EPL 7-Match LIVE Coverage + Analysis:

Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, where I have LIVE coverage of the penultimate round in the 2012-13 EPL season. 
Yesterday, Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-1, while Wigan beat Manchester City in the FA Cup Final with a dramatic goal in the dying seconds of the match. 

Lampard surpassed the all-time goal record for Chelsea with his double against Villa yesterday. 

Late winner: Ben Watson celebrates his header against City to win Wigan their first trophy in 81 years.

That blog post will be out later on today, don't worry.

Today's EPL Action:

Stoke City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Spurs have leapfrogged Arsenal into 4th place with a vital 2-1 win over tough test Stoke at The Britannia Stadium in the early kick-off today.

Defensive midfielder Steven N'Zonzi broke the deadlock in just the 3rd minute for the hosts to give Spurs a wake-up call before American forward Clint Dempsey scored his 7th goal of the campaign to equalize in the 20th minute. 

Early: Steven N'Zonzi heads the ball across goal and past Lloris into the net to make it 1-0. 

Stunner: N'Zonzi is mobbed by his Stoke team-mates as he scores the opening goal. 

Equaliser: Clint Dempsey celebrates his equaliser to make it 1-1 in the 20th minute. 

Stoke defensive midfielder Charlie Adam was sent off in the 47th minute for two yellow cards, and the hosts were in trouble from that point on with ten men. 

Down to ten: Charlie Adam was sent off for two yellow cards and Stoke were in trouble.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored his second goal in two games (after his strike against Chelsea on Wednesday) in the 83rd minute to ensure Totttenham went back to north London with the three points. 

Adebayor celebrates scoring the winner against Stoke to move them in-front of rivals Arsenal.

LIVE matches (3pm unless stated):

Everton 2 West Ham United 0 

The hosts are giving manager David Moyes a great send-off in his last home match as Everton manager before he leaves to join Manchester United at the end of the season. 

Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas has repaid Moyes' faith in him, scoring a double to make it 2-0 in the 70th minute. 

Impressive: Mirallas scored a double against West Ham to seal all three points on Moyes' last home game.

Mirallas celebrates his double against West Ham in-front of manager David Moyes. 

Fulham 1 Liverpool 2  

Liverpool are currently leading 2-1 away from home, thanks to a double by English forward Daniel Sturridge. 
Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring for Fulham in the first half, but the hosts are trailing with 20 minutes to play.

Talisman: Berbatov celebrates his goal against Liverpool to put Fulham ahead at Craven Cottage. 

Not for long: Sturridge cooly slots the ball past Schwarzer in the net to equalise. 

Can't hear you: Sturridge celebrates his first of his hat-trick against Fulham to level the scoring

Fulham need the points more than The Reds as they are still in a relegation battle, but they still have time to get a result. 

Norwich 3 West Bromwich Albion 0 

Robert Snodgrass, Grant Holt and an own goal by Gareth McAuley has given Norwich a comfortable 3-0 lead at home against 8th placed West Brom who have seemed to take their foot off the pedal after a solid season. 

Safe: Norwich striker Grant Holt celebrates his strike to make it 2-0 against WBA. 

QPR 1 Newcastle United 2

Already relegated QPR host relegation-threatened Newcastle. 
If it stays like this however, Newcastle should be safe from the drop zone.
Goals from French duo Hatem Ben Arfa (penalty) and Yoan Gouffran has given the away side the lead. 

Sunderland 1 Southampton 0

Defender Phil Bardsley has scored the only goal of the game so far in a fierce relegation battle match. 17th vs 14th.... 

Can The Saints get back into the match?

4pm kick-off - Manchester United 0 Swansea City 0 

The late kick-off started not long ago at Old Trafford, on an emotional day for fans worldwide. 

Today sees legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson manage his last home game as United boss, while Paul Scholes plays his last home match as he announced his retirement (for the second time) yesterday night. 

16:45: 

Manchester United have broken the deadlock! Javier Hernandez scores his 49th goal in a Manchester United shirt in the 39th minute after a set piece is failed to be cleared away by the Swansea defence, before bouncing straight on the ground for the Mexican striker to pounce on and slot the ball beyond Dutch goalkeeper Michel Vorm into the net. 

49 for the club: Hernandez celebrates opening the scoring for United just before half-time 

1-0 to the hosts, and it's party time for the hosts! 

16:52:

Half-time at Old Trafford, and it is full-time in all of the 3pm kick-off matches;

Everton 2 West Ham 0
Fulham 1 Liverpool 3
Norwich 4 West Brom 0
QPR 1 Newcastle United 2
Sunderland 1 Southampton 1

Southampton rescued a vital point against Sunderland in the 74th minute thanks to a strike by Jason Puncheon, while Daniel Sturridge completed his hat-trick against Fulham to secure all three points for The Reds. 

David Moyes won his last home match in charge of Everton, while Newcastle are safe from relegation after a 2-1 away win against already relegated QPR. 

Staying up: Newcastle celebrate Goufran's goal to secure their place in the EPL next season

That leaves Sunderland, Southampton and Fulham all looking behind their shoulder, getting a bit worried before the final day of the EPL season, this time next week - May the 19th. 

Earlier today, the Championship play-off semi-final second leg was played between Watford and Leicester, with the winner playing in the final at Wembley to decide which team would be the third to join the EPL next season.

Watford were victorious with a dramatic 3-1 (3-2) win, and they will face Crystal Palace or Brighton at Wembley in two weeks time. 

Bullet volley: Vydra was on the scoresheet for Watford as they progressed to the Wembley final 

Important goal: Vydra runs over to celebrate his finish with the Watford supporters. 

You can see what it means: Watford celebrate the winner against Leicester. 

17:07:

The second half has started at Old Trafford, with Sir Alex Ferguson delivering his last team-talk at home before he retires from management. 

17:10:

GOAL! Manchester United have conceded! Bargain of the season Miguel Michu equalizes for Swansea in the 49th minute with a great finish inside the box after some quick build-up play by The Swans. 

English winger Nathan Dyer ran down the wing with pace, before whipping in a cross for Michu to connect with, beating David De Gea with his strike straight into the net.

Great finish: Michu connects with the ball perfectly to beat De Gea into the net and equalise.

Bargain of the season: Miguel Michu celebrates his 18th EPL goal of the season.

Most of the Manchester United fans do not really seem that bothered that they have conceded, they cannot wait for full-time where they are presented with the EPL trophy. 

17:37:

Ten minutes left of the match at Old Trafford, and Swansea are not giving United an easy time, I can tell you that. 

They are dominating the possession and passing the ball well.
Meanwhile, Michu and Scholes have both been replaced for Swansea and United respectively as both teams look to close the game out. 

17:43:

GOAL! Manchester United have regained the lead, from an unlikely source!

Defender Rio Ferdinand has made it 2-1 in the 87th minute with a bullet strike, to score his first goal in over five years! 

Rocket shot: Ferdinand hits a stunner to win the match for United in the 87th minute. 

Long time coming: Ferdinand roars with delight after scoring his first goal in over 5 years.

The United flags are waving fiercely now! 

Waving flags: Manchester United fans waving flags before and during the match. 

17:46:

The fourth official has signalled for 3 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match at Old Trafford, with 72,000 fans chanting in perfect harmony. 
Great atmosphere, and this will continue long into the night and tomorrow when they parade the trophy. 

17:48:

Swansea are trying to get the ball further up the pitch to try and make one more chance, but the home fans are booing them off the ball and United are pressing them each time they have the ball.

17:49:

That's it! The referee has blown his whistle for full-time, and Manchester United celebrate their 28th win of the season.
Sir Alex is taking a round of applause, and giving some handshakes to some fans near the dugout. 

17:58:

Very emotional speech from Sir Alex just now, addressing all of the supporters in the ground, telling them to support their new manager and thanking them for all their support over the last 25+ years along with the players including Paul Scholes (who retires today) and Darren Fletcher (who is recovering from bowel cancer).

Warm reception, and touching tribute from a legendary manager. 

Emotional speech: Sir Alex made a touching tribute to the club, thanking them for everything. 

18:00:

Staff are getting ready for the unveiling of the Premier League trophy, getting the platforms and banners onto the pitch while the players wait in the tunnel.  

No-one is leaving the ground just yet! 

18:07:

The preparations are almost finished, the Premier League trophy is in the tunnel and we are almost ready to celebrate United's title win. 

18:08:

Hull manager and former United player Steve Bruce carries out the Premier League trophy to applause from the United fans.

18:13:

The ceremony has begun, with the medals being handed out to all of the United players one-by-one including Rooney who was not involved in the match today, which was a major story as rumours run rampant about his future at the club. 

Champions: United wait patiently for the ceremony to begin by celebrating on the pitch.

18:20:

The trophy has been unveiled! Sir Alex lifted it high in the air with a proud look on his face as the fans screamed and shouted, chanting "Glory Glory Man United"

Living legend: Sir Alex Ferguson lifts his 13th EPL title aloft, and United's record 20th. 

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, I will speak to you all later on in the week with more analysis and coverage from today and upcoming last matches of the season (next Sunday).
I appreciate all the support from daily views and my followers on Google+ and the people who subscribe to me by email. 

Please help me by spreading the word to your friends and family who are interested in football (or soccer), while giving a +1 would  be appreciated. 
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Keep up the daily views and support everyone, you will not regret it!
Have a great end to your day, and have a nice week :)  

Fergie's farewell, Moyes moves to Manchester:

The legend, the great, the amazing, one of the world's best managers to grace the beautiful game in Sir Alex Ferguson officially announced his retirement from management on Wednesday morning. It shocked millions of people all over the world, including thousands of United fans weeks after he helped them win their record 20th EPL title with matches to spare.

Record: Sir Alex Ferguson and millions of United fans were celebrating their record 20th title.

His dominance in England over the past 20+ years has cemented his place as one of the most influential and best managers to manage ever, and it is not a surprise that so many millions of people are almost in mourning over his retirement.

Double: Sir Alex and Eric Cantona pose with the FA Cup and EPL trophy in 1996, where United did the double.

Twitter: Ronaldo posted a picture on Twitter thanking Sir Alex for everything he had done for him 

Thanks for everything: Sir Alex turned Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo from a teenage showboat to a superstar.

Tribute: Former United player David Beckham led the tributes to his former boss Sir Alex.

He won thirteen league titles, two European Cups (UCL), five FA Cups and a European Cup-winners' Cup along with the UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield. 

He will officially leave his post as manager at the end of the season, and will take up an ambassadorial role with the club along with becoming a member of the board of directors.

He said this;
"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time.

It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long-term future of the club remains a bright one.

Our training facilities are amongst the finest in global sport and our home Old Trafford is rightfully regarded as one of the leading venues in the world.

Going forward, I am delighted to take on the roles of both Direct and Ambassador for the club. With these activities, along with my many other interests, I am looking forward to the future."


It all went very quickly for Manchester United, from hearing about SAF's retirement on Wednesday morning to hearing suddenly that Everton manager David Moyes will replace him next season on a six-year deal worth £4million pounds a year on Thursday afternoon, but he also has a lot of experience in the EPL (11 years in-fact, 3rd longest-serving manager in the EPL).

Rumours are cirulating that Wayne Rooney wants to leave United, and has done for quite some time. The retirement of Sir Alex has just reiterated his desire to leave Manchester, with PSG and Chelsea among the clubs that reportedly want him.

Baby face: Wayne Rooney was being unveiled as the world's next superstar at Everton...

Remember me? David Moyes and Wayne Rooney meet again at United next season.. 

Out of all the managers that are available at the moment, it looks like United have nailed their choice in Moyes who despite having not won a trophy in England yet has experience and expertise.

Manchester United published this picture of their new manager David Moyes yesterday on their official website.

The main story now is surrounding who will become Everton's new manager. The rumours are that Martinez or Laudrup will replace Moyes, but whoever it is will be expected to qualify for Europe consistently and play at the highest level.

This weekend's EPL Action with Analysis:

An important weekend of EPL football took place on Saturday and Sunday, with the conclusion to the 2012-13 season well underway with just 3 matches to play.

Fulham, West Brom, Southampton and West Ham were among those all in action on Saturday as they looked to end their respective seasons on a high after all playing well but not good enough to qualify for European competition.

Saturday's EPL Action:

Swansea City 0 Manchester City 0

2nd placed Manchester City went to Wales to play against the inconsistent Swansea, who had a good season until mid-February where they won the Capital One Cup but struggled after that.

It was a goal-less draw at The Liberty Stadium, as both sides failed to take their chances and both took just the one point.
Notable chances missed included Edin Dzeko and Michu who both had good chances to break the deadlock but were unlucky not to finish. 

Unlucky day: David Silva was among the City players who missed chances against Swansea.

Stress: Roberto Mancini knows that Manchester City are not completely safe in 2nd place just yet!

West Bromwich Albion 2 Wigan 3

End-to-end match at The Hawthorns, and it needed to be between 9th placed West Brom and relegation-fighters Wigan.

Republic Of Ireland Striker Shane Long broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 29th minute, sliding in at the far post to tap-in the net after a through ball across the post.

Ahead: Shane Long celebrates his 8th goal of the season against Wigan to put the hosts ahead at home.

Ivorian striker Arouna Kone equalised for Wigan in the 39th minute with a bullet header into the top corner of the net from Jean Beausejour's cross, before Gareth McAuley put West Brom back in the lead after half-time in the 50th minute with a downward header out of reach for Wigan goalkeeper Joel from a corner.

Bullet finish: Ivorian striker Arouna Kone heads Wigan's equaliser in the 39th minute.

James McArthur equalised in the 58th minute just minutes after coming onto the pitch, lurking inside the box before finishing clinically with a diving header past Ben Foster. 

Super sub: James McArthur scored a diving header to equalise for Wigan and make it 2-2 in the 58th minute.

Youngster Calum McManaman scored the winner for Wigan in the 80th minute after some great play by Shaun Maloney to get past two defenders on the wing, before he tapped the ball straight down the middle into the net. 

Vital: McManaman has scored a few vital goals this season, helping Wigan get to the FA Cup final among others.

It's Wigan's time of the year again! They always seem to find the right results at this time of the season, as well as playing much better and getting the vital points they need against the big teams. 

They are still in 18th place, but only 3 points off 15th place Norwich with 3 games to play (due to their progress in the FA Cup).

Norwich 1 Aston Villa 2

Former Norwich manager Paul Lambert returning to his old club and ground at Carrow Road in an interesting relegation-battle match between 15th placed Norwich and 18th placed Aston Villa.

The hosts dominated the first half with many chances, but were unable to take their chances and score.

Gabriel Agbonlahor had a great solo effort before unleashing a strike from 20 yards out to break the deadlock for Aston Villa in the 55th minute.

Can't hear you: Gabriel Agbonlahor celebrates his first goal of the day against Norwich.

Villa had more chances to double the lead thanks to Benteke and Agbonlahor, but Norwich striker Grant Holt equalised in the 74th minute from the penalty spot after young defender Joe Bennett held onto Snodgrass' shirt inside the box, pulling him down.    

1-1, but not for long: Grant Holt celebrates his penalty goal against Aston Villa to equalise.

Agbonlahor scored a late winner in the 89th minute on the counter attack after a great through ball fell to him, before he used his pace to get past Bassong and then he hit a sweet strike away from the goalkeeper Mark Bunn into the bottom corner of the net. 

This capped off a great win for Aston Villa who moved up into 13th, having won 2 out of their last 2 games (6-1 vs Sunderland on Monday night) 

Fulham 2 Reading 4

Fulham hosted newly-relegated side Reading at Craven Cottage.  
Hal Robson-Kanu broke the deadlock in the 12th minute for the visitors from the penalty spot, before he doubled the lead in the 62nd minute with a lovely curled effort inside the box which fell into the bottom corner of the net nicely out of Mark Schwarzer's reach.

From the penalty spot: Hal Robson-Kanu slots the ball past Schwarzer to break the deadlock.

Bryan Ruiz halved the deficit for Fulham eight minutes later with a toe-poke shot in the box thanks to a good pass by Hugo Rodallega who used skill to get past the Reading defenders before finding space in the box for the finish.   

Sweet strike: Bryan Ruiz scores the first of his two goals against Reading to make it 2-1.

Super sub striker Adam Le Fondre made it 3-1 in the 75th minute, slotting the ball into an empty net after Schwarzer was caught standing in the wrong position as he tried to retrieve the ball.

Super sub: Le Fondre celebrates scoring his 11th EPL goal of the season, in his 1st season in the top-flight.

Ruiz completed his brace two minutes later, giving Fulham hope of getting a result but Jem Karacan scored a bullet in the 83rd minute to seal the three points for the already relegated away side. 

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 0

White Hart Lane was the ground in north London that hosted The Saints as Spurs looked to improve their Champions League hopes for next season with a comfortable home win against opposition that they should realistically be beating.

It was end-to-end action throughout, with Defoe and Clyne both coming close at the start of the match but both were unlucky not to score their chances. 

Southampton striker Rickie Lambert hit the post with a free-kick 25 yards out near the end of the first-half, and he was also unlucky not to score as his strike beat Lloris but not the woodwork. 

Welsh winger Gareth Bale was practically ineffective until the 80th minute where he burst into life, using his pace to his advantage to scare the Southampton full-backs on the wing...

He inevitably broke the deadlock in the 86th minute with a bullet strike into the bottom corner of the net past the goalkeeper after using his pace and skill to get past Luke Shaw momentarily before finding a yard of space to unleash his strike. 

Bale added to his class finishes over this season with a 20-yard bullet against Southampton to win the match.

Remember me? Bale gives a round of applause to the home Spurs fans after the match against his former club.

FACT: Bale has now scored 20 EPL goals this season, and he is the first Tottenham player to do this since Jurgen Klinsmann in 1995.       

The Saints will feel disappointed that they lost the match, especially in the dying minutes to one of their former wonderkids despite playing well with their chances which were unlucky not to go in. They currently have 39 points and should be safe from the relegation drop zone.

QPR 0 Arsenal 1
 
This match was played at Loftus Road in the mini London derby, as already relegated west London side QPR hosted north London's Champions League chasing Arsenal.

Theo Walcott broke the deadlock after just 21 SECONDS, after some good quick build-up play found him in space inside the area. He clinically finished is strike past goalkeeper Robert Green who was helpless to stopping the shot.

Clinical: Walcott shocked the QPR fans with a quick goal inside the first 25 seconds of the match to make it 1-0.

Deja-vu? Walcott celebrates his quick-fire goal, for the 2nd time in 2 matches after his strike against Man United.

He hit the post soon afterwards, before QPR winger Andros Townsend had a swerving effort parried away by Szczesny in the opposite end.

Rob Green had to deny both Cazorla and Walcott along with Koscielny in the second half, and Szczesny had a great save late on from French striker Loic Remy's powerful effort to keep a clean sheet and ensure that The Gunners kept all three points on the way back to The Emirates.  
 
West Ham United 0 Newcastle United 0

Both sides took just a point at Upton Park, despite chances for both teams.
Diame, Carroll, Ben Arfa and Cabaye all could have opened the scoring throughout the match, while West Ham were denied a penalty claim which was waved away by the referee.

West Ham's Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis were both denied by good saves from goalkeeper Rob Elliot, while Frenchman Yoan Gouffran narrowly missed for Newcastle as goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen came out of goal and allowed him space to shoot - and miss. 

Shola Ameobi had an effort wide of the post as Newcastle tried to break the deadlock, while Papiss Cisse had a trailing strike cleared off the line by defender Winston Reid.

It was a tedious match with lots of chances but no goals all round.      

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and I apologise (again!) in advance if any of my recent or upcoming posts will be late. I am busy with work and other things, but I have a lot coming out soon! Don't worry, and please help me by spreading this blog to your friends and family along with leaving a +1 on Google+ or following me by email. Thank you very much for the continued support! :)

Wasteful Real fail to progress against Patient Dortmund:

Real Madrid knew that they would only progress through to the Wembley final in three weeks time if they overturned the comfortable 3-goal deficit that their German opposition Borussia Dortmund had after a 4-1 thrashing at the Signal Iduna Park last week (Lewandowski with all 4 goals).

The first half of the game was Real domination, with Ronaldo, Higuain and Ozil all missing chances to break the deadlock while Lewandowski also had an acrobatic effort parried away by 2nd choice goalkeeper Diego Lopez. 

Failed opportunities: Higuain was among those Real Madrid players who failed to convert his chances.

The second half was also like the first, however the hosts could not finish their chances until "The Special One" manager Jose Mourinho made a key substitution, taking Higuain off and replacing him with French striker Karim Benzema.
This had an instant impact, with Real finding urgency in their play and putting all their players (literally) in the Dortmund half. 

Benzema scored a tap-in at the near post to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute after a low ball by German playmaker Mesut Ozil on the wing, before Spainsh defender Sergio Ramos made for a dramatic last few minutes with a bullet finish into the roof of the net in the 88th minute.

Impact: Benzema makes Dortmund pay within minutes of replacing Higuain - who could not finish all game

Bullet: Sergio Ramos hits a strike inside the box to double Real's lead to make it 2-0 with minutes to go.

Too little, too late: Captain Ramos celebrates his goal to make it 2-0 and (4-3 on aggregate)

It was an amazing climax to a tense CL semi-final game, but Dortmund held on for a historical win to progress to the Wembley final.

Obviously, Real will feel hard done by and disappointed as they missed out on many chances and left the charge too late to take advantage on a deficit that was too far away just to snatch away from Dortmund's grasp, a team that they knew would do anything to get to the final.

Robert Lewandowski celebrates getting to the CL final alongside fellow Polish team-mate Lukas Piszczek.

Dark horses: Dortmund have been the underdogs to progress throughout despite a very strong squad.

Going back home: Lewandowski uploaded this picture of him and his team-mates on the flight back to Germany.

Meanwhile, in Spain Liga BBVA leaders Barcelona had to overturn an even higher aggregate score of 4-0 against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Having overturned two aggregate scores in the knock-out rounds against PSG and Milan, Barca had the ultimate test if they were going to get to the CL final at Wembley for the 2nd time in 3 years (and second at Wembley after the 3-1 win against Manchester United in 2011)

However, this was not the case at the Nou Camp as Barca failed to take their first-half chances and were clinically punished on the break in the second-half. 
 
The first was a stunning finish by Dutch winger Arjen Robben in the 48th minute, when left-back David Alaba whipped a ball onto the wing for the Dutchman to calmly latch onto before cutting inside past full-back Adriano and curling the ball past Victor Valdes into the top corner of the net. 

The second was an own goal by Spainsh defender Gerard Pique in the 72nd minute, when French winger Franck Ribery tried to whip a cross into the box, but it fell to Pique who lashed recklessly at the ball and it connected with his knee before beating Valdes into the net to make it 2-0 (and 6-0 on aggregate).

The final blow to Barcelona was made four minutes later by winger Franck Ribery when some great play and pace down the wing got past two Barca defenders before his aerial cross was nodded in at the far post by Thomas Muller to make it 3-0 (and 7-0 on aggregate).

FACT: The last time Barca lost 3-0 at the Nou Camp was in 2002 against Sevilla.  
FACT: Bayern are the first team since Manchester United in 2008 to keep a clean sheet over two legs against Barca

So... we have an all German final between two fierce rivals.

Tale of two German rivals: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich: Saturday May 25th at 7.45pm