But the point was enough to secure third place in the English Premier League (EPL) for Maurizio Sarri’s side.

Chelsea, who play Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League final match later this month, finished the campaign with 72 points, one point clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth.

Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard, who has been the subject of much speculation that he could move away from Stamford Bridge, was dropped to the bench.

Also, there was no place in the match day squad for N’Golo Kante as he succumbed to a hamstring injury.

The two best chances of the opening half fell to Higuain, who put his first effort wide of the right post and then missed on the left when well placed on both occasions.

Hazard was introduced with 20 minutes remaining and had an appeal for a penalty kick, after tumbling in the box, turned down.

Referee Anthony Taylor waved play on as neither side were able to find a winner.

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They won 4-1 as they hit back from a goal down to crush Brighton and Hove Albion on the south coast on Sunday.

Manchester City ended the season with 98 points, just two shy of last season’s record-breaking 100.

Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers saw them end on 97 —– by far the largest tally for a Premier League runners-up.

Needing a 14th successive league win to be certain of prevailing in an unprecedented title duel, Manchester City fell behind to Glenn Murray’s 27th minute header.

But Pep Guardiola’s side responded in devastating fashion.

Sergio Aguero levelled 83 seconds later and Aymeric Laporte’s header put Manchester City ahead before the break.

With Liverpool, who began the day one point behind, leading, the Anfield club would still have hoped for something extraordinary to happen in the south coast sunshine.

But when Riyad Mahrez drove an unstoppable shot past Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan’s despairing dive just past the hour, Manchester City’s fans could finally get the party started.

Ilkay Gundogan’s majestic free kick made it 4-1 to put the icing on another glorious day for Manchester City who are the first club to retain the English Premier League title for 10 years.

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Tottenham made a number of changes to their side as they prepared for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday.

But Mauricio Pochettino’s gamble backfired against a resolute West Ham side.

Spurs dominated the first half and could have been ahead after 11 minutes when Son Heung-min was played through by Dele Alli but his shot from the left was too close to the near post of Lukasz Fabianski.

The Pole also did well to deny Christian Eriksen who shot from close range after good work down the right from Lucas Moura.

Tottenham were made to pay for those missed chances as West Ham took the lead after halftime.

A lofted cross from Marko Arnautovic in the 67th minute found Antonio who lashed it in past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Spurs brought on Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen in the hope of getting an equaliser but could not find a way past.

They remain third but will be under pressure from their top-four rivals, while West Ham stay in 11th position.

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English Premier League (EPL) leaders Liverpool are chasing their first league title since 1990 and Van Dijk said Klopp could be brutally honest when assessing their performances.

“He’s (Klopp) very passionate, he’ll tell you the truth at all times,” Van Dijk said on The Premier League Show.

“He won’t go beating about the bush. That’s something I personally like a lot and most of our players like it as well.

“We have plenty of meetings throughout the whole season where he is definitely not happy about some things.

“That’s a good sign, even when we’ve only lost one (league) game all season there have been some moments where we can do much better.”

Liverpool have the best defensive record in the league, having conceded 18 goals in 31 games, but Manchester City can leapfrog their rivals if they win their game in hand.

However, Van Dijk said the title race will go down to the wire.

“That’s the unlucky bit for us, that they (Manchester City) have been fantastic throughout the whole season. We have been doing in the league fantastically as well,” Van Dijk added.

“It’s something good for people that love football to see. I have a feeling it will go right to the end. We will give everything we have and they will too.”

Liverpool host Tottenham Hotspur, who are third in the standings, in the league next Sunday.

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Guardiola made the statement after his side scored a goal against Watford that was initially flagged offside on Saturday.

City’s opening goal by Raheem Sterling in their 3-1 win sparked controversy after referee Paul Tierney changed his mind about the offside call following a discussion with his assistant.

“There should be an easy solution and next season there will be. With VAR, that will not be a problem, it will be fairer,” Guardiola told reporters.

“The game is so fast and so quick, even the people sat here don’t know if it is offside or onside.

“If we have doubts here, imagine how it is for the referee who has to make a decision in a split second.

“I am so sorry and I apologise to Javi (Gracia) and to Watford if the first goal is offside.”

Other Premier League managers have backed the introduction of VAR, including Arsenal’s Unai Emery.

The Arsenal boss suggested that the system might prevent game-changing decisions going the wrong way.

Guardiola said the Premier League was lagging behind other European countries which had already implemented VAR in their top-flight leagues.

“Hopefully next season, like in Europe, they can accept that we install VAR in this situation and it will be fair,” Guardiola added.

“Manchester City voted to install VAR this season. Some other clubs did not accept it.”

The Champions League has also implemented VAR in the knockout stages this season and UEFA has released statements on its website to explain its use of the system.

UEFA said it was introduced to justify decisions made by the referees in the last-16 matches so far.

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The incident was recorded in the English Premier League match on Feb. 4.

The German manager said referee Kevin Friend’s performance was affected by the decision to allow Sadio Mane’s opening goal, which should have been ruled out for offside.

The FA said Klopp had been charged as the comments “questioned the integrity of the referee and/or implied bias”.

West Ham equalised through Michail Antonio’s goal before the interval but Klopp said Friend “did not want to open the gap any more” in the second half.

“As a human being, if I know I have made a big mistake in the first half, I don’t want to open the gap any more,” Klopp said after the match at the London Stadium.

“Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn’t during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside.”

Klopp has until 1800 GMT on Monday to respond to the charge.

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Manchester City dislodged Liverpool with the win even though both have 62 points.

But Manchester City have the upper hand on goal difference, having played one game more than Juergen Klopp’s side.

It is the first time Manchester City have been top since Dec. 8.

Liverpool will now face Bournemouth on Saturday, while Manchester City host Chelsea a day later.

The match was a re-arranged fixture caused by Manchester City’s advance to the League Cup final.

The visitors took the lead on the stroke of halftime when French defender Aymeric Laporte was left unattended to head home a David Silva free kick curled in from the left.

The goal was the 17th conceded by Everton from a set-piece in all competitions this season.

Two of Manchester City’s substitutes combined for the second goal deep in stoppage time with Kevin De Bruyne playing Gabriel Jesus in on goal.

Although the Brazilian’s shot was blocked by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, he reacted quickly to head home the loose ball.

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette scored both goals for the Gunners.

Aubameyang scored with a 66th minute penalty kick, sending the ball past goalkeeper Neil Etheridge after Bruno Manga had fouled Sead Kolasinac.

Unai Emery’s side then made their overwhelming territorial superiority count as Lacazette scored a beauty in the 83rd minute.

He dribbled past Cardiff City skipper Sol Bamba before drilling a shot into the corner.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing scored a late consolation goal for Cardiff City.

The match began in sombre fashion with tributes being made to Cardiff City’s Argentine striker Emiliano Sala.

Sala has been missing since a plane carrying him to Britain from Nantes disappeared over the English Channel.

It was Cardiff City’s first game since Sala, who had not played for the club since joining from Nantes, went missing.

Bamba and Arsenal skipper Mesut Ozil both placed bunches of daffodils on the pitch.

Fifth-placed Arsenal’s sixth successive home league win lifted them level on 47 points with Chelsea, who play on Wednesday.

Cardiff City, who scored for the first time in four league games, remain third from bottom.

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The result further swung the EPL title door wide open for leaders Liverpool, who take on Leicester City on Wednesday.

Manchester City had won their previous eight games in all competitions, scoring 33 goals in the process.

They looked on course to close the gap on Liverpool to one point when Sergio Aguero put them in front after 24 seconds at St James’ Park.

But Pep Guardiola’s side were nowhere near their fluent best and Salomon Rondon equalised after 66 minutes.

Matt Ritchie’s late penalty kick secured victory for Newcastle United and piled title pressure on Manchester City.

The surprise setback for the Manchester club left them four points behind Liverpool who host Leicester City on Wednesday.

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With the in-form South Korean Son Heung-min playing his last match before heading off to the Asia Cup, Pochettino was a worried man.

The last thing he then needed was the sight of Kane hobbling off the pitch after being clattered by Manchester United’s Phil Jones late on.

Kane and Son have scored 22 goals between them this season and, without them, Tottenham look short of goals, especially with Spaniard Fernando Llorente struggling for form.

“It was a clear foul on Harry Kane, a big hit, but (referee) Mike Dean said he didn’t see it,” Pochettino said of Jones’ challenge.

“Kane twisted his ankle and we hope that it is not a big issue. My worry is that it was a bad tackle in the last moment.

“It wasn’t the intention of the Manchester United player but it was a bad tackle and now he has bit of a swelling on his ankle and he was limping after the game.

“We are going to lose Son for the Asia Cup and if Harry Kane suffers an injury, it is going to be massive for us.”

Tottenham also lost midfield powerhouse Moussa Sissoko to a groin injury before halftime, adding to their woes.

Defeat left Spurs nine points behind English Premier League leaders Liverpool and they will be five behind Manchester City if the champions win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.

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