Bournemouth’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the penultimate round of the Premier League last night (Tuesday) allowed Arsenal to win the title, but also gave themselves the opportunity for a historic success.
Specifically, because of that point, Bournemouth could finish in fifth place and we could see an unimaginable outcome of the fight for a place leading into the Champions League.
Liverpool are in fifth place, the last place to qualify for the Champions League, ahead of the final round of fixtures. Bournemouth are three points behind, but could end up sharing fifth place with the Reds.
Liverpool currently lead the table (59 points, goal difference +10) ahead of Bournemouth (56 points, goal difference +4). However, a combination of results from the last round: Bournemouth’s 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat against Brentford would tie the clubs on all criteria.
They can be equal in all five criteria
Liverpool and Bournemouth would have the same number of points, goal difference, number of goals scored and record in head-to-head matches, including away goals.
This is the order in which teams in England are ranked when they have the same number of points. If the aforementioned results of Liverpool and Bournemouth were to coincide, in that specific case, Premier League rules require a play-off match to be played.
The Reds and Cherries would play the match on neutral ground and the winner would go to the Champions League, while the loser would go to the Europa League.
The English write that many things need to happen for a masterpiece to happen, but that this is not so unimaginable given the form of the clubs.
Liverpool have only picked up one point in their last three games, while Bournemouth have three wins and two draws in their last five.
