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The Latest: Aguero finishes as top scorer in Premier League

May 24, 2015, 9:37 AM

LONDON (AP) — 5:10 p.m.

Sergio Aguero finishes as the top scorer in the Premier League with 26 goals, his last sealing Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Southampton on the final day.

Aguero scored five more goals than his nearest rival, Harry Kane, yet wasn’t selected in the Premier League’s team of the season.

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4:55 p.m.

The English Premier League is over for another season and Hull is the third team to be relegated after Queens Park Rangers and Burnley.

Hull needed to beat Manchester United to stand a chance of staying up and could only draw 0-0. Even a win wouldn’t have made a difference as Newcastle, which started two points above Hull, beat West Ham 2-0.

West Ham says manager Sam Allardyce won’t be getting a new contract and will leave now the season is over.

Arsenal secured a third-place finish, and direct qualification for the Champions League group stage, by beating West Bromwich Albion 4-1.

Liverpool loses 6-1 at Stoke but still qualifies for the Europa League along with Tottenham, which wins 1-0 at Everton to move to fifth above Liverpool.

Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard both score on their final Premier League appearances before moving to the United States.

Fulltime scores:

Arsenal 4, West Bromwich Albion 1

Aston Villa 0, Burnley 1

Chelsea 3, Sunderland 1

Crystal Palace 1, Swansea 0

Everton 0, Tottenham 1

Hull 0, Manchester United 0

Leicester 5, QPR 1

Manchester City 2, Southampton 0

Newcastle 2, West Ham 0

Stoke 6, Liverpool 1

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4:51 p.m.

Newcastle has beaten West Ham 2-0 and will stay in the Premier League, sending Hull down to the League Championship next season.

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4:45 p.m.

Newcastle has doubled its lead over West Ham and will stay in the Premier League if the victory is maintained in the last five minutes. Jonas Gutierrez made it 2-0 in a game that Newcastle knew it had to win to ensure its survival and send Hull down.

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4:37 p.m.

That’s it for Frank Lampard, as far as English football is concerned anyway.

Lampard is substituted by Man City and is given a standing ovation by the home fans inside Etihad Stadium.

At Hull, Marouane Fellaini has been given a straight red card for a studs-first lunge on Paul McShane. A ray of hope for Hull, but it still needs to score and for Newcastle to concede.

Fellaini will miss the first three games of next season.

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4:32 p.m.

Steven Gerrard, making his 710th and last appearance for Liverpool, has joined Frank Lampard in scoring in his final Premier League match.

It’s a consolation goal, though, as Liverpool still trails Stoke 5-1.

Gerrard joins the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer after this season.

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4:28 p.m.

Halfway through the second half of the final round of Premier League matches, Hull looks set to be condemned to the final relegation place.

Hull has to win and hope Newcastle loses to give itself a hope of staying up. But Newcastle is leading West Ham 1-0 and Hull is level with Manchester United at 0-0 after having two goals disallowed.

Latest scores:

Arsenal 4, West Bromwich Albion 1

Aston Villa 0, Burnley 1

Chelsea 2, Sunderland 1

Crystal Palace 1, Swansea 0

Everton 0, Tottenham 1

Hull 0, Manchester United 0

Leicester 4, QPR 1

Manchester City 1, Southampton 0

Newcastle 1, West Ham 0

Stoke 5, Liverpool 1

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4:12 p.m.

Newcastle is on course to stay in the Premier League after Moussa Sissoko put the northeast team in front against West Ham in the 54th minute. A win would secure Newcastle’s topflight status and send Hull down in the League Championship. Hull is drawing 0-0 with Manchester United.

Hull fans have heard the news and have their heads in their hands at KC Stadium.

Meanwhile, Leicester is compounding the misery of relegated Queens Park Rangers after surviving its own brush with relegation. Hapless QPR is being thumped 4-1, with Leonardo Ulloa and Esteban Cambiasso each scoring inside a minute for Leicester.

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4:03 p.m.

The second halves are underway in the Premier League

Spurs are on the brink of qualifying for the Europa League next season, as they will leapfrog Liverpool in fifth place if they stay in front at Goodison Park.

From the looks of Liverpool’s display at Stoke, the Reds look like they want to do anything but play in Europe’s second-tier competition. However, Liverpool is in sixth place as it stands will be joining Tottenham in the Europa League.

Liverpool’s 5-0 halftime deficit to Stoke is arguably the most stunning score line this season. Gerrard’s last game at Anfield was a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace last weekend and it’s getting even worse for the former England captain.

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3:50 p.m.

It’s halftime in the final matches of the Premier League season.

As it stands, Hull will be relegated and Newcastle will survive in the topflight. Hull is level with Manchester United at 0-0 after having two goals disallowed and Newcastle-West Ham is also scoreless.

The future of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers might come under fresh scrutiny unless his team turns around a stunning 5-0 deficit at Stoke. Last season’s runner-up are now set to finish sixth.

Arsenal is preparing for the FA Cup final in style, with the third-place team thrashing West Bromwich Albion 4-0.

Halftime scores:

Arsenal 4, West Brom 0

Aston Villa 0, Burnley 1

Chelsea 1, Sunderland 1

Crystal Palace 0, Swansea 0

Everton 0, Tottenham 1

Hull 0, Manchester United 0

Leicester 2, QPR 0

Manchester City 1, Southampton 0

Newcastle 0, West Ham 0

Stoke 5, Liverpool 0

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3:42 (1442 GMT)

Theo Walcott completes his hat trick for Arsenal, which moves 4-0 ahead against West Brom and is virtually assured of finishing third and heading straight to the Champions League group stage.

That means Manchester United will be playing a two-legged playoff in August to get into Europe’s top competition. How early will United manager Louis van Gaal bring the players in for preseason training?

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3:42 (1442 GMT)

Chelsea fans were briefly silenced when Steven Fletcher put Sunderland ahead but the champions’supporters were soon cheering again in unusual scenes at Stamford Bridge. Didier Drogba, who was captaining Chelsea in his final game for the club, was substituted approaching the half-hour and was raised aloft by his teammates to the touchline.

The referee was happy to allow Drogba to lap up the acclaim of the crowd as he applauded fans and removed his shirt before being replaced by Diego Costa. And soon Costa was celebrating — after equalizing from the penalty spot to make it 20 goals in his debut Premier League season.

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3:37 p.m. (1437 GMT)

What a way to say goodbye to the Premier League for Frank Lampard.

The midfielder scores to put Manchester City 1-0 ahead against Southampton, which as it stands will miss out on a Europa League berth.

Lampard has scored at least six goals in each of the last 13 Premier League campaigns, and is heading to New York City FC on a high.

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3:30 p.m. (1430 GMT)

Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria is hobbling off with an injury, and has been replaced by Adnan Januzaj. Is that the last United will see of Di Maria?

The Argentina international has endured a disappointing first season at Old Trafford following his offseason move for nearly 60 million pounds (now $93 million) and has been used mainly as a substitute in recent months.

Harry Kane has another goal in his breakthrough season at Tottenham. He has scored the opening goal against Everton at Goodison Park.

Liverpool is 3-0 down at Stoke, with Jon Walters scoring the third.

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3:26 p.m. (1425 GMT)

What a miserable season it’s been for Liverpool and it’s ending on a low note. Brendan Rodgers’ team is losing 2-0 at Stoke after conceding twice to Mame Diouf.

After finishing second last season, Liverpool entered Sunday’s finale in fifth place.

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3:22 (1422 GMT)

Arsenal is now 3-0 up after goals by Walcott, his second, and Jack Wilshere. Walcott is stating a case for inclusion in the FA Cup final next weekend.

Hull has had two goals ruled out against Man United and is piling on the pressure.

Latest scores:

Arsenal 3, West Brom 0

Aston Villa 0, Burnley 1

Chelsea 0, Sunderland 0

Crystal Palace 0, Swansea 0

Everton 0, Tottenham 0

Hull 0, Manchester United 0

Leicester 1, QPR 0

Man City 0, Southampton 0

Newcastle 0, West Ham 0

Stoke 1, Liverpool 0

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3:17 p.m. (1417 GMT) Jamie Vardy has celebrated his first England call-up by putting Leicester in front against relegated Queens Park Rangers.

The 28-year-old striker was playing in the non-leagues only four years ago and wasn’t even a regular for Leicester for most of this season.

But Vardy has helped the team make a stunning end to the season. Leicester has won six of its last eight games to climb off the bottom of the standings and secure safety with one round to spare.

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3:10 p.m. (1410 GMT)

It’s potentially the goal that secures third place for Arsenal. Walcott has scored after 4 minutes to put Arsenal 1-0 up against West Brom and within sight of the Champions League groups stage.

No goals in the relegation games yet, where Hull has started very well against United.

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3:06 p.m. (1406 GMT)

A penny for the thoughts of West Ham manager Sam Allardyce today.

“Big Sam,” as he is known, could be taking charge of his last game in charge of the Hammers before losing his job. And what a way he could go out.

Allardyce’s West Ham is at Newcastle, the club where he was fired in 2008 after just a few months as manager. A win for West Ham could yet send Newcastle down.

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3:02 (1502 GMT)

We’re underway around the country. It’s a party atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be picking up the Premier League trophy after the game and Sunderland will be celebrating staying up.

Chelsea fans lined up outside Stamford Bridge to sign a huge “Champions” banner. Fans also marked the end of an era — again. Didier Drogba took the captain’s armband from John Terry in his final Chelsea game. The 37-year-old Ivorian striker did leave Chelsea three years after winning the Champions League, but he was persuaded to return by coach Jose Mourinho for this season.

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2:58 p.m. (1358 GMT)

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley says he is not leaving the club. Ashley has been silent in public since buying the northeast team in 2007 but he gave a television interview at St. James’ Park ahead of the West Ham game when the team’s Premier League status is on the line.

Ashley, who owns the Sports Direct retail outlets, accepted responsibility for the team being so close to the League Championship.

Despite facing years of fan protests, Ashley said he will not sell Newcastle.

“I am not going anywhere until we win something,” he told Sky Sports television.

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2:40 p.m. (1340 GMT)

So let’s have a closer look at the permutations for the issues still at stake.

Hull currently occupies the third and final relegation spot — above already-relegated Burnley and Queens Park Rangers — and is two points behind Newcastle, which is at home to West Ham. If Hull wins, Newcastle must also win to avoid going down because should the teams finish tied for points, Hull will have a superior goal difference.

Arsenal just needs a point at home to West Bromwich Albion to seal third place. Even a loss should still be enough, as Arsenal is three points above Man United and has a superior goal difference of 7.

In terms of Europa League qualification, Liverpool is currently fifth on 62 points, Tottenham has 61 and Southampton 60. That competition has proved more of a distraction than a bonus for English clubs in recent years, so there may not be tears shed in the dressing room of the team that misses out.

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2:37 p.m. (1337 GMT)

It’s not just Drogba saying farewell today.

Two more Premier League greats, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, play their final matches in English soccer before career-ending stints in the United States. The pair have played in a combined 1,317 Premier League games already.

Gerrard will end his 17-year professional association with Liverpool in a game at Stoke. Lampard, the former West Ham and Chelsea midfielder, ends his one-year loan spell with Manchester City in a home match against Southampton. Both players will start — and both will be captain.

One player who has potentially played his last Premier League game at Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, who misses the match at Hull because of injury. He has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid this offseason.

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2:30 p.m. (1330 GMT)

There are three issues to be resolved on the final day of the season in the English Premier League.

Either Hull or Newcastle will be the third team to be relegated, Arsenal and Manchester United are vying for third place to avoid a playoff to qualify for the Champions League’s group stage, and two of Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton will secure places in next season’s Europa League for finishing fifth and sixth.

Chelsea clinched the league title three weeks ago and its players will finally be able to lift the trophy this afternoon, after playing Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. It will be a particularly emotional moment for Didier Drogba, who announced hours before kickoff that he’ll be leaving the club for a second time to play at least one more season before retiring.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The Latest: Aguero finishes as top scorer in Premier League