Chelsea secured the Premier League title by beating Crystal Palace 1 – 0 at an ecstatic Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho’s side needed three points to complete the triumph that has become an inevitability in recent weeks as they moved out of sight of their rivals to reclaim the crown from Manchester City, who are 13 points adrift despite their win at Tottenham.
Bournemouth won the Championship title with a comfortable 3 -0 victory at Charlton, as Watford slipped up late on against Sheffield Wednesday in a game that ended 1 -1. Watford had been on course to win the league but Atdhe Nuhiu’s late equaliser denied them three points and the Cherries took advantage at The Valley. Two goals from Matt Ritchie and one for Harry Arter sealed the win and capped a memorable season for Eddie Howe’s side. They finished a point clear of Watford at the top of the table. Bournemouth will take their place in the top flight of English football having been close to liquidation in 2008 and a game away from going out of the Football League in 2009. Under manager Howe, they have now earned three promotions, two of which have come in the past three seasons, and a spot in the top division for the first time in the club’s history. Howe, 37, also joins a select band of managers to guide a team through the Football League and into the top flight, where they will earn an estimated £120m from their promotion.
Watford also joins Bournemouth in the promotion to premier league. Norwich, Middlesbrough, Brentford and Ipswich will engage in play-offs to determine the third team that will gain promotion to the premier league.
Flying Eagles and Enugu Rangers midfielder, Obinna Nwobodo, has been ruled out of next month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury at the 2015 African Youth Championship, africanFootball.com reports. The midfielder suffered the knee injury in the final of the competition against hosts Senegal and he will now be sidelined for as long as nine months. The 18-year-old Nwobodo was named on a provisional 35-man squad for the World Cup, but he has now been effectively ruled out of the competition, which begins in New Zealand on May 30. To sad for the young man. We wish him quick recovery.
Nigeria were the victors in the women’s 4x200m IAAF/BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015, winning in 1:30.52 to take two seconds off the national record they set earlier this year. World bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare led the team off before the baton was passed to Regina George, Dominique Duncan and Christy Udoh. Jamaica finished a distant second in 1:31.73, one-and-a-half seconds slower than their time from last year, but one place higher on the podium. Germany were third in 1:33.61 while China set an Asian record of 1:34.89 in fourth. Pre-event favourites USA looked to be on course to successfully defend their title from last year, after Shalonda Solomon, Kimberlyn Duncan and Jeneba Tarmoh had built up a comfortable lead on the first three legs. But then disaster struck on the final changeover between Tarmoh and Allyson Felix. The Olympic 200m champion couldn’t quite get a solid grip on the baton as Tarmoh then bumped into her before Felix fell to the ground, their medal hopes dashed. There was drama too for the host nation as their second changeover was well outside of the zone. The Bahamas carried on and eventually crossed the line in second place, but they were soon disqualified.
Manny Pacquiao blamed a shoulder injury for his defeat by Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, claiming it stopped him from using his right hand, BBC reports. American Mayweather, 38, outclassed his Philippine rival at the MGM Grand and was awarded a wide unanimous decision. Pacquiao, 36, said he thought he did enough to win the fight, despite most observers agreeing with the verdict. “Three weeks before the fight I got a tear in my right shoulder,” he said. “It got better but it wasn’t 100%.” Pacquiao said he wanted to have an injection in the shoulder before the fight but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused.
Juventus clinched their fourth straight Serie A title after a hard-fought victory over Sampdoria secured courtesy of Arturo Vidal’s first-half header. The Turin club needed only a point at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium to win their 31st Scudetto but got all three. Chile midfielder Vidal scored the decisive goal when he met Stephan Lichtsteiner’s cross to head in. It handed Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri the title in his first season in charge of the club. Allegri, 47, was appointed Juventus coach last summer after Antonio Conte quit the club a day after his players returned for pre-season. Conte, now managing the Italian national team, said he left because it “may be more difficult to keep winning with Juventus” in the future. But ex-Milan boss Allegri has not struggled in his debut season with the Old Lady. Juve wrapped up the title, ahead of second-placed Lazio, with four games of the season remaining, having lost just three times in this campaign to date. Vidal found the net just after the half-hour mark when, unmarked at the back post, he got on the end of Lichtsteiner’s ball from the right and planted a header back across goal and into the net. Allegri, who also won the Serie A title in his first season in charge of Milan in 2010-11, will now attempt to complete a treble with Juventus in the rest of the campaign. Juve face European Cup holders Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, and also play Lazio in the Italian Cup final.
Floyd Mayweather emerged victorious from the most lucrative fight in history, beating Manny Pacquiao via a wide unanimous decision in Las Vegas, BBC reports. American Mayweather, 38, delivered a defensive masterclass against his Philippine rival, making the necessary adjustments after only a few rounds before disappearing out of sight. Mayweather, who added the WBO welterweight title to the WBC and WBA titles he already owned, was awarded the fight 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 by the three judges.