Manchester City and Chelsea both secured their Champions League places with victories on the final day of the English Premier League season and Newcastle United joined them despite stumbling to a last-day defeat at home to Everton on Sunday.
City, whose season has generally been one to forget, only really required a draw at Fulham but cruised to a 2-0 victory which meant they finished in third place.
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea, who began the day in fifth place - the last spot for Champions League qualification - won 1-0 at seventh-placed Nottingham Forest to finish fourth.
Newcastle will be breathing a sigh of relief as their 1-0 defeat by Everton could have opened the door for Aston Villa to climb above them. But Villa went down 2-0 at Manchester United to end in sixth place and take a place in the Europa League.
City ended up with 71 points, Chelsea on 69 and Villa on 66 but with an inferior goal difference to Newcastle on the same points.
Manchester City book Champions League place
Manchester City’s disappointing season ended with the consolation of a place in the Champions League after a 2-0 victory at Fulham on Sunday, earned by Ilkay Gundogan’s overhead kick and an Erling Haaland penalty.
The victory ensured City finish third in the table with 71 points from 38 games, the first time they have ended outside the top two since the 2016-17 season. Fulham finished 11th with 54 points.
City opened the scoring on 21 minutes when Matheus Nunes's chipped shot on the angle was clawed away by Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno and into the path of Gundogan, whose acrobatic effort steered the ball into the net off the crossbar.
The visitors doubled their advantage when Sasa Lukic fouled Gundogan in the box and Haaland converted the spot kick to score his 22nd league goal of the campaign, while Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench for the final five minutes in his farewell to City.
The visitors left Jack Grealish out of their match-day squad amid talk he could leave the club, while De Bruyne spent time with the City fans at the final whistle, many of them holding up signs of thanks to the Belgian for his decade at the club.
He received warm applause from Fulham fans as well, such has been his impact on the Premier League.
City started with confidence knowing victory would guarantee them Champions League football in the new campaign, while Fulham still had faint hopes of a Conference League place.
Any City nerves there might have been were settled by Gundogan’s well-taken opener but Fulham winger Adama Traore’s poor first touch denied him a one-on-one chance with Ederson when he beat the City offside trap.
The Brazilian keeper then made a fine stop to deny Harry Wilson with a low save to his left. Andreas Pereira could only send the rebound into the side netting.
Wilson and Raul Jiminez went close several more times as Fulham pushed for an equaliser but when City converted their penalty chance they were able to see out the game.
The result allowed one of Pep Guardiola’s toughest seasons as a manager to end on a positive note.
Chelsea return to Champions League after win
Chelsea's Levi Colwill struck in the second half to send his team back to the Champions League for the first time in three seasons with a breathless 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest on Sunday on a make-or-break final day of the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca's men finished fourth in the table on 69 points in the crowded chase for European qualification, while Forest, who had Champions League dreams of their own in their best season in decades, had to settle for seventh on 65 points.
Colwill broke the deadlock of an intense game at the City Ground in the 50th minute when Forest defender Neco Williams struggled to head the ball clear and Pedro Neto was there to poke the ball across goal for Colwill to tap into the empty net, as the Chelsea fans behind Matz Sels' goal erupted.
"Amazing, we have grinded it out all season and today for these fans, we hope they are happy and get to see some Champions League next season," Colwill said.
"We did it and we’re proud, as a club, we’re back where we should be."
Chris Wood missed a chance to equalise at the death when Sels drilled a terrific ball into the box and Wood stretched to get his foot on it but chipped it over the bar from close range, prompting agonised groans from the Forest faithful.
While Chelsea's goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Forest, their season will be deemed a success.
Newcastle secure Champions League spot despite defeat
Newcastle United squeezed into the Champions League places despite losing 1-0 to Everton at home in their final game of the Premier League season on Sunday, thanks to Manchester United's 2-0 home win over Aston Villa.
The Magpies, who ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by beating Liverpool to win the League Cup earlier in the season, ended up in fifth place on 66 points, edging out Villa on goal difference.
The final whistle led to a nervous wait at St. James's Park as the game continued at Old Trafford, with confirmation of Villa's defeat bringing a roar of joy and relief as the Champions League hymn was played to celebrate Newcastle's return to Europe's premier competition.
Newcastle dominated throughout but were undone by poor finishing and sloppy passing. Their struggles were encapsulated in a 38th-minute tongue-lashing administered by defender Fabian Schar to team mate Jacob Murphy, who dawdled across the midfield before carelessly giving away the ball.
The home side had their chances but their final ball into the box was often poor, and any efforts they did manage to get on goal were comfortably dealt with by Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal.
Newcastle were eventually punished for giving away the ball once too often in the centre of the pitch in the 65th minute, with Everton's Vitaliy Mykoloenko crossing for Carlos Alcaraz to score with a brilliant header.
The home side poured forward late in the second half as they sought to salvage some pride with an equaliser, with Bruno Guimares sending a stoppage-time effort that might have saved their blushes whistling past the top corner.
Other than that, Everton were in no mood to accommodate them and defended doggedly to the bitter end, finishing their season in 13th place on 48 points.
Villa denied by Manchester United
Manchester United ended their disappointing season with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday on the final day of the Premier League campaign, denying the visitors a Champions League qualification spot in the process.
United surprisingly dominated the first half against a side chasing a top-five finish, with the hosts' cause aided further after Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was sent off just before the break.
Against the run of play, Morgan Rogers appeared to have netted Villa a crucial goal 18 minutes from time, but referee Thomas Bramall ruled that he had fouled United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir before slotting home.
Furious Villa's mood worsened after Amad Diallo immediately headed the hosts in front down the other end, before Christian Eriksen's penalty ensured United finished 15th and sixth-placed Villa had to settle for a place in the Europa League next term.
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