepted it. His final ball into the box was too high and it skimmed across the head of Suarez, meaning the gifted opportunity went to waste. 

The second half began in the same way that the first one had ended; Barcelona were pressing forward and creating good chances for themselves. Juve even managed to play a part in what could have been their own downfall. From a Juve corner early in the half, Suarez cleared the ball to Neymar, who nodded it onto Rakitic. He led the counter attack which looked promising for Barca as they were left with five of their players against two. As they neared the box, Rakitic touched the ball into the path of Suarez who was on his left, and he tried to curl it into the back of the net using his right foot. Buffon got across well though to turn the ball behind for a corner. Then two minutes later, Barca put on a show with some beautiful build up play. Messi was allowed to play a one-two off both Neymar and Suarez before he took the shot, which was just off target. In truth, the build-up really deserved a goal. 

On the 55th minute, Barca were made to rue the chances they had missed both at the end of the first half and at the beginning of this one. Juve built up the pressure on the Barca goal and the first big chance fell to Carlos Tevez who took his shot on the turn, but Marc Andre ter Stegen got down well to turn the ball away from the net. However, he couldn't get the ball out of the danger area and it landed at the feet of Morata, who was left with practically an empty goal to aim at as ter Stegen scrambled back across his line. Morata calmly turned the ball into the back of the net to level the score line. 

This goal left all of the momentum with Juve and they certainly looked the more dangerous when they reached the final third. The chances they created weren't clear cut ones, but they were putting more pressure onto the opposition goal than Barca were. Just like Barca earlier in the second half, Juve would come to regret the chance they didn't take. Messi made a run from the halfway line and gets away from each one of the defenders that close him down. When he reached the outside of the box, he took on the shot, which Buffon saves, but the ball is deflected into the path of Suarez who calmly turns the ball into the back of the net and gives the keeper no chance of stopping it. 

Barcelona have the ball in the back of the net again moments later, but this one is disallowed. Jordi Alba turned and chipped his cross towards Neymar in the centre of the box. Neymar headed the ball down into the ground, but as it goes down, the ball none deliberately hit his hand, which was close to his body, and bobbled past Buffon and over the line. The Juventus players immediately swarmed the referee and the goal was disallowed quickly. In real time, it is possible that the faint glance that it took off Neymar's head wasn't seen by the officials, but even if they did, it didn't make an effect on their decision. 

As the second half came to a close, Juve suddenly regained their momentum and were pushing towards the Barca goal again, knowing they needed an equaliser to take the game to extra time. Claudio Marchisio had a chance from outside of the box, which he directed on target, but ter Stegen took up a good position and was able to get down low to turn the ball past his near post. Tevez also had a chance to level the score, but he aimed his shot directly at ter Stegen who held onto the ball. If he had directed the ball either side of the keeper, it is possible that he could have taken Juve to extra time. 

In the last minute of added time in the game, Barca confirmed their victory and shattered the hearts of the many Juve supporters around the world. From a Juventus free kick, Gerard Pique cleared his lines with a great header which fell to Messi, who reacted very quickly to chip the ball past the defender who was skin tight to him. Neymar latched onto this pass and was left one on one with the defender before his team mates arrived in support. After a few cute passes between the Barcelona attacking line, the ball was back at Neymar's feet and he directed his low diagonal shot into the bottom far corner of the net, giving Buffon no chance of saving it. 

So Barcelona confirmed their treble trophy win with the last kick of the game in Berlin. It is also worth remembering that Xavi ended his season in style as he leaves Barcelona behind him, while it was the opposite feeling for Andrea Pirlo who could possibly have played his last game in a Juventus shirt. Both teams put on a show, and proved why only the best teams deserve to be in the Champions League final.

MATCH REPORT: FA Cup Final 2015

The FA Cup is a brilliant way for any club to end the season and Arsenal know that feeling after being victorious in this very match last season. Aston Villa also know this feeling from years gone by, but they wanted to prove a point to their doubters this season. They went into the game as the underdog which would probably suit the team, but some believed that they would be strong enough to possibly create a shock result to give their season an uplift after poor results at the end of their season.

Although they were the underdogs, Villa weren't about to roll over and just let Arsenal have the ball in the opening stages of the game. Their defensive work was together and the whole team was getting behind the ball but when given the chance they proved a threat to be reckoned with. However, even though their build up play was very good they didn't have a shot on target to reflect this, never mind a goal. 

It was Arsenal who had the first clear cut chance of the game. Arsenal won a free kick and Alexis Sanchez took it and out a brilliant cross into the box. Laurent Koscielny got up well above his marker and aimed the ball towards the left side of the net. Shay Given produced a brilliant one handed reflex save to keep the scores level, but Arsenal were certainly beginning to look the more dangerous. Five minutes later, Mesut Ozil won the ball back from Fabian Delph on the halfway line and pushed forward with a lot of pace. The ball he put into the box wasn't great but Ron Vlaar made a mess of the clearance which allowed Aaron Ramsey to have a chance to put Arsenal in the lead but his shot was wild and it went high over the crossbar. 

Arsenal remained on the front foot for the rest of the first half an hour and they looked particularly dangerous in front of goal. Ozil, playing down the left during this move, crossed the ball into Theo Walcott who had a chance from point blank range. The build up play once again was good by Arsenal and the resulting shot was stopped when Kieran Richardson literally threw his body onto the line to block the powerful shot. Minutes later, Ramsey beat the offside trap, but wasn't left in the clear because Vlaar stuck with him all the way. However, he did manage to cutely curl the ball around the defender and get it on target, but Given was perfectly placed the hold the ball. 

Villa got their first chance just after the half hour mark after Fabian Delph was allowed room to get a good cross into the box. In the centre of the box was a cluster of players and Delph aimed for the penalty spot hoping at least one of them could get their head to the ball. None of them did though as Wojciech Szczesny came off his line with the aim to clear the ball but he misjudged his punch, but luckily got away with it as his defenders cleared their lines. 

The next move left Villa wishing they'd taken that last chance. 5 minutes before half time Nacho Monreal kept himself onside and chipped the ball back towards the far post from the very edge of the pitch. Sanchez made a strong leap and beat his man to head the ball back towards the near post where Walcott was waiting. He took the volley on his weaker foot and clearly slotted it past Given to give Arsenal the advantage at the break. 

It was a cruel time in the game for Villa to have conceded the goal and even after half time they just couldn't get themselves going again. They seemed to have lost the energy and togetherness they had during the first half. Arsenal, however, came out of the blocks quickly and were causing Villa a lot of problems from the very beginning. And they capitalised on this. From well outside the box, Sanchez created space for himself by running Tom Cleverley back on himself before he rifled a swerving shot that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and high above the keeper before it rolled down the back of the net. He left the keeper no chance and doubled his side's lead with style. 

Villa did look like they could get themselves a goal though as they pushed forward with a lot of pace and integrity after the second goal was scored but again, their end ball just wasn't good enough to cause the Arsenal defence any major problems. Szczesny did look very uneasy in the Arsenal goal though. He hadn't played that many games in the latter half of the season and he looked particularly nervous whenever Villa piled bodies into the box. Due to him missing a couple of punches, one of which was an easy take, he lost some confidence and was less keen to come off his line to collect the ball; something the Villa team probably should have tried to exploit more often. 

They didn't though, and just after the hour mark, Per Mertesacker pretty much finished it for Arsenal. Villa will have been disappointed as the goal came from a corner which they should have dealt with a lot better. The corner was swung into the middle of the box and originally Christian Benteke was marking Mertesacker. Mertesacker shrugged off Benteke quite easily though which allowed him just enough room to get up and glance the ball into the back of the net and past Given who was caught off guard as he expected his teammate to deal with the set piece a lot better. 

Both teams had a number of chances after this, but both knew that it was already over. Once again though, after conceding another goal, Villa suddenly sprung to life and regained some of their belief. On the 80th minute, Gabriel Agbonlahor made a darting run into the box, but before he reached it Francis Coquelin brought him down on the very edge of the box. The referee rightly waved the penalty shouts away, but Villa did have an extremely good case for a free kick. It may not have made any difference to the outcome of the game, but it could have given their fans a reason to cheer on their miserable afternoon at Wembley. 

Then, right on the death, Arsenal made the result even crueller as they truly finished it. The three substitutes combined together to add a fourth goal to this tally with the final touch of the game. Jack Wilshere did well to keep the ball in play on the far right side of the pitch and played a short ball to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He was just onside and played a square ball across to Olivier Giroud who was left with a simple tap in to round off a brilliant evening for Arsenal. 

So, Arsenal retained their trophy deservedly after a dominating performance over Villa. They threw everything they had at their opponents and on the night it came off for them and Villa's luck seemed to have truly died out at the wrong time in their season. They tried their best though, but Arsenal were certainly the better team on the night. Also, this FA Cup win puts Arsenal at the very top of the list of the most FA Cup trophy wins, effectively overtaking Manchester United. It was a brilliant competition this season, throwing up more shocks in one weekend than people have seen in a very long time. Who doesn't love the FA Cup? 

Premier League: Final Day

At the beginning of the season, whenever somebody reads down for the last matches of the season and sees a date like 'May 24th', it seems like it's a long time away. However, the season is one that goes quick, just like any other time period and it leaves fans and teams alike wondering where all the time went. It also marks the moment when teams can either celebrate or feel the weight of the world fall onto their shoulders. Just like any other last game, this is what it proved to be for so many people. 

Both Burnley and QPR had already been relegated prior to the final weekend, but both would want to go out with a good result that would give their moral a boost ahead of the awaiting Championship campaign. It seemed that since Burnley had been relegated, they felt a lot of pressure lift off them as their results improved, and the final day was another example of this. They faced Aston Villa away, and they faced a tough task as the home team looked completely different to the one they faced earlier in the season due to Tim Sherwood. It was their star man Danny Ings that created the headlines once again after his sixth minute goal gave Burnley the three points that ended their season on a high note. 

For QPR, the story couldn't have ended more tragically. The faced Leicester away from home and that would prove to be a big task as well. Everyone thought that Leicester would be the ones that would be panicking about the last result, but they somehow managed to claw themselves away from danger with relatively little struggle after laying at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. Leicester certainly ended their season in style after turning 5 goals past Alex McCarthy in the QPR goal to heap the misery on the already relegated team. Charlie Austin did step up and give QPR a consolation goal though after Leicester's fourth, but that's all it proved to be in the end. 

The other two teams in danger of relegation going into the final match were Hull City and Newcastle. Hull needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and if this happened, Newcastle would need a win, but otherwise they would only need to match their result. Hull faced Manchester United at home and gave their all throughout the game. They did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both were rightly ruled offside. They also looked like they had been handed a gift when Marouane Fellaini got sent off for a stomp on Paul McShane's leg not even 20 minutes after he was sent onto the pitch. The home team couldn't take advantage of this though, and the game ended as a draw, making them the third team to be relegated this season. 

Newcastle faced West Ham at home, which looked like it would be a tough fixture for them after the poor run of form that they have had in the latter end of the season. However, it was like a completely different team was sent onto the pitch on Sunday because Newcastle knew they needed a result to stay in the Premier League. Moussa Sissoko got them the first goal 10 minutes into the second half, but this was overshadowed by the second goal in so many ways. Jonas Gutierrez, who not so long ago didn't look like he would be playing football again for a while, stepped up and wrapped up the three points for Newcastle in what could potentially have been his last game for Newcastle. This was the result that confirmed Hull's relegation, as it took them out of reach. However, West Ham did receive some good news in the shape of Europa League qualifiers due to finishing top of the Fair Play league. 

Then, there was the shock result of the day. Steven Gerrard had already said his farewell to Anfield the previous week, but this was the game that marked his last as a Premier League player. They faced a Stoke team that a lot of fans would expect them to beat to give Gerrard a send off very different to his one at the Liverpool stadium. It just wasn't meant to be though. Stoke held nothing back as they hit Liverpool for 6, 5 of which came in the first half alone. Gerrard was the player that brought one back for Liverpool to reduce the deficit slightly. Peter Crouch then came onto the pitch and made sure that his old team didn't have the last say in the game, marking a devastating end for the Liverpool captain. 

Although everything at the top of the table had been decided, Chelsea rounded of their winning season in style. Although, Sunderland did take the lead and give the champions a scare, their top players were once again on hand to rack up the three points expected of them. Manchester City also cruised to a 2-0 over Southampton, which included a goal for Sergio Aguero who won the golden boot for the 14/15 season. Joe Hart was also among the awards as he kept his 14th clean sheet of the season to win his 4th golden glove. Arsenal and Theo Walcott in particular shone in a 4-1 over West Brom to allow the top three to show their strength one last time before they sign out for the summer.