London - Newcastle United and Middlesbrough were relegated from the English Premier League on Sunday after each suffered defeats in their final games of the season. An own goal by Damien Duff meant Newcastle lost 1-0 at Aston Villa, while Middlesbrough lost 2-1 at West Ham to also lose their top-flight status.
Hull City finished just one point above the bottom three despite a 1-0 home defeat by champions Manchester United, while Sunderland survived despite being beaten 3-2 at home by Chelsea.
Middlesbough needed a big win and for other results to go their way, but Junior Stanislas's winner sealed their fate.
Newcastle needed at least a point at Villa but suffered a cruel twist of fate when Gareth Barry's speculative shot took a wicked deflection off Duff.
United fielded a virtually complete reserve team at Hull but still took the points thanks to a long-range effort from Darren Gibson.
The win meant United finished four points clear of Liverpool, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1.
Fourth-placed Arsenal trounced Stoke City 4-1, while Everton sealed fifth place thanks to a 2-0 win over Fulham, who nevertheless finished seventh and clinched a place in the Europa League next season.
Manchester City beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0, Wigan Athletic saw off Portsmouth by the same score and Blackburn Rovers drew 0-0 with already-relegated West Bromwich Albion.
