Chelsea become third team to win 300 Premier League home games

Goals from Diego Costa, Marcos Alonso and Nemanja Matic sealed a landmark win for the Blues at Stamford Bridge to send Boro to the Championship

Chelsea recorded their 300th home win of the Premier League era as they beat Middlesbrough 3-0 on Monday to move a step closer to title glory.

Diego Costa gave the hosts the lead after 23 minutes at Stamford Bridge, recording his 20th league goal of the season.

Marcos Alonso soon doubled Chelsea's advantage and Nemanja Matic completed the scoring after the interval to wrap up a comprehensive victory, relegating Middlesbrough in the process.

Chelsea will now be crowned champions for the second time in three seasons if they win at West Brom on Friday after picking up a maximum three points for the 15th time at home this season.

Manchester United lead the way with 347 victories at home in the Premier League, while Arsenal are in second after beating United 2-0 on Sunday to move on to 306 home Premier League wins.

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Who cares if Wenger finally won?! Mourinho was right to play reserves against Arsenal

The Portuguese's unbeaten run against the Arsenal boss is over, but the main target is clearly Europa League glory

It may be no consolation for the 3,000 or so Manchester United fans who paid good money to travel to north London for the clash with Arsenal on Sunday, but Jose Mourinho’s warning that he was set to play a weakened side made his very first league loss to Arsene Wenger something of an inevitability.

The 2-0 reverse turned out to be no great surprise as a much-changed United XI went about their task well without ever really looking likely to return to Manchester with the three points. Yet in the context of United’s season this was no great setback.

Arsenal improve to beat Man Utd

Compared to the 3-0 caning Louis van Gaal’s United received in the corresponding fixture last season - at a time when the Red Devils arrived as league leaders - this was an inconsequential defeat in everything but the record books. United’s 25-game unbeaten run in the Premier League is over as well as Mourinho’s hold over Wenger, but the main focus for the season was simply underlined by the events of Sunday afternoon.

In making eight changes and handing league debuts to Axel Tuanzebe and Scott McTominay, Mourinho made good on his promise of prioritising the Europa League push for honours. With a string of key games in both the league and Europe having been negotiated in recent weeks and a packed schedule still to come, the Portuguese had little choice but to send out the reserves against Arsenal.

Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Juan Mata had played a total of four minutes’ football between them since March, while Tuanzebe was thrown in for his full debut at right-back and the increasingly peripheral Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial were also given starts.

Coming less than 72 hours after their 1-0 semi-final first-leg win away to Celta Vigo on Thursday, this was the right thing to do. Mourinho has been accused of failing to grasp the essence of being a Manchester United manager at times since his arrival last summer but his decision to prioritise silverware over the supposed achievement of finishing fourth in the Premier League is to be lauded.

Finishing the season with three trophies and a spot in the Champions League beats ending a campaign with some supposed moral victory at being the fourth-best team in the country, whether that also delivers a Champions League spot or not.

From the moment Granit Xhaka’s speculative effort from distance spun off Ander Herrera’s back and looped over David de Gea there was an inevitability about Arsenal wrapping up the win with a little to spare, but Mourinho will be forgiven for not being too concerned about the defeat.

With Tottenham, Southampton and Crystal Palace to negotiate in the final seven days of the Premier League season the chance of finishing fourth was always going to be slim anyway. At least in ensuring the likes of Eric Bailly and Paul Pogba were not taxed at the Emirates, Mourinho has increased United’s chances of succeeding in the Europa League.

There is no guarantee they will go on to win in Stockholm on May 24, but the calculated risk was one worth taking. A 2-0 loss to Arsenal will not define their season, however much Mourinho’s bragging rights have disappeared.

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Wenger finally ends Mourinho hoodoo after Arsenal beat Man Utd in the Premier League

Goals from Granit Xhaka and Danny Welbeck secured a belated victory for the Frenchman to keep his team in the hunt for a top-four finish

After almost 13 years, Arsene Wenger finally got the better of Jose Mourinho in the Premier League after Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger had endured countless frustration in his previous battles with his Portuguese nemesis, but goals from Granit Xhaka and former United striker Danny Welbeck ended his hoodoo against Mourinho.

In 12 previous Premier League games against Mourinho the Arsenal boss had been unable to mastermind a victory, suffering five defeats and picking up seven draws.

The closest Wenger had previously come to beating Mourinho was in December 2006 when Michael Essien scored an 84th minute equaliser for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho also inflicted a 6-0 mauling on Wenger during his second spell as Chelsea manager in March 2014 before he took over as United boss in the summer of 2016.

Olivier Giroud’s 89th minute goal spared Wenger defeat against his old foe at Old Trafford earlier this season before he finally had cause to celebrate a win in a key game in the race for Champions League qualification.

Xhaka’s deflected strike on 54 minutes broke the deadlock and, just three minutes later, the unmarked Welbeck headed home to breathe life into Arsenal’s quest to finish in the top four.

In addition to getting one over Mourinho for the first time, Wenger’s side’s victory also ended United’s 25-match unbeaten run in the Premier League.

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MOURINHO WANTS AGUERO

Jose Mourinho has turned his attention to Manchester City's Sergio Aguero as he looks to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the head of Man Utd's attack, the Sunday Times reports.

The report claims Mourinho does not expect City to let the deal happen but that the Red Devils are willing to better the Argentine's current wage packed at the Etihad.

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Newcastle seal Championship title

Rafa Benitez has guided his side back to the big time by capturing the second tier crown, while Mark Warburton has helped to see the Reds safe

Premier League-bound Newcastle United have their hands on silverware once more after claiming the Championship title on the final day of the season.

Rafa Benitez’s side saw off Barnsley 3-0 at St James’ Park to take advantage of a slip-up from Brighton as they were held 1-1 at Aston Villa.

At the opposite end of the table, Nottingham Forest secured the victory they needed to steer clear of relegation and force former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers into League One.

The play-off spots in the second tier had already been filled, but Reading now know that they will face Fulham at the semi-final stage while Sheffield Wednesday take on Huddersfield Town.

Elsewhere, Harry Redknapp ensured Birmingham City would stay up with victory at Bristol City and Norwich City crushed Queens Park Rangers 4-0.

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Barca may have MSN, but Real Madrid have so much more

The Catalans' famous trident gives them a chance in any game, but quality back-up is needed to win the top prizes and that is where Real have the edge

Football is a squad game these days. There was a time when a formidable first XI would be good enough to win the big titles, but that is no longer the case and it is Real Madrid's impressive strength in depth that is giving them the edge at home and in Europe

Barcelona's starting side may just be the best in Spain, particularly with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in such sparkling form as they were in the 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday. Even without the Brazilian, Luis Enrique's men recently went to the Santiago Bernabeu and claimed a 3-2 victory.

After Messi hit the winning goal, Gerard Pique was captured on television mouthing "we are infinitely better [than Madrid]" and while that is clearly an exaggeration, Barca do seem stronger in terms of their first XI.

That is why the Catalans have been capable of some stunning performances this season - that Clasico win at the Bernabeu and the epic 6-1 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain among them.

But come the end of the season, those could be the highlights for the Blaugrana in La Liga and the Champions League. And in the meantime, Madrid look favourites to win the Primera Division and are on the verge of another appearance in the final of Europe's premier club competition as well.

That is because of their superior squad strength and it was evident again on Saturday evening. Coach Zinedine Zidane left out Cristiano Ronaldo altogether, with Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Isco and Toni Kroos all left on the bench. Without all of those, however, Los Blancos cruised to a comprehensive win.

In truth, any other outcome would have been surprising against a Granada side already relegated and having suffered four consecutive defeats under Tony Adams ahead of this match.

Nevertheless, Madrid's dominance was total and James Rodriguez scored twice inside the first 11 minutes to make it five goals in his last four appearances. The Colombian has also been involved in more goals than any other La Liga midfielder this season (with 11 goals and 12 assists in all competitions).

An €80 million signing from Monaco in the summer of 2014, the No.10 is a great guy to have in reserve and so too is Alvaro Morata, who scored the third and the fourth for Madrid with two emphatic finishes in the first half.

The Spain striker's former Juventus team-mate Gianluigi Buffon said this week that, had he stayed in Turin, he could have gone on to be the best player for the Bianconeri.

M SN all on target as Barca beat Villarreal

The same could be said for many of the players Madrid have in reserve. Morata is surely the world's best back-up centre-forward, while James remains one of the finest playmakers around, Isco has been touted as a potentially excellent signing for Barcelona and Marco Asensio is the game's most exciting young player (along with Tottenham's Dele Alli). And then there is Lucas Vazquez and Mateo Kovacic too - players who would fit in comfortably at most top teams.

It is an astonishing array of talent and Barcelona's bench simply cannot compete, which is why Madrid look to have the advantage in La Liga and are also favourites to go on and retain the Champions League. Over a long and demanding season, a strong squad is imperative now

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'David Silva is the wizard!' - Man City's 50-goal star earns Kompany praise

The Spanish playmaker reached a half century for the club against Crystal Palace, with his efforts down the years saluted by the Etihad captain

Vincent Kompany has branded Manchester City team-mate David Silva “the wizard” after seeing him reach 50 goals for the club.

The Spanish schemer hit that landmark by netting in a 5-0 mauling of Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The World Cup winner is more renowned for his creative ability that his goal-getting skills, with his half-century haul complemented by a healthy number of assists.

Silva is approaching seven years of service at City, in which time has landed two Premier League titles and the FA Cup, with his value to the cause not lost on those around him at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep delivers total package

Kompany told the club’s official website: “Quite simply David Silva is the wizard.

“He knows which pass to pick. As much quality as we have in the team, there is only David that can pick certain passes and I think he sets the tone with that.

“I can't only say that he has been performing well this season, he has been performing well since he joined the club.

“It is incredible to see his ability and make what is the hardest pass in football, that last pass.”

City skipper Kompany was also on target against Palace and he believes the injury troubles of his recent past are now behind him.

The Belgium international added: “The story is done now. I am playing, I am happy. I'm just glad to be able to contribute.

Man City expectant again

“[My form] has been good. My level has been good since I came back.

“I work hard to be able to perform at the same level.

“In that case, I can be pretty satisfied, but I am mainly satisfied with today's performance.”

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