Man City draw at Swansea to seal CL spot

LONDON: Manchester City sealed fourth place and a spot in next season’s Champions League in unconvincing fashion at Swansea City on Sunday.

Kelechi Iheanacho slotted home in the fifth minute, following up after Kristoffer Nordfeldt had saved Sergio Aguero’s shot. But they squandered chances before Swansea equalised just before halftime when Andre Ayew’s free kick took a big defelection off Fernando’s head to leave Joe Hart stranded.

Olivier Giroud scored a hat-trick as Arsenal overwhelmed relegated Aston Villa 4-0 to pip their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to second place in the table.

French striker Giroud put Arsenal ahead after five minutes with a neat header from Nacho Monreal’s cross and the home team dominated possession. Giroud added Arsenal’s second goal 12 minutes from time before completing his hat-trick with a fine left-footed finish. Mikel Arteta added the fourth in stoppage time.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur fluffed their last-day lines with a 5-1 defeat at relegated, 10-man Newcastle United.

Erik Lamela pulled one back for Spurs on the hour when they were 2-0 down but Newcastle recovered their two-goal lead with a Wijnaldum penalty for a Jan Vertonghen foul on the busy Moussa Sissoko.

Spurs were left shell-shocked as substitute Rolando Aarons and Daryl Janmaat added further goals in the last five minutes.

Premier League winners Leicester City were given a guard of honour by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and then ended their glory season with a late equaliser from Danny Drinkwater in a 1-1 draw.

Cesc Fabregas seemed set to spoil Leicester’s final party when he scored from the penalty spot in the 66th minute. Yet with nine minutes left, England midfielder Drinkwater hammered a 30-year shot that left Leicester’s fans able to celebrate winning the league by 10 points.

Liverpool finished outside the European qualification places after their campaign ended with a tame 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

West Brom, who are 14th on 43, took the lead in the 13th minute when 17-year-old Jonathan Leko slipped the ball to the unmarked Salomon Rondon.

The visitors were level, however, eight minutes later when Jordon Ibe scampered half the length of the pitch before burying a low shot into the bottom corner.

Southampton qualified for the Europa League with a 4-1 rout of Crystal Palace, who had one eye on next weekend’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Sadio Mane gave Saints a first-half lead following a mistake by veteran keeper Julian Speroni and Graziano Pelle added the second just past the hour.

Palace got back into the game quickly when Jason Puncheon scored with a blistering shot three minutes later but a 75th-minute Ryan Bertrand penalty and a late strike from Steve Davis secured the victory.

Everton ended a disappointing season with a convincing 3-0 victory over relegated Norwich City at Goodison Park.

Midfielder James McCarthy and a Leighton Baines penalty put the hosts, playing their first game since Roberto Martinez was sacked as manager, 2-0 ahead at halftime. Kevin Mirallas added Everton’s third goal soon after the interval.

In another match, Mame Biram Diouf’s late goal lifted Stoke City to a 2-1 victory over West Ham United.