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On 27 September 2014, Conor McGregor dismantled Dustin Poirier. In the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, McGregor – then the ninth-ranked featherweight in the UFC – required just over 90 seconds to drop Poirier, the No 5 featherweight in the world, and pummel his head against the canvas, forcing a stoppage. For many followers of the sport, that bout at UFC 178 represented the Irishman’s first genuine match-up against a top-level opponent, the moment McGregor’s bravado could fall in on itself. Instead, ‘Notorious’ took a giant stride closer to Jose Aldo, the UFC featherweight title and MMA history, and he did so with an ease that startled swathes of fans of the sport. In January 2021, Poirier exacted his revenge. In a lightweight rematch in Abu Dhabi, the ‘Diamond’ knocked out McGregor in the second round after dismantling his opponent’s base by brutalising his calves with low kicks. In the main event of UFC 264, six months later, the rivalry concluded as the pair squared off one more time at lightweight, with McGregor suffering a broken leg at the end of a chaotic first round – losing the bout via TKO in the process. Ahead of that fight, The Independent spoke to four key figures about the Irish icon’s knockout victory over Poirier in 2014, as well as what preceded and followed the night that ‘Mystic Mac’ was born. The build-up In July 2014, McGregor knocks out Diego Brandao in the first round of the pair’s main-event clash in Dublin. Before the night is up, the seeds are already planted for McGregor’s next fight. Ariel Helwani (MMA journalist – ESPN): “I remember at the press conference in Dublin, everybody was like ‘Poirier, Poirier, Poirier – it has to be Poirier next,’ because Poirier had been talking a little bit about Conor and they were kind of on a collision course. It seemed like: ‘Okay, the wheels are kind of in motion here.’” The bout is set for September 2014, marking a quick turnaround for McGregor, who is intent on continuing his climb up the rankings at 145lbs. His eyes are already set on Aldo, the UFC’s first – and only ever, at this point – featherweight champion, who has not lost since 2005. Megan Olivi (broadcaster – UFC): “I think that fight with Dustin was one of the first times when people were counting Conor out, like: ‘Oh, well now he’s facing Dustin Poirier and this probably won’t go well.’” AH: “I thought the narrative that Conor was fighting lesser competition and wasn't really that good was hogwash. If you watched him in Cage Warriors or his early UFC fights, it was very clear this was a supremely talented fighter. But still, there were questions to be answered against Poirier, a big step up in competition on a very big stage.” Poirier, typically a calm character, is visibly irked when in the presence of McGregor, who antagonises his opponent at every opportunity. Bruce Buffer (ring announcer – UFC): “Some time before that fight, on the way back from another fight of Dustin’s, I was at the airport and sat down at Dustin’s table and broke bread with his family. I realised what a lovely family they are and what a fine human being Dustin is, and how he stands up for everything he believes in. He’s just a really good guy.” MO: “I’d known Dustin for a very long time and remember seeing a marked difference in his demeanour. I remember being sad that Dustin’s wife [Jolie] was going to be so stressed out by the situation, even though Conor didn’t involve her in any way. Dustin was a bit more emotional than we’d seen him before. “[At the pre-fight press conference] there was a lot of animosity on stage, but Conor seemed to thrive in that, whereas with Dustin you could tell... it was taking everything in him to restrain himself. Being up there, I was worried: ‘Are they gonna get out of their chairs and get physical?’ I was a bit nervous, because the hostility was so real, and thought: ‘Let’s just get out of here with no chairs or hands thrown.’” AH: “Poirier wanted to be the guy to shut Conor up. He was very angry, like he had this chip on his shoulder. Conor, meanwhile... They did the media day in August with the infamous Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones scuffle at the MGM Grand, and in the midst of all that, Conor was taking selfies with fans. This guy was living in his own world, he didn’t care about a brawl between two of the best fighters in the world. All of these journalists were sitting around interviewing him and I thought: ‘He’s not going to be doing this for much longer – he’ll have his own press conferences.’ “I remember vividly the aura he had around him, like when he did the ‘bunny ears’ while I interviewed him. You definitely felt one fighter was happy and comfortable, and the other was very intense and mean-mugging. They had that run-in filmed on UFC: Embedded, and Conor was [later filmed] watching it and laughing at it.” In the original clip, Poirier can be heard saying of McGregor:“I don’t think I’ve ever disliked somebody that much that I’ve fought.” Peter Carroll (MMA journalist – The Bash, MMA On Point): “At the weigh-ins, Poirier starts screaming at the crowd. He couldn’t believe people were cheering on McGregor. I remember thinking: ‘This has really gotten to him.’ And I’d seen Conor doing that for years. After the face-off he had with [Dave] Hill in Cage Warriors, there was talk of Hill being consoled afterwards, like he was completely rattled. I don’t think Poirier was ready for the mental warfare, how Conor actually meant everything he said. Some people were still saying, ‘It’s all a gimmick,’ but I think Poirier was in two minds.” The fight MO: “That was not the main event, but it felt like it was. It was a really good card – Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone was fighting Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson headlined against Chris Cariaso – but I remember everyone going: ‘Poirier vs McGregor, what is gonna happen with this fight?’” McGregor gets in Poirier’s face as the American skips around the cage before the introductions are made. He taunts Poirier as the pair face off, extending his hand into his opponent’s face. As referee Herb Dean asks the fighters if they wish to touch gloves, Poirier slaps McGregor’s hand away. BB: “Conor’s confidence is as high as anybody could ever dream of walking around with. He’s intimidating, he tries to get into Poirier mentally, but then when the bell rings, the Octagon door closes and I’m done and walk out, shark eyes come over each.” McGregor at once displays his confidence, opening with a hook kick and a spinning back kick. For the best part of 90 seconds, the Irishman pressures his fellow southpaw, finding a home for his left straight with greater success as the first round ticks on – talking to Poirier all the while. Then, suddenly, McGregor glances a left hand off the back of Poirier’s head, dropping the American. Two hammer fists and two punches follow on the downed ‘Diamond’, and Dean waves the fight off. AH: “The way in which he won... it wasn’t just a victory, it wasn’t just a decision win, he smoked Poirier in less than two minutes. He called Dustin ‘pea-head’, said he would bounce Dustin’s head off the canvas, then literally did that.” PC: “The punch he hit Poirier with... I saw this tweet from a mainstream Irish journalist, saying it was a bull**** shot and made him think it was a choreographed fight. I remember thinking: ‘What does this kid [McGregor] have to do to get respect in Ireland?’” MO: “When you’ve known somebody for such a long time, you’re even more heartbroken for them when they lose, which is certainly how I felt for Dustin. I knew how intense the lead-up was, so to have such a ‘final’ end to that fight... your heart just breaks. It wasn’t even like it was the end of the third round, it was so quick in there.” BB: “Did I feel something in that moment, knowing what that fight meant to Dustin? Absolutely I did, when I realise that everything the man has fought for, trained for, everything he’s done for the last number of years in his life has come down to this one defining moment.” MO: “I think it was kind of like a light switch turning on for a lot of people, like: ‘Okay, Conor’s legit, because that’s Dustin Poirier.’” The aftermath As Buffer announces the result – McGregor winning by TKO“at 1:46 of the very first round” – Poirier congratulates his rival, the Irishman in kind calling his vanquished foe“a great guy”. McGregor receives his jiu-jitsu brown belt from his coaching team and sports it during his in-ring interview. “I don’t just knock them out, I pick the round,”McGregor tells commentator Joe Rogan. “You can call me ‘Mystic Mac’, because I predict these things.” Rogan informs McGregor that 10 per cent of ticket sales for the event at the 15,000-seater came from the Irish. “I wanted to come over here and show the American public the new era of the fighting Irish... If one of us goes to war, we all go to war.” PC: “After McGregor beats Poirier, the place just clears out. Four fights into his UFC career, Conor’s already a bigger commodity than Johnson, the reigning flyweight champion of the world.” AH: “The post-fight interview in the cage was legendary. Then there was the ivory suit he wore after, the sunglasses, the man-bun and shaved sides... There’s that scene of him in the hallway, doing the billionaire strut. It just felt like: ‘Okay, Conor McGregor's a superstar.’” PC: “The Notorious RTE documentary series was out and it made his dad Tony, mum Mags and sister Erin almost celebrities. They were mobbed [in Vegas]. I remember stopping to talk to Tony and people were pouring past, shouting his name. He was being bombarded.” MO: “About a month ago, Conor sent me a picture of our interview from after the fight. For Conor fights in general I was a bit nervous, because sometimes when somebody is in that very competitive mind-frame, they can’t change gears when they come to see me. But he was just himself, and I remember thinking: ‘Wow, he already knows how to turn it on and off and conserve the energies he has for when he needs them.’ He’s so tactful with how he handles the before, during and after.” PC: “He nearly became a mythological creature. The Poirier fight, to me, symbolises McGregor going from being an Irish commodity to an international commodity. To be clear: He had belonged to this generation – not the Irish in general. At this stage he hadn’t put a foot wrong, he was becoming our national ambassador. When people found out you were Irish, it used to be: ‘Oh, Guinness! Roy Keane!’ It became: ‘Oh, Conor McGregor!’ “The thing about my generation is we were kids who came out of college into a recession. Conor was this kind of shining light for us, this story of triumph amid this societal chaos in Ireland. We had so much skin in the game. People used the [Chad] Mendes fight as their summer holiday. I was walking around, seeing guys I hadn’t seen since I left school. I must’ve met 200 people I knew from home, I’m not even being overdramatic. “That’s what the Poirier fight did: It laid the foundation for what would become the Irish invasion of Vegas, it planted the seeds for Conor fights to be the big sporting events of our generation.” AH: “If Conor had lost [against Poirier], it would have been a major setback. This was a really big fight for him on a pay-per-view with a lot of big names. It felt like the true unveiling of him as this great prize-fighter and one of the faces of the UFC. If he doesn’t win, the Aldo dream fight is done; he has to claw his way back up. You can’t say he loses one fight and he’ll never amount to anything, but that would have been a serious impediment in his meteoric rise.” Read More The night Conor McGregor became ‘Mystic Mac’ The problem with the new Conor McGregor documentary, McGregor Forever UFC’s ‘BMF’ title returns as Dustin Poirier fights Justin Gaethje for vacant belt When is the next UFC event? UFC schedule 2023: Every fight happening this year UFC London ticket prices as July fights are announced

On 27 September 2014, Conor McGregor dismantled Dustin Poirier. In the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, McGregor – then the ninth-ranked featherweight in the UFC – required just over 90 seconds to drop Poirier, the No 5 featherweight in the world, and pummel his head against the canvas, forcing a stoppage. For many followers of the sport, that bout at UFC 178 represented the Irishman’s first genuine match-up against a top-level opponent, the moment McGregor’s bravado could fall in on itself. Instead, ‘Notorious’ took a giant stride closer to Jose Aldo, the UFC featherweight title and MMA history, and he did so with an ease that startled swathes of fans of the sport. In January 2021, Poirier exacted his revenge. In a lightweight rematch in Abu Dhabi, the “Diamond” knocked out McGregor in the second round after dismantling his opponent’s base by brutalising his calves with low kicks. In the main event of UFC 264, six months later, the rivalry concluded as the pair squared off one more time at lightweight, with McGregor suffering a broken leg at the end of a chaotic first round – losing the bout via TKO in the process. Ahead of that fight, The Independent spoke to four key figures about the Irish icon’s knockout victory over Poirier in 2014, as well as what preceded and followed the night that ‘Mystic Mac’ was born. The build-up In July 2014, McGregor knocks out Diego Brandao in the first round of the pair’s main-event clash in Dublin. Before the night is up, the seeds are already planted for McGregor’s next fight. Ariel Helwani (Canadian MMA journalist): “I remember at the press conference in Dublin, everybody was like ‘Poirier, Poirier, Poirier – it has to be Poirier next,’ because Poirier had been talking a little bit about Conor and they were kind of on a collision course. It seemed like: ‘Okay, the wheels are kind of in motion here.’” The bout is set for September 2014, marking a quick turnaround for McGregor, who is intent on continuing his climb up the rankings at 145lbs. His eyes are already set on Aldo, the UFC’s first – and only ever, at this point – featherweight champion, who has not lost since 2005. Megan Olivi (broadcaster – UFC): “I think that fight with Dustin was one of the first times when people were counting Conor out, like: ‘Oh, well now he’s facing Dustin Poirier and this probably won’t go well.’” AH: “I thought the narrative that Conor was fighting lesser competition and wasn't really that good was hogwash. If you watched him in Cage Warriors or his early UFC fights, it was very clear this was a supremely talented fighter. But still, there were questions to be answered against Poirier, a big step up in competition on a very big stage.” Poirier, typically a calm character, is visibly irked when in the presence of McGregor, who antagonises his opponent at every opportunity. Bruce Buffer (ring announcer – UFC): “Some time before that fight, on the way back from another fight of Dustin’s, I was at the airport and sat down at Dustin’s table and broke bread with his family. I realised what a lovely family they are and what a fine human being Dustin is, and how he stands up for everything he believes in. He’s just a really good guy.” MO: “I’d known Dustin for a very long time and remember seeing a marked difference in his demeanour. I remember being sad that Dustin’s wife [Jolie] was going to be so stressed out by the situation, even though Conor didn’t involve her in any way. Dustin was a bit more emotional than we’d seen him before. “[At the pre-fight press conference] there was a lot of animosity on stage, but Conor seemed to thrive in that, whereas with Dustin you could tell... it was taking everything in him to restrain himself. Being up there, I was worried: ‘Are they gonna get out of their chairs and get physical?’ I was a bit nervous, because the hostility was so real, and thought: ‘Let’s just get out of here with no chairs or hands thrown.’” AH: “Poirier wanted to be the guy to shut Conor up. He was very angry, like he had this chip on his shoulder. Conor, meanwhile... They did the media day in August with the infamous Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones scuffle at the MGM Grand, and in the midst of all that, Conor was taking selfies with fans. This guy was living in his own world, he didn’t care about a brawl between two of the best fighters in the world. All of these journalists were sitting around interviewing him and I thought: ‘He’s not going to be doing this for much longer – he’ll have his own press conferences.’ “I remember vividly the aura he had around him, like when he did the ‘bunny ears’ while I interviewed him. You definitely felt one fighter was happy and comfortable, and the other was very intense and mean-mugging. They had that run-in filmed on UFC: Embedded, and Conor was [later filmed] watching it and laughing at it.” In the original clip, Poirier can be heard saying of McGregor: “I don’t think I’ve ever disliked somebody that much that I’ve fought.” Peter Carroll (Irish MMA journalist): “At the weigh-ins, Poirier starts screaming at the crowd. He couldn’t believe people were cheering on McGregor. I remember thinking: ‘This has really gotten to him.’ And I’d seen Conor doing that for years. After the face-off he had with [Dave] Hill in Cage Warriors, there was talk of Hill being consoled afterwards, like he was completely rattled. I don’t think Poirier was ready for the mental warfare, how Conor actually meant everything he said. Some people were still saying, ‘It’s all a gimmick,’ but I think Poirier was in two minds.” The fight MO: “That was not the main event, but it felt like it was. It was a really good card – Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone was fighting Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson headlined against Chris Cariaso – but I remember everyone going: ‘Poirier vs McGregor, what is gonna happen with this fight?’” McGregor gets in Poirier’s face as the American skips around the cage before the introductions are made. He taunts Poirier as the pair face off, extending his hand into his opponent’s face. As referee Herb Dean asks the fighters if they wish to touch gloves, Poirier slaps McGregor’s hand away. BB: “Conor’s confidence is as high as anybody could ever dream of walking around with. He’s intimidating, he tries to get into Poirier mentally, but then when the bell rings, the Octagon door closes and I’m done and walk out, shark eyes come over each.” McGregor at once displays his confidence, opening with a hook kick and a spinning back kick. For the best part of 90 seconds, the Irishman pressures his fellow southpaw, finding a home for his left straight with greater success as the first round ticks on – talking to Poirier all the while. Then, suddenly, McGregor glances a left hand off the back of Poirier’s head, dropping the American. Two hammer fists and two punches follow on the downed ‘Diamond’, and Dean waves the fight off. AH: “The way in which he won... it wasn’t just a victory, it wasn’t just a decision win, he smoked Poirier in less than two minutes. He called Dustin ‘pea-head’, said he would bounce Dustin’s head off the canvas, then literally did that.” PC: “The punch he hit Poirier with... I saw this tweet from a mainstream Irish journalist, saying it was a bull**** shot and made him think it was a choreographed fight. I remember thinking: ‘What does this kid [McGregor] have to do to get respect in Ireland?’” MO: “When you’ve known somebody for such a long time, you’re even more heartbroken for them when they lose, which is certainly how I felt for Dustin. I knew how intense the lead-up was, so to have such a ‘final’ end to that fight... your heart just breaks. It wasn’t even like it was the end of the third round, it was so quick in there.” BB: “Did I feel something in that moment, knowing what that fight meant to Dustin? Absolutely I did, when I realise that everything the man has fought for, trained for, everything he’s done for the last number of years in his life has come down to this one defining moment.” MO: “I think it was kind of like a light switch turning on for a lot of people, like: ‘Okay, Conor’s legit, because that’s Dustin Poirier.’” The aftermath As Buffer announces the result – McGregor winning by TKO“at 1:46 of the very first round” – Poirier congratulates his rival, the Irishman in kind calling his vanquished foe“a great guy”. McGregor receives his jiu-jitsu brown belt from his coaching team and sports it during his in-ring interview. “I don’t just knock them out, I pick the round,” McGregor tells commentator Joe Rogan. “You can call me ‘Mystic Mac’, because I predict these things.” Rogan informs McGregor that 10 per cent of ticket sales for the event at the 15,000-seater came from the Irish. “I wanted to come over here and show the American public the new era of the fighting Irish... If one of us goes to war, we all go to war.” PC: “After McGregor beats Poirier, the place just clears out. Four fights into his UFC career, Conor’s already a bigger commodity than Johnson, the reigning flyweight champion of the world.” AH: “The post-fight interview in the cage was legendary. Then there was the ivory suit he wore after, the sunglasses, the man-bun and shaved sides... There’s that scene of him in the hallway, doing the billionaire strut. It just felt like: ‘Okay, Conor McGregor's a superstar.’” PC: “The Notorious RTE documentary series was out and it made his dad Tony, mum Mags and sister Erin almost celebrities. They were mobbed [in Vegas]. I remember stopping to talk to Tony and people were pouring past, shouting his name. He was being bombarded.” MO: “About a month ago, Conor sent me a picture of our interview from after the fight. For Conor fights in general I was a bit nervous, because sometimes when somebody is in that very competitive mind-frame, they can’t change gears when they come to see me. But he was just himself, and I remember thinking: ‘Wow, he already knows how to turn it on and off and conserve the energies he has for when he needs them.’ He’s so tactful with how he handles the before, during and after.” PC: “He nearly became a mythological creature. The Poirier fight, to me, symbolises McGregor going from being an Irish commodity to an international commodity. To be clear: He had belonged to this generation – not the Irish in general. At this stage he hadn’t put a foot wrong, he was becoming our national ambassador. When people found out you were Irish, it used to be: ‘Oh, Guinness! Roy Keane!’ It became: ‘Oh, Conor McGregor!’ “The thing about my generation is we were kids who came out of college into a recession. Conor was this kind of shining light for us, this story of triumph amid this societal chaos in Ireland. We had so much skin in the game. People used the [Chad] Mendes fight as their summer holiday. I was walking around, seeing guys I hadn’t seen since I left school. I must’ve met 200 people I knew from home, I’m not even being overdramatic. “That’s what the Poirier fight did: It laid the foundation for what would become the Irish invasion of Vegas, it planted the seeds for Conor fights to be the big sporting events of our generation.” AH: “If Conor had lost [against Poirier], it would have been a major setback. This was a really big fight for him on a pay-per-view with a lot of big names. It felt like the true unveiling of him as this great prize-fighter and one of the faces of the UFC. If he doesn’t win, the Aldo dream fight is done; he has to claw his way back up. You can’t say he loses one fight and he’ll never amount to anything, but that would have been a serious impediment in his meteoric rise.” Read More Eddie Hearn and Conor McGregor had 'friendly row' after KO of Irish boxer Conor McGregor reveals how he scored Katie Taylor fight from ringside Conor McGregor makes guarantee for Michael Chandler fight UFC schedule 2023: Every fight happening this year The problem with the new Conor McGregor documentary, McGregor Forever Katie Taylor chases rematch after decision loss to Chantelle Cameron

Errol Spence Jr has claimed that his bout with Terence Crawford, ‘one of the biggest fights of the century’, may simply be a ‘one-sided a**-whooping’. Spence vs Crawford, a fight first discussed in 2018 and desired by boxing fans ever since, was finally confirmed on Thursday (25 May), with the unbeaten Americans due to clash in Las Vegas on 29 July. Spence Jr, 33, will enter the T-Mobile Arena as unified welterweight champion, while Crawford, 35, holds the WBO title. As such, an undisputed champion will emerge from their contest, as long as it does not end as a draw. “Finally giving the fans what they want!” Spence Jr wrote on Instagram on Thursday. “This one [is] a throwback fight on paper but it could be a one sided a** whooping. One of the biggest fights of the century.” Meanwhile, fellow southpaw Crawford said in an Instagram video: “The wait is over, it’s game time [...] Everybody come out, show support, watch me fry this fish.” Spence Jr and Crawford were in talks last autumn over a November bout, but negotiations fell through, leading the latter to box David Avanesyan in December. Crawford stopped Avanesyan in Round 6, while Spence Jr last fought in April 2022, beating Yordenis Ugas in the 10th round. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury seen consoling devastated boxer after first pro loss Oleksandr Usyk promoter provides major update on Daniel Dubois fight Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand Wood vs Lara live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend

Jurgen Klopp has shrugged off Mohamed Salah’s tweet that there was “no excuse” for Liverpool’s failure to qualify for the Champions League as a “completely normal” reaction to their disappointment. After six successive top-four finishes, which led to three Champions League finals and victory in the competition in 2019, Liverpool were condemned to fifth place this season when Manchester United beat Chelsea on Thursday. And then Salah tweeted: “I’m totally devastated. There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum.” But Klopp insisted it was just a spur-of-the-moment reaction and said his top scorer is fine now. He said: “It is completely normal. In the world of social media so many bad things happen constantly and I don’t think that was one of them. It was just a normal description of his situation, of his feeling, and in that moment directly after the game he’s right. It’s not the moment to immediately any send optimistic messages but maybe an hour or a day later. “The moment when it is a fact you cannot qualify for the Champions League anymore... even when I knew after the last game [against Aston Villa] they [Newcastle and Manchester United] need only one point, for me it was clear they would get that point. So I drew kind of a line underneath it. I’m a very optimistic person but, in this moment, I couldn’t see it. “It was just a normal description of his feeling, and he’s right, but I saw him in the canteen an hour ago and he was smiling. He is not in a bad mood.” Liverpool’s season will end at Southampton on Sunday when Darwin Nunez may be fit again to feature and Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate are doubts. Klopp has admitted that Fabio Carvalho could leave Liverpool on loan next season after a tough first year at Anfield. He said: “This was not Fabio’s best year in his career but it might have been Fabio’s most important. No player has impressed me more. It is true. This talented boy came here with big dreams and big expectations. It didn’t work out but his work ethic will give him a fantastic career. I am not sure if he goes on loan or we keep him.” Klopp believes Liverpool, who want to sign two midfielders this summer, could struggle to get their top transfer targets straight away but is unconcerned providing they arrive by early July. Liverpool often make early signings in windows and Klopp added: It’s always possible things don’t go as quick as you want. It’s not only possible, it is probably likely. The better the players you want the lesser is the desire of the other club to let him go. “And that’s exactly what we are prepared for. But it’s a long window and a long pre-season and a long break in between so we have time if we get in players tomorrow or in six or seven weeks it is not a game-changer for me.” Read More Mohamed Salah ‘devastated’ as Liverpool fail to qualify for Champions League Roberto Firmino ends glorious Liverpool career with imperfect goodbye Manchester United owe Champions League return to one man

And so a season that began with Chelsea as the reigning world champions nears its sorry end with a very different addition to their songbook. “You’re nothing special,” their fans sang. “We lose every week.” Although some weeks they lose twice. It was the night a club clinched Champions League football: not Chelsea, though Todd Boehly thought as recently as early February that a top-four finish was possible. Instead, they are 27 points behind Newcastle, 29 adrift of Manchester United, closer in points to the relegation zone than the top nine, the club who conquered Europe in 2021 now stand sixth in London alone; they are guaranteed to finish third in west London. Chelsea were sixth in the division when they sacked Thomas Tuchel, a decision that seemed rash then and looks positively stupid now. It has been a season of four managers, 16 signings and £600m of spending. After the false dawn of wins in Graham Potter’s first three league games, they had 19 points from nine. Since then, Chelsea have 24 from 28 matches. It is relegation form: indeed, Leicester, who could be relegated, have more in the same time. In all competitions, they have scored 22 goals in their last 31 games. They have sustained terrible form over a long period of time. “Results for Chelsea this season: not good enough,” said Frank Lampard succinctly. “It has been a bad year.” No one escapes untainted from this. Possibly their greatest-ever player and definitely their record goalscorer has a 10 per cent win rate from his second spell in charge; the idea that a caretaker could plot a path past Real Madrid and to Champions League glory felt fanciful. Boehly’s infamous prediction that they would beat Real 3-0 in the Bernabeu was, in its own way, wonderfully delusional. Since then, Chelsea have scored eight goals and conceded 20. In the Premier League, they are certain to finish with a negative goal difference. It is partly a consequence of terrible finishing, partly just another marker of how virtually everything that could go wrong has. In all competitions, Chelsea remain outscored by Erling Haaland this season. They at least created chances in a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford. They defended terribly, however. But the outcome was familiar. Chelsea used to be the best; now they are a team who need to play the worst (although maybe not Southampton, who have beaten them twice). They have faced the eventual top 10 in 19 matches this season – 21 if their two cup defeats to Manchester City are included – and won one: even that was against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, not Unai Emery’s Villa. Individual ability has sometimes compensated against lesser sides. Their record against the top 10, however, illustrates how Chelsea have not been the sum of their parts. Lampard described their training and preparation as “collectively the thing that’s been glaringly short”. He lamented a lack of “standards” but, two years ago under Tuchel, the standards were high. Now the price is. Their parts have never been costlier in a season of record outlay. But their player of the year is a 38-year-old they got on a free transfer, in Thiago Silva. The 18-year-old Lewis Hall has been the greatest positive of back-to-back trips to Manchester, but looks a more compelling understudy to Ben Chilwell at left-back than the £62m signing Marc Cucurella. Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, the £70m centre-back, has gifted both Manchester clubs goals within five days with poor passes. Mykhailo Mudryk is the £88m forward with no goals. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was signed to play for Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked when the striker was one game into his Chelsea career. Joao Felix, an utterly unsuccessful loan signing, cost £16m in fee and wages and only found his clinical touch when 4-0 down at Old Trafford. He is an example of how Chelsea have burned through money. There isn’t a hit among those 16 signings yet; many – Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Enzo Fernandez, Fofana, Aubameyang, Cucurella – would command far less if sold now. Instead, they may have to lose Mason Mount, the kind of player Mauricio Pochettino would probably appreciate. They have amassed too many players to manage, or even to accommodate in a dressing room. “People talk about squad size, things that are very valid,” said Lampard. “There isn’t a huge stability in the team and squad.” He played in a time when instability almost seemed an asset to Chelsea. Now, the needless scale and pace of change has accelerated a decline. Chelsea have plunged themselves into a downward spiral, with talent but not cohesion, clarity of thought, consistency of selection, a style of play, a system or goals. Pochettino will inherit a mess having presumably ensured he does not take charge before the end of this season so he cannot be blamed for it. “It needs a rebuild,” Lampard said. “The club will move on in the summer in terms of the squad.” And so, at the end of a season that has been a masterpiece of stupidity, the fourth man to coach a squad that has had over half a billion spent on 16 players concluded they still need a rebuild. Read More Manchester United owe Champions League return to one man Jose Mourinho takes snide dig at Tottenham and Daniel Levy How Chelsea match is pivotal to Man Utd’s hopes of signing Mason Mount

Former sparring partners Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith will meet in a world-title fight this weekend. Okolie enters Billam-Smith’s hometown of Bournemouth with the WBO cruiserweight belt and an unbeaten record, but the challenger will be buoyed by great support at Vitality Stadium – home to his beloved AFC Bournemouth. In his most recent fight, Okolie outpointed David Light in March, with the beaten New Zealander suffering a ‘mild stroke’ but expected to make a ‘full recovery’. Meanwhile, Billam-Smith produced a knockout-of-the-year contender against Armend Xhoxhaj in December. Okolie (19-0, 14 KOs) said of Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KOs) this week: “Chris, I love you, but I have to get the KO in this one.” Here’s all you need to know. When is it? The fight will take place at Vitality Stadium, home to Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, on Saturday 27 May. The main card is set to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 10pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET). How can I watch it? The event will air live on Sky Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s website and Sky Go app also streaming the fights. No US broadcaster has yet been confirmed for the event. Odds Okolie – 2/7 Billam-Smith – 11/4 Draw – 14/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Lawrence Okolie (C) vs Chris Billam-Smith (WBO cruiserweight title) Mikael Lawal (C) vs Isaac Chamberlain (British cruiserweight title) Lee Cutler vs Stanley Stannard (super-welterweight) Mace Ruegg vs Dean Dodge (super-featherweight) Sam Eggington vs Joe Pigford (super-welterweight) Michael McKinson vs TBA (welterweight) Tommy Welch vs TBA (heavyweight) Karriss Artingsall vs. Jade Taylor (featherweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Wood vs Lara live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand ‘Daylight robbery’: Vasiliy Lomachenko’s team plan to appeal Devin Haney defeat Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones What time does Okolie vs Billam-Smith start in UK and US this weekend? What time does Wood vs Lara start in UK and US this weekend? How to watch Wood vs Lara online and on TV this weekend

Here we are! The end of the road in Fantasy Premier League this season - gameweek 38. Twenty teams, ten games all kicking off at 4.30pm GMT and one final chance to get some points in before the FPL league tables are finalised. With that in mind, here are five essential picks for your team this week: (All prices accurate as of Thursday 25 May) For more picks, differential top tips, chip strategy and more, sign up for our newsletter by entering your email address at the top of this article or clicking here. Sam Johnstone - £4.4m Consider bringing in Sam Johnstone to stand between the sticks. With Nottingham Forest now safe, expect Steve Cooper's side to take their foot off the gas in their final game against Crystal Palace. The English shot-stopper has averaged over four points per game in his 12 appearances in the League this season, and Palace's recent form, which includes three clean sheets in their last seven, should give you hope that Johnstone could punch above his averages. Crucially, at just £4.4m, Johnstone would allow you to re-direct funds from goal to more important areas of the squad. Mohamed Salah - £13.1m The Egyptian winger has enjoyed yet another astonishing season in terms of output, which has perhaps slipped under the radar given the exploits of Erling Haaland and Liverpool's struggles. Against an already relegated Southampton, the dynamic forward is an essential pick and is a strong candidate for captaincy. James Maddison - £7.8m Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Leicester's talisman simply must perform against West Ham if his side have any chance at staying up. His (and Leicester's) attacking output has actually been quite respectable (currently his second-best season for goals in the Premier League), despite their league position, and the maverick midfielder grabbed a goal in the reverse fixture at the London Stadium. Eberechi Eze - £5.7m A favourite of The Independent’s FPL newsletter, it just feels wrong to leave out the inspired Eberechi Eze for this final gameweek. Whilst sentimentality may have had a small part to play, the English midfielder's numbers speak for themselves, with Eze standing as the top-scoring Crystal Palace asset this season - no mean feat, given competition from the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise, Vicente Guaita and Jordan Ayew. His final fixture is a kind one, too, as outlined above for our goalkeeper pick this week - Forest need to be wary of the threat Eze poses if they stand any chance. Rico Lewis - £3.8m An outside choice - but why not consider the ridiculously cheap Rico Lewis for the final day? City proved that a clean sheet with a much-rotated XI (we daren't use the words 'weaker' and 'Manchester City' in the same sentence) is possible against Chelsea in GW37, and we should expect to see a similar number of fringe players in the squad for the Brentford game. As much as selection is a guessing game with Pep Guardiola, Lewis seems like a strong candidate to start, given the upcoming FA Cup and Champions League finals for City. For more picks, differential top tips, chip strategy and more, sign up for our newsletter by entering your email address at the top of this article. Read More Fantasy Premier League tips for GW37: Wilson, Dias, de Gea and more £600m spent but still outscored by Haaland – Chelsea’s masterpiece of stupidity ‘It is theatre’: Inside the chaos of a final-day Premier League relegation battle £600m spent but still outscored by Haaland – Chelsea’s masterpiece of stupidity ‘It is theatre’: Inside the chaos of a final-day Premier League relegation battle Mark Robins vowed to lead Coventry back to the Premier League – Michael Doyle

When players talk about the anguish of a final-day relegation battle, one of the main memories that most recall is the unsettling sense of quiet. That isn’t when the final whistle goes, and reality sinks in. It is actually during the chaos, when something happens at another game, and the news seeps through to the crowd. The players realise something big has changed. It affects performance. “The atmosphere and pressure is palpable,” says Gareth Farrelly, who was the decisive figure in one of the Premier League’s most famous final days 25 years ago. This may yet be the decisive factor on Sunday. Because, although there are three clubs vying for one place, the general feeling in the game is that it is only going one way. An Everton win is guaranteed to keep them up, and they probably have the most forgiving fixture in terms of playing a recently safe mid-table in Bournemouth. There is also the argument, put forward from what is being said within all three clubs, that they have the manager in Sean Dyche who is the best fit in terms of both team and situation. Sam Allardyce has yet to fully rally Leeds United, who look fragile. The feeling from within Leicester City is that there isn’t yet that connection between the squad and Dean Smith, and there have been some questions about his tactics. The great disruptor is that, with all of these clubs, it's pretty difficult to predict such wins with any confidence. That's why they're in this position in the first place. There are no guarantees. You can think it’s going to go one way, but the first development - and that first ripple around the stadium - can transform the entire mindset at a stadium and the dynamic of the day. It is why the first goal on Sunday might be so important, and have a chain reaction. It could yet be one of the most manic final days of all at the bottom of the table. It is certainly the one that involves the biggest clubs, as well as the most titles. Everton, Leeds and Leicester have 13 leagues between them, the last of them only further raising the stakes Should Leicester go down a mere six years after the most sensational title win of all - and just two years after an FA Cup win that rightly saw them hailed as a model club - it would bookend a story that somehow became even more incredible. And yet it still wouldn’t be as big a story as Everton enduring their first relegation in 72 years, especially given the potential consequences for the club. The prospective MSP Sports Capital purchase of 25 per cent has at least eased concerns over the future, but this is also about much more than finances. It is about prestige and glory, and what football really comes down to. Everton going down would be a symbolic moment - as well as a profoundly emotional one. It is about that long history but also what next. There is a great persistent pride to this club, that could well be punctured. Leeds know all about that. Their return to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa felt like a restoration of the club’s rightful status, only for it to go wrong so quickly. Not quite as quickly as Leicester, though. No matter who of the three go down, they would all do so with considerable weight. Some of the key factors of the day are naturally similar to the key factors of the campaign. It does not feel a coincidence that all changed manager mid-season, even if it can’t be said any were wrong to make a change. The bigger question might be in who the next appointment was, with clubs’ different policies proving the decisive quality in the entire bottom half. Crystal Palace's appointment of Roy Hodgson changed so much. Bournemouth got it right in bringing in Gary O’Neill, who could yet bring the response that puts Everton in real trouble. West Ham United were vindicated in being a rare club to stick by their manager in David Moyes, and Leicester now have to get around that stability. Leeds offer maybe the greatest contrast to all, and one of the bigger complications, even if they still have a chance. It’s hard not to feel their overall fortunes have been affected by picking a manager respected for rigid defensive organisation to take charge of a squad built for the most frenetic pressing. Little wonder Allardyce - and, before him, Javi Gracia - has found it difficult to get that defensive resilience out of his team. It just isn’t attuned to that. They're built to run. Leeds now have to go in the other direction and attack to get a win. That difficult switch may be from the most forgiving game, though, given how Tottenham Hotspur’s season has drifted. Dyche is at least working with a squad more used to that approach, and there was the recent electric charge of that freakish 5-1 win over Brighton. Dean Smith represents a compromise in terms of style which means he isn’t a total contrast from how Brendan Rodgers set up Leicester, but the greater question there is whether his tactical approach is up to it. There is talk that he hasn’t yet got a connection with the squad. The difference is that Leicester have by far the highest individual quality in this race. That can have a profound difference on any one day, no matter how the rest of the season has gone. If it comes right down to that moment, you want - say - Harvey Barnes striking that ball rather than the vast majority of others involved. At the same time, the extremity of the day can draw excellence from unexpected figures. Farrelly knows that too well. It was his shot out of nothing against Coventry City in 1997-98 that meant everything to Everton, relegating Bolton Wanderers instead. Farrelly says the memories of the day are a medley. “It is theatre, heroes, villains, destiny in your own hands, home fixture, opposition with nothing to play for… there is a unifying sense as all of the protest, anger, mania is overtaken by a greater force. Survival, history, and all that means…” In other words, mayhem. This is one of the elements that makes the survival battle so different from the final day of a title race, while remaining just as engaging. It is sometimes more enthralling because of the depth of emotion. There is obviously far less quality involved, which brings more errors, and only deepens the desperation that drives the afternoon. Panic can take over from very early on, especially depending on that first goal. There are bigger discussions to be had on why this battle means as much as it does. That comes down to the money, and the immense gaps obviously aren't good for the game. Farrelly - who now works as a lawyer and with the Union of European Clubs, who seek to represent continental sides outside the elite - describes it as the “commodification of feelings”. It is undeniably one of the elements that can make the day feel almost intrusive. Neutrals are obviously watching for the drama, but that is heightened by the emotion, that despair, and the images of fans crying. Broadcasters will really be showing images of public grief. They will also be showing celebration and relief, though. On Sunday, it is only one team who will experience that. It just might go down a number of different paths until we get there. Read More Everton stare into the abyss due to a mess of their own making Premier League relegation: What do Leeds, Everton and Leicester need to survive? Premier League 2022/23 season awards: Best player, manager, transfer flop and breakthrough act Roberto De Zerbi preparing for busy summer building competitive Brighton squad Mark Robins vowed to lead Coventry back to the Premier League – Michael Doyle Harry Kane taking inspiration from greats as he eyes another decade at top

Once again, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford have agreed to fight. Once again, fans are crossing their fingers. The problem is that other key figures in this deal, of anxious dispositions and with sweaty hands hidden behind their backs, may be doing the same. Spence vs Crawford, or Crawford vs Spence, has proven to be one of the most elusive fights of a generation. Two champions, both alike in stature, in unfair America, where we lay our scene, a pair of star-crossed southpaws take this bout... yet they have done so before, and still the contest eluded the sport’s devotees. It is a bout that was first discussed in 2018, perhaps earlier, and one that seemed to be within grasp last autumn. Terms were agreed, fans were told, over a November meeting between the welterweight champions – both unbeaten and both undeterred by the prospect of losing their gold or records. Because that is the problem. In these situations, it is rarely the fault of the competitors that these bouts fall through; it is never a fear from the fighters that derails negotiations. Pride, perhaps, plays a decisive and often disappointing role, but not fear. That is for the men in suits, not those wearing 8oz gloves. That is why, when news emerged on Wednesday that unified champion Spence (28-0, 22 knockouts) and WBO champion Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) had agreed terms over a 29 July clash in Las Vegas, excitement was premature. It was, and is, understandable, but premature nevertheless. When Spence, 33, and Crawford, 35, agreed terms last year, the latter instead went on to box David Avanesyan, stopping the Armenian in December. Meanwhile, Spence has not fought since a TKO win over Yordenis Ugas 13 months ago. Both Spence and Crawford have struggled for activity in recent times, and both are slowly approaching the end of their primes. There is, of course, reason to hope – a few reasons, in fact. Over the course of the last month, we have seen two match-ups to satisfy boxing purists and suck in casual viewers, and neither fight should be taken for granted. In April, after years of baying from fans and the fighters themselves, lightweights Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis squared off in a catchweight contest. Last week, Devin Haney defended his undisputed lightweight titles against former unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in a dynamic contest with a dramatic conclusion. All the while, the heavyweights are held up, and the obstructive factors in negotiations between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are pointers as to why Spence-Crawford will not be ‘on’ until the first bell rings. In the case of Fury and Usyk, a purse split (unfair as it was on the Ukrainian) was agreed, as was a rematch clause, only for the deal to dissolve due to a different dispute: one around the purse split in the rematch clause​. It would have been funny, had it not been so farcical. Errol Spence Jr Terence Crawford Age 32 35 Record 28-0 (22 KOs) 39-0 (30 KOs) Stance Southpaw Southpaw Titles WBC, WBA, IBF welterweight belts WBO welterweight belt (Formerly WBO lightweight belt; WBC, WBO, WBA [Super], IBF light-welterweight belts) Notable wins Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia, Carlos Ocampo, Kell Brook Shawn Porter, Jose Benavidez Jr, Kell Brook, Amir Khan So, with reports suggesting that this Spence-Crawford deal contains a rematch clause for both fighters, and that a trilogy is likely in the case of a 1-1 scoreline by the end of 2023, there is reason for hesitancy. Such a deal contains enough moving parts to concern even the most enraptured observer. The prospect of a trilogy also threatens to hold up the division, though if the fights deliver in the way that fans have long hoped, few will mind besides any stranded contenders themselves. The point here is not to suggest that Spence-Crawford will not in fact come to pass; as of this week, it looks likelier than ever that the Americans will share a ring at long last. Last year, Spence shared a cartoon of himself imagined as a shark, knocking on the locker room door of Crawford; on Wednesday, Crawford shared an illustration of himself as a god of the tides, carrying a shark on his trident. An official announcement may even be impending. However, boxing fans have been burnt enough times that they should exercise caution until the moment the bell rings, and one of the most-anticipated fights of a generation finally begins. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith rematch postponed for second time ‘Daylight robbery’: Vasiliy Lomachenko’s team plan to appeal Devin Haney defeat Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand Oleksandr Usyk promoter provides major update on Daniel Dubois fight Deontay Wilder claims Oleksandr Usyk is ‘a lot afraid’ of heavyweight clash Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand

Everton, Leeds United and Leicester City are the three clubs heading into the final day of the Premier League season uncertain about being there again next year. Only Southampton have already been confirmed as facing the drop to the Championship, but from only a couple of months ago where at least nine sides were in danger of going down, it’s now just two from three who will end the weekend in despair. Sean Dyche’s side are in the driving seat after earning a late, late point against Wolves last time out, but while survival remains in their own hands, one win in their last ten matches doesn’t exactly offer much of a guarantee that they’ll get the job done. Ahead of the final fixtures, it’s Everton in 17th and safety on 33 points, Leicester on 31 and Leeds also on 31 - but with an inferior goal difference to both of those above them. Perhaps importantly, all three sides are at home for their last outing; of the trio, it’s Leeds who have the best record on their own turf this term - but the Foxes have taken most points from the last three on home soil. Here’s what each of the three clubs need to survive, and what every permutation will mean on the final day of 2022/23. Final day fixtures (Sunday, 4:30pm BST) Everton vs Bournemouth (15th) - live on Sky Sports Leeds vs Tottenham (8th) - live on BT Sport Leicester vs West Ham (14th) - live on Sky Sports If Everton win We’ll start with the obvious and easy one: a victory for Sean Dyche’s side against the Cherries renders everything else irrelevant. Everton can’t finish any higher than 17th, but 36 points would make them uncatchable by either of the other two. So an Everton win means they survive, while Leicester and Leeds go down. If Everton lose Before turning our attention to the potential for finishing level on points, here’s the situation if the Toffees are beaten by Bournemouth. First and foremost, Leicester and Leeds have to win. If either club fail to take three points from their own matches, they are down and Everton stay up. If one of them does win and Everton lose, Everton will be relegated and whichever one of Leeds and Leicester claimed victory will stay up, the other goes down. If both Leeds and Leicester win, Everton are down in 19th and Leeds will be relegated in 18th on goal difference...unless they somehow win by nine goals more than Leicester do. So if the Foxes triumph 1-0, Leeds need to become the first-ever Premier League-era club to secure a 10-0 victory to survive on goals scored. It feels an unlikely combination of events. If Everton draw Here’s where it gets more tricky. One point for Dyche’s side leaves them on 34. Again, if either Leeds or Leicester fail to win, they are relegated regardless of anything else, so only victories there will potentially affect matters. Everton survive if neither of the others win. So, if Everton draw, Leicester win and Leeds do not win: Leeds will be down in 19th, Everton will join them in the Championship finishing 18th. Leicester surive on goal difference. If Everton draw, Leeds win and Leicester do not win: Leicester are 19th and relegated and the last spot will go to goal difference. Everton are on -24 ahead of the weekend and a draw keeps them on the same, so Leeds (currently -27) need to win by three goals to stay up on goals scored. They are well ahead of Everton in that regard (47-33) so if we exclude ridiculous scenarios such as an Everton 18-18 draw, any three-goal win in this permutation will keep Leeds up. If Everton draw and both Leeds and Leicester win: It’s Leicester who stay up here and survive from a three-way goal difference fight. Not that it’ll matter much to either of them since they’ll be down regardless, but the order of Leeds and Everton will depend on if Leeds win by three, as in the previous permutation. What Everton need: To win their own game, or for Leicester and Leeds to both not win. What Leicester need: To win, and for Everton to not win. What Leeds need: To win and Everton lose, or to win by three if Everton draw. Leicester must also not win in either scenario. Odds on avoiding relegation Everton 2/9 Leicester 4/1 Leeds 10/1 *Accurate as of 24 May Read More Relegation permutations: What do Leeds, Everton and Leicester need to survive? Michael van Gerwen creates Premier League history by winning seventh title Erling Haaland aims to cap stunning debut season with Man City by winning treble Manchester United vs Chelsea LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Coventry and Luton are proof the play-off final means more than just money The all-or-nothing transfer dilemma Tottenham face this summer

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah said there is “no excuse” for the club missing out on the Champions League this season after Manchester United thrashed Chelsea to confirm to place in the Premier League’s top-four. The Reds will be without Champions League football for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign next season, with Newcastle United also beating Jurgen Klopp’s side to a top-four spot - joining champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal. Salah has reached the Champion League final three times since moving to Liverpool in 2017 and said the club had “failed” by only reaching the Europa League. Liverpool were defeated finalists last year and Salah said the club had “everything” they needed to qualify again this campaign. The Egyptian posted a tweet immediately after United’s 4-1 win over Chelsea on Thursday, the result which confirmed Liverpool’s fifth-place finish this season, which read: “I’m totally devastated. “There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. “We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. “I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down.” Liverpool went on a nine-game winning run to revive their hopes of Champions League qualification but Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Anfield left United needing only a point from their final two fixtures against Chelsea and Fulham. Afterwards, Liverpool manager Klopp accepted his side have not been good enough to qualify for the Champions League this season. “I think the whole season is rather a season where we qualify for Europa League than for Champions League,” he said. “We were for too long not good enough or ourselves.” Read More Liverpool thought they’d bought the future – but two wrong moves left them counting the cost Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have not been good enough for top-four finish Jurgen Klopp open to strengthening Liverpool defence during summer window

Last May, Casemiro won the Champions League. This May, he has qualified for it. It sounds the lesser achievement. A player who played in four Champions League final victories is now mathematically assured of a top-four finish. As Manchester United returned to the top table of European football, it owed much to Casemiro. Over the season, he has been a catalytic force. On the night when they condemned Chelsea to defeat and Liverpool to the Europa League, he was again. United had been short of goals of late but Casemiro started a rout of the 2021 Champions League winners. Erik ten Hag bought a defensive midfielder, but Casemiro has contributed much in attack. He scored the opening goal and helped set up the second with a sand wedge of a pass. Anthony Martial scored it, Bruno Fernandes added a third from the penalty spot before the substitute Marcus Rashford became the first player to score 30 goals in a season for United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. But the name that echoed most around Old Trafford, unsurprisingly, was Casemiro’s. He signed in August after the embarrassment of the 4-0 demolition at Brentford; undeterred, Casemiro has helped lead a revival. United’s season, which began disastrously, will end with Ten Hag in credit. With a trophy in the cabinet and a top-four finish, there is a sense his mission has been accomplished, even if the mood will partly be affected by whether United end Manchester City’s treble hopes in the FA Cup final. There was a pragmatic element to buying Casemiro, paying £63m for a player in his thirties. There was a need for a short-term return on their investment, but United have got it. As Ten Hag had noted on Wednesday, and in relation to Chelsea, money is not enough without strategy. Some £600m later, the Londoners played some enterprising football at Old Trafford but departed with an eighth defeat in 10 matches under Frank Lampard. United instead showed the flair to get four goals and, with Chelsea’s defence disintegrating, could have had twice as many. A third successive win took their tally to 40 victories this season and 29 games unbeaten at Old Trafford. Casemiro is the serial winner who has assumed a symbolic importance. Ten Hag revamped and upgraded United’s midfield last summer and his signings combined effectively. Casemiro’s aerial ability at set-pieces has proved a welcome benefit and he headed in Christian Eriksen’s free kick. Until the Dane was injured in January, he ranked second only to Kevin De Bruyne for assists in the Premier League, and the quality of his delivery has added another dimension. Casemiro had opened his United account against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Bought to give ballast to the midfield, he has proved more prolific than most expected; a seventh goal of the season equalled the best haul of his career. It is a moot point if this was his most important goal for United – he did score in the Carabao Cup final – but the significance of Champions League football means it could be. Jadon Sancho and Martial were particular culprits as United’s attackers took poor decisions and bad touches until, in a moment of redemption, the winger sprang the offside trap to meet Casemiro’s pass and centre for the striker to have a tap-in. Thereafter, Fernandes hit the post after being found by Sancho. Eriksen ought to have added a third from about three yards but was denied by that rarity, a wondrous save by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Fernandes did when tripped by Wesley Fofana, scoring the spot kick himself. Fofana’s traumatic afternoon continued as he gifted the ball to Fernandes. He found Rashford, who ended up rolling the ball in to become the first United player to reach 30 since Robin van Persie. Rashford had come on when Antony was stretchered off, his chances of appearing in the FA Cup final presumably over, head in hands after an innocuous challenge by Trevoh Chalobah. Luke Shaw came off at half-time with a minor back injury that is less likely to rule him out. For Chelsea, the relief may be that there is only one more game to go in a harrowing season. Frank Lampard named Chelsea’s youngest ever team in the Premier League. The youngest of them acquitted himself well: for the second time in five days in Manchester, Lewis Hall was their best player. He twice could have had an assist, inviting crosses bringing an awful miss from Mykhailo Mudryk and a header wide by Kai Havertz, and had a shot parried by David de Gea. Carney Chukwuemeka showed glimpses of talent, too, and the substitute Joao Felix drilled in a consolation goal. But, when Alejandro Garnacho hit the bar, they came perilously close to conceding a fifth. It is little over a year since they faced Casemiro, then with Real Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final. He will be in the competition again next year. Chelsea certainly won’t be. Read More Erling Haaland aims to cap stunning debut season with Man City by winning treble Manchester United vs Chelsea LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Pep Guardiola: Disallowed Haaland ‘goal’ proves Man City success is on own merit Chelsea the title favourites as Leicester look to survive – WSL talking points How Chelsea match is pivotal to Man Utd’s hopes of signing Mason Mount Rumours: Man Utd in £55m Mount bid as Arsenal consider Smith-Rowe sale