Arsenal completed the first undefeated league season at the top level of English soccer in 115 years on Saturday, coming from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 at Highbury.
Arsenal won 26 and drew 12 in 38 games to finish with 90 points. Chelsea finished second with 79 and Man United was third with 75. Fourth went to Liverpool (60) and fifth to Newcastle (56).
After Paul Dickov gave Leicester a surprise 1-0 lead in the 26th minute, it was Frenchman Thierry Henry -- regarded widely as the world's top striker -- who equalized on a 47th-minute penalty. Fellow Frenchman Patrick Vieira made 2-1 in the 66th, running from midfield to side-foot the ball into the net.
PHOTO: AFP
Since joining Arsenal in the fall of 1996, French manager Arsene Wenger has won three league titles, three FA Cups to end the last decade's dominance of Manchester United.
"I always had that dream and to fulfill it is marvelous," Wenger said. "It is my third title and the best one. Not to lose is amazing."
"We always want to improve, we always want to get better. I am confident this team is hungry for more."
PHOTO: AFP
Henry summed up the historic moment.
"It may take 20 years for people to realize what we have done," he said. "We wanted to do something special. Now we have done it is something more than amazing.
Vieira said the team would "be remembered forever."
"We never set out to go unbeaten. Our intention was always just want to win."
With a fast-paced, stylish game created by mostly non-Englishmen -- Henry and Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp, midfielder Vieira and French winger Robert Pires -- Arsenal matched the feat of Preston North End in 1889.
But that was another era. That club won 18 and tied four.
AC Milan in 1992 was the last to pull off an undefeated league season in one of Europe's top five leagues, winning 22 and drawing 12. It's never happened in the German Bundesliga. It's happened twice in Spain, but not in a long time. Athletic Bilbao did it in 1929-1930 and Real Madrid repeated it two seasons later.
Allowing for draws in soccer, the record has been loosely compared to the Miami Dolphins' 17-0 season in American football in 1972.
Despite the unique record, Arsenal has yet to win the European Champions League. The Gunners were upset by fellow English side Chelsea this season in the quarterfinals despite beating the Blues three times earlier in the season.
The Gunners have yet to win back-to-back titles under Wenger. Man United, which won eight of 12 title since the Premier League began in 1992-1993, has never finished the league season undefeated.
The one remaining matter in the league was settled on Saturday.
Newcastle claimed fifth place and a spot next year in the UEFA Cup with its 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Aston Villa could have claimed fifth with a victory, but fell 2-0 at home against Manchester United.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool qualified for the Champions League.
Chelsea finished with a 1-0 victory over already relegated Leeds. Many expect it to be the last match for manager Claudio Ranieri, who seems likely to replaced by billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
Ranieri circled the pitch after the match, throwing kisses to fans at Stamford Bridge. With a blue team scarf draped over his shoulders, he was greeted by a standing ovation and hundreds of hand-painted signs.
A few said: "Thank you Claudio" and "Don't Tinker with the Tinkerman."
Asked about his future, Ranieri smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know," he said. "I've now finished the season. I tired to do my best and I think the job was done. Now what happens, I don't know. I can only pass the ball to Roman [Abramovich]."
"If they want to speak with me, I'm ready," he added. "Of course I would like to finish the job."
Ranieri, popular with fans for his quips in heavily accented English, got Chelsea to the semifinals of the Champions League and managed second place with almost US$200 million worth of new players purchased by the Russian.
Scottish Premier League
Half the season ended with the final three games set for today.
Celtic, which clinched the league title weeks ago, plays Sunday at home against Dundee United. Rangers are at Dunfermline and Motherwell plays at Hearts.
Through 37 games, Celtic has 95 points with 78 for Rangers. Hearts are third with 65.
Richard Foster gave Aberdeen a 1-0 lead in the 6th minute, but late goals from Steven Milne (75th) and Steve Lovell (injury time) rallied Dundee.
In Livingston's 4-1 win over Hibernian, four different players scored: Stuart Lovell, Derek Lilley, David Fernandez and Lee Makel. Mathias Doumbe scored for Hibs.
In the other match, Kris Boyd and Craig Dargo scored for Kilmarnock and James Grady scored twice for Partick.
Spanish league
Deportivo de La Coruna trounced Celta de Vigo 3-0 in the 37th and penultimate round of matches to maintain faint hopes of finishing runner-up to champion Valencia.
No. 18 Celta's defeat at the hands of its archrival from Galicia left it virtually certain to forfeit the first-division place it has held for the last 12 seasons.
In Saturday's other match, No. 19 Valladolid lost 1-0 to Real Betis, dealing a severe blow to its hopes of staying in the first division.
Celta, which reached the Champions League second round this season, and Valladolid will be relegated on Sunday if No. 17 Espanyol wins on its visit to Mallorca.
"It was one of the most bittersweet victories in my life. My biggest hope is that Celta can stay in the first division," Deportivo coach Javier Irureta, who was in charge of Celta in the 1997-1998 season, was quoted as saying by sports daily As on Sunday.
Deportivo stays fourth with 68 points, but remains only one point behind Barcelona and two behind Real Madrid. Valencia, which lost 2-1 to Villarreal on Friday, has 77 points.
The fight for second place -- and direct qualification for the Champions League -- resumes on Sunday when Madrid visits last-place Murcia and Barcelona hosts Santander.
Celta never recovered from a nightmare start in which it conceded three goals in the first 26 minutes.
Brazilian right back Sylvinho turned a cross by Deportivo's veteran midfielder Fran Gonzalez past his goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero in the 13th minute.
Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani then scored his 12th goal of the season from a Fran pass in the 24th, with former Spanish international Pedro Munitis taking full advantage of Sergio Gonzalez's through ball two minutes later to score the third.
Celta's disappointment got the better of its Argentine defender Eduardo Berizzo, who received his marching orders in the 83rd for a harsh tackle on Munitis. The ejection was Berizzo's fourth of the season.
"The first thing we must do is apologize to our fans, not just for today but for the whole season," Celta midfielder Borja Oubina said.
Valladolid's 11-year tenure in the first division also looks set to end after its defeat at Betis, which stretched its winless streak to nine matches.
"I know we need a miracle but while there's still hope we're going to keep fighting," Valladolid's coach Antonio Santos said.
Brazilian midfielder Marcos Assuncao seized on a poor clearance to score the only goal in the 75th with a subtle chip from outside the penalty area.
Despite its victory, Betis was whistled off the field by supporters annoyed by the team's modest results this season. Betis is 10th with 49 points.
Bundesliga
Imre Szabics scored twice as VfB Stuttgart sent staggering Bayern Munich down to another costly debacle, beating last year's champion 3-1.
Stuttgart's one-sided win moved the club to within one point of Bayern for the second and final guaranteed Champions League berth from the Bundesliga with one match to play.
The loss may have sealed the fate of one of Europe's top coaches, Bayern's Ottmar Hitzfeld. The German is one of just two men to win the Champions Cup with two different sides and has collected four Bundesliga titles in six years on the job.
"We will have to take action if he's no longer able to motivate the team," Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer warned.
Hitzfeld had to watch his team outplayed by a side coached from his likely successor, Stuttgart's Felix Magath.
Szabics scored in the 19th and 53rd minutes, while Kevin Kuranyi ended a breakaway with a 52nd-minute goal as Stuttgart dominated the match against a listless Bayern.
"We knew what was at stake here and I think the team played excellently," Stuttgart's Germany defender Philipp Lahm said.
Leverkusen also could finish second after Franca's hat trick led a 6-2 rout of champion Werder Bremen, snapping the Northerners' 27 match unbeaten streak.
That set up a final round showdown between Stuttgart and Leverkusen, with the winner playing in the Champions League and the loser settling for the UEFA Cup next season.
"I'm disappointed that the champion [Bremen] stopped playing football two rounds before the end. Now we have to win next week," Magath said.
Stuttgart took control of the match when Szabics punched in Alexander Hleb's misfired attempt in the 19th minute, which was discouraging to Bayern because the ball appeared to have already safely cleared from the area.
Bayern didn't have one attempt after Stuttgart's two quick goals to start the second half put it ahead 3-0.
That didn't change until Sebastian Deisler made his comeback from depression in the 60th minute. The talented Germany midfielder, who has been sidelined for five months, quickly struck a free kick that forced Stuttgart goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand to one hand it over the cross bar.
After that Bayern came alive briefly and earned itself a 77th-minute consolation goal from Claudio Pizarro.
But it wasn't enough for Bayern, which will end a disappointing season without any silverware.
"We knew what this was about today, but we failed again," midfielder Michael Ballack said. "There's something wrong with our attitude."
Bremen apparently wasn't mentally ready to face Leverkusen after routing Bayern Munich 3-1 last week to wrap up the title. The 43,000 at Weserstadion jeered the team on occasion, apparently believing the club didn't play like a newly crowned champion.
In the seventh minute, three Bremen defenders lost a gamble on offsides, leaving Franca clear and the Brazilian rifled in a downfield pass to trigger the rout.
"I think we had too many parties this week," Bremen manager Klaus Allofs said.
Right after the match, Germany coach Rudi Voeller handed Bremen captain Frank Baumann the title plate, setting off a roar from the spectators amid confetti shot from two canons.
Bremen's Ailton scored his 28th goal during the match, all but assuring the Brazilian will be the Bundesliga scoring champion.
In other key matches, Dortmund beat Moenchengladbach 3-1 to move past Bochum into fifth and the final UEFA Cup berth. Bochum was stunned 3-2 by Frankfurt, which is desperately trying to avoid demotion.
Hertha Berlin also insured that it will stay in the league by drawing 1-1 against 1860 Munich.
FRENCH LEAGUE
Lyon virtually locked up its third consecutive French title despite a 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, as top rival Monaco suffered a humiliating defeat at home.
After Saturday's round, the two-time champion had 76 points, three more than PSG, while Monaco fell to third at 72. To win the division in next week's final round, PSG needs to beat Bastia by at least 14 goals and Lyon must lose -- an unlikely outcome.
For Lyon's coach and many of the team's fans who invaded the Paris pitch after the match, the league title is all but sealed up.
Monaco, which is headed to the Champions League final against Porto on May 26, suffered an embarrassing 4-1 loss at home against Rennes and missed its chance to catch Lyon.
For PSG, Portuguese striker Pedro Pauleta took his tally to 17 goals on the season, scoring an easy goal in the 6th minute against Lyon.
In Monaco, Swiss forward Alexander Frei shot past Monaco goalkeeper Flavio Roma off a pass by Olivier Monterrubio for his 17th goal of the season.
A minute later, Spanish international Fernando Morientes equalized. He was pulled out at halftime due to an ankle injury.
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