.Barca clinched 25th LaLiga without losing any match
Arsene Wenger’s final match at Old Trafford as Arsenal manager ended in defeat with a stoppage time header from substitute Marouane Fellaini earning the points for second-placed Manchester United.
Paul Pogba drove United into the lead in the 16th minute, pouncing after Alexis Sanchez had headed a Romelu Lukaku cross against the post.
Arsenal, fielding a largely second string side, drew level in the 51st minute when Henrikh Mkhitaryan, signed from United in January, beat David De Gea with a well-placed effort.
United’s Marcus Rashford had the ball in the net in the final minute but the effort was ruled out for offside before Fellaini headed in the stoppage time winner from an Ashley Young cross.
In another development, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, yesterday hailed the “incredible” numbers produced by his side as they reached 100 Premier League goals for the season with a 4-1 win at struggling West Ham
The champions’ emphatic victory at London Stadium left the Hammers in a precarious position above the relegation zone.
“The numbers are a consequence of what we have done,” Guardiola said.
“We are so happy to be getting close to history. We will try to surpass the number of goals and points.
In Spain, ​Barcelona have clinched their 25th La Liga title thanks to a 4-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna which was inspired by a Lionel Messi’s hat-trick.
The Catalan side are undefeated through 34 games in the league this season, having broken the Spanish league record for matches without a defeat, and have just one real hurdle left to clear in pursuit of an incredible ‘Invincible’ season.
That hurdle comes in the form of Real Madrid, who Ernesto Valverde’s side face at the Camp Nou next Sunday – having throttled Los Blancos 3-0 in their own back yard at Christmas to more or less end their greatest rivals’ title challenge with five months of the season remaining.
Atletico Madrid put up a strong fight and looked for some time as though they could mount a serious campaign to unseat the long-time league leaders, but a 1-0 defeat at the Camp Nou in March put paid to those hopes as Diego Simeone’s thin squad began to tire.
Barca have already locked up the Copa del Rey to wrap up a domestic double last achieved all the way back in…well, 2016, and have only their unbeaten record to play for after their dramatic exit from the Champions League at the hands of AS Roma earlier this month.
Despite their impressive domestic record, a vocal portion of the club’s fanbase called for Valverde’s departure at the end of the current season after the Roma debacle – but the board are likely to stick by a man who steered them deftly through an institutional crisis in the summer after the departure of Neymar and a motion of no confidence against president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
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