Manchester United's final game of the Premier League season against Bournemouth was abandoned following a security alert at Old Trafford, as Arsenal snatched second place in the table from rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
What should have been a celebratory last weekend of the league season around the country was overshadowed as bomb disposal experts were called to carry out a controlled explosion on a suspicious package at Old Trafford.
The Stretford End and Sir Alex Ferguson Stand were evacuated as the match was called off 20 minutes before kick-off in Manchester, with United later confirming a security alert caused the abrupt cancellation at the 75,600-capacity stadium.
“Due to the discovery of a suspect package in the North-West Quadrant of the ground, the match with Bournemouth has been abandoned on police advice,” a United spokesman said.
By 3.15pm local time the remaining parts of Old Trafford were evacuated and shortly before 4pm a bomb disposal unit van was seen arriving at the stadium to carry out a controlled explosion on what police described as an “incredibly lifelike explosive device”.
• Read more: Device which caused Manchester United match abandonment 'wasn't viable' say police
• Also see: Pellegrini admits Man City spirit was 'not the best' after Pep Guardiola news
• In pictures: Leicester City finish with flourish and Chelsea applaud John Terry
However, nearly four hours after the evacuation, Greater Manchester Police announced that the suspect package was not a “viable device”.
The Premier League said the match would be rearranged for "as soon as practically possible", although with Manchester United due to face Crystal Palace in next Saturday's FA Cup final and Euro 2016 warm-up fixtures scheduled for the following week there is little room for manoeuvre.
“When it comes to matters of security it is obviously right that Manchester United and the Premier League place the safety of supporters and employees foremost,” a Premier League statement read.
Despite the worrying scenes at Old Trafford, the other nine matches went ahead as planned.
Completing a bad day for United, Manchester City drew 1-1 at Swansea City to guarantee fourth place and Uefa Champions League qualification at the expense of their local rivals.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini told his players not to be distracted by events at Old Trafford before their game kicked-off.
“We knew before the game the game was suspended,” Pellegrini said about the events at Old Trafford. “It’s important to investigate what happened. But it was more important to be focused on our game, because we were not depending on other teams. Before today we were in a Champions League spot for 37 weeks, so it was very important not to lose it in the last week.”
City took the lead as Kelechi Iheanacho slotted home in the fifth minute.
Swansea equalised in first-half stoppage time through Andre Ayew, but the visitors held on to ensure Pellegrini departed on a high, with Pep Guardiola replacing him.
Capping a frustrating climax to the season for Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino's team came third as their 5-1 humiliation at relegated Newcastle United, combined with Arsenal's 4-0 win over Aston Villa, saw Arsenal leapfrog their North London rivals to finish second.
After losing the title to Leicester City, Tottenham wasted the chance to finish above Arsenal for the first time since 1994/95.
Georginio Wijnaldum struck for Newcastle before Aleksandar Mitrovic added the second.
Although Erik Lamela got one back for Tottenham on the hour and Mitrovic was sent off after 67 minutes, Wijnaldum stroked home a 73rd-minute penalty. Rolando Aarons made it four and Daryl Janmaat added a late fifth.
Arsenal seized on Tottenham’s woes with an Olivier Giroud-inspired demolition of Villa at Emirates Stadium. Giroud bagged a hat-trick before an own goal by Villa goalkeeper Mark Bunn.
At Stamford Bridge, Leicester brought the curtain down on their fairy-tale season with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea. Cesc Fabregas put Chelsea ahead with a penalty, but Danny Drinkwater's equaliser ensured Leicester finished 10 points clear at the top.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea coach, was thrilled to be back at Stamford Bridge after 12 years.
“The emotion is fantastic,” he said.
“It was a good atmosphere and I want to say thank you to our fans and the Chelsea fans. It was amazing.”
Southampton booked a Europa League place with a 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace at St Mary's.
Elsewhere longtime American goalkeeper Tim Howard said an emotional farewell to Everton with a clean sheet, as they won 3-0 against relegated Norwich City. Stoke City made it so Spurs were not the only London club feeling down, their 2-1 win over West Ham United – who at one point could a realistic shot at the top four – finished short of qualifying for any European football.
Liverpool finished quietly, a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion seeing them end the season in eighth, and Watford and Sunderland played to a 2-2 draw.
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