Matchday 38 of the EPL season is in the books, and we’re here to review it, identify the big takeaways, and examine the markets.
Around The EPL
It took a little while for the goals to start flowing on the final day, but the EPL finished with a bang with movement in the table and a relegation battle settled.
Bruno Fernandes made it a day to remember as his Manchester United did it easily to beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0. His corner delivered to Patrick Dorgu opened the scoring and secured Fernandes the Premier League single-season assist record.
Fittingly, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers played out a 1-1 draw with the two clubs set to meet again in the Championship next season.
Already crowned Premier League champions, Arsenal added one more win to their tally in beating Crystal Palace 2-1. A much-changed Arsenal side allowed the key players to rest up ahead of the Champions League Final while Max Dowman rewrote the history books.
The youngest player to start a Premier League game.
The youngest player to score a Premier League goal.
The youngest player to win the Premier League title.
Max Dowman. 👏 pic.twitter.com/wcWR927yJV
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 24, 2026
It remains to be seen whether or not a 2-0 win over Newcastle on the final day will be enough to see Marco Silva remain at Fulham next season. He’s off-contract with his future, and that of the club is expected to be settled in the coming weeks. In significantly different circumstances, there are enough rumours around Arne Slot’s future at Liverpool to keep you on your ear to the ground. A 1-1 draw with Brentford, while sending out an unhappy Mo Salah, won’t have helped Slot’s cause.
Pep Guardiola had already confirmed his departure from Manchester City and did so following a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Still, his achievements at the club leave him as one of the most successful managers in EPL history. The fans turned out for his last game in charge despite their place at 2nd on the EPL table already confirmed.
🗣️ EL MOMENTAZO DE GUARDIOLA EN SU DESPEDIDA 😍
🥲 Pep, emocionado: "¿Por qué me queréis tanto?". La afición le responde… ¡¡10 AÑOS MÁS!!"pic.twitter.com/38pRQ4Qk8T— Diario AS (@diarioas) May 24, 2026
Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth couldn’t be split on Matchday 38. Meanwhile, an eighth red card of the season – twice as many as any other in the league – contributed to Chelsea losing to Sunderland 2-1. It’s a fitting end to another horror campaign for Chelsea who lack any sort of long-term direction at the moment.
All eyes were on the bottom of the league on the final day where Tottenham and West Ham played for their survival. In the end, a Joao Palhinha goal in the 43rd minute proved to be enough for Tottenham to beat Everton and stay up, leaving the Hammers relegated on the back of a 3-0 win over Leeds.
3 Takeaways From Matchday 38
European Dreams
The Champions League spots weren’t in any doubt heading into the final day with Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool locked into the elite European competition.
Interestingly, the Europa League spots aren’t quite confirmed, with Crystal Palace still a chance to qualify should they win the Conference League final as $1.90 favourites against Rayo Vallecano.
Bournemouth’s 18-game unbeaten run to finish the EPL season has seen them finish with a place in the Europa League. Most impressive, though, is Sunderland’s rise only 12 months after winning the playoff final to earn promotion into the Premier League. Their incredible season ended with European football for the first time since 1972.
Rockin' all over Europe 😍🎶 pic.twitter.com/t9xm7I5pSX
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) May 24, 2026
A hindrance to some clubs, Brighton & Hove Albion will circle the Conference League as a genuine trophy-winning opportunity next season. It will mark their first appearance in Europe since Roberto De Zerbi led them to the Europa League in 2023.
West Ham Relegated
It took until the final day of the season to confirm it all, but West Ham is a bad football team and a poorly run club with a split fan base.
Their 39 points would be enough to see teams stay up in most Premier League seasons, and whether or not the Hammers deserve to be in the top flight, they’ve not earned it this season.
The statement from the club didn’t help to silence an irate fan base:
“The plain truth is that we have not been good enough. We must now face the consequences of that failure with honesty, transparency and a determination to repair, refocus and rebuild.”
The problem many fans have is that the current management will be responsible for the repair, refocus and rebuild. The same management, who fans reference in one particular chant throughout the match: “We sold our soul, for this s*hole.”
The same management that sacked a successful manager because they weren’t happy enough with the style of play.
A David Moyes side relegating West Ham after failing to register a shot on target against Spurs is the most David Moyes thing ever.
— Midnite (@midnite) May 24, 2026
West Ham’s demise is to Tottenham’s benefit, who avoided what would have been a disastrous relegation for a club of their size. Although plenty would make direct comparisons between the two clubs’ management…
EPL Award Winners
That’s all she wrote for the 2025-26 Premier League season. All that remained after the final day was the confirmation of individual awards.
Erling Haaland picked up his third EPL Golden Boot after scoring 27 goals. In what some would consider a quiet season for him, Haaland still finished five ahead of Igor Thiago in second.
Bruno Fernandes set a new record for the number of assists in a single season. His 21 for the campaign moved him in front of Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. If only he’d been put into positions to play teammates into big chances before Michael Carrick took over as manager.
A key part of Arsenal’s elite defensive unit, David Raya finished with 19 clean sheets to win the Golden Glove.