Reading's Royals closed the season hosting Preston North End. The 2009/10 campaign has been a wild and crazy ride for both clubs with the Royals amazing run from the relegation zone to the top half of the table (11th) a real highlight. Reading's success in the FA Cup fueled their turnaround and they would surely like to end the campaign with another victory. The Royals did just that with a thumping 4-1 win over Preston to finish the season in spectacular fashion. The victory raises them to 9th in the table.

Bayern Munich, led by Ivica Olic's hat-trick, smacked Lyon 3-0 in France to book their place in the Champions League final. Olic, the man that led Hamburg SV to success last season in what is now called the Europa League, has delivered the goods this season for Bayern scoring 7 goals in his 9 CL appearances. Olic scored the opener in the 26th, added his second in the 67th, just minutes after Lyon's Cris was dismissed (59) and completed his hat-trick in the 77th.

Barcelona, on the short end of a 3-1 aggregate score, were confident they would overturn the deficit on their home ground. Somewhere along the line that attitude never made it to the pitch. Although they won on the night 1-0 they miss the final losing the tie 3-2 aggregate as Inter make the European final for the first time since 1972. It was an even more impressive example of the defensive posture that is so common in Serie A than the first leg. This time they did it playing a man short for over an hour after losing Thiago Motta in the 28th for a hand to the face (2nd yellow). Most fans would have thought that's the advantage Barca needed to overcome the deficit but they would be wrong on this night. Despite the overwhelming possession (more than 80%) Inter was organized and Barca lacked the edge they needed.

Barca would create few chances with all that possession and Ibrahimovic ineffective (withdrawn in the 63rd). They'd get only one on the night (Pique, 84) and on that he was offside. Barca did have the ball in the net for the goal that would have won the tie but it was ruled out for a Yaya Toure handball in the buildup. Officials at the Nou Camp turned on the sprinklers to bring an end to the jubilant Inter celebrations if you can imagine that. The final will be Bayern-Inter on May 22 with both teams missing key players due to suspension.

Liverpool's Rafa Benitez is feeling the heat and ahead of the 2nd leg match with Atletico opened a new round of bashing the management of the club for not publicly supporting him and bemoaning his lack of funds. He's still playing that tune and getting away with it as no one seems able to tell the real truth about the spending and that is, Liverpool spent more than any other EPL side except Man City. And he still gets away with peddling the nonsense. You have to wonder what planet this guy is from. It was also revealed that the Reds could be missing both Kuyt and Ngog as well as Torres.

Kuyt made it and played the entire 120 minutes in a Liverpool 2-1 victory on the night but they conceded the Forlan goal in the 102nd minute to lose the tie on the away goals rule. Aquilani put the Reds even on aggregate in the 44th and Yossi Benayoun's strike in the 95th had the Reds on their way until Diego Forlan's response seven minutes later sends Atletico to the final.

Fulham, looking to advance to the first European final in club history faced Hamburg at the Cottage in West London after the first leg scoreless draw. And they would earn their trip with a fightback and 2-1 victory. Fulham fell behind on a Petric strike (22) eluded Schwarzer. The Cottagers rallied in the 2nd half and a Simon Davies goal leveled (69) and Gera put them in the driver's seat off a scramble (76). The improbable Europa League final will be Atletico-Fulham.

Birmingham hosted already relegated Burnley and produced a 2-1 victory on a Cameron Jerome shot that deflected off keeper Jensen for the opener (29) and the match winner from Benitez (41) his first goal at home and it was his birthday to boot. Thompson got the consolation for the Clarets late (87). Birmingham's string of unbeaten at St Andrews goes to 15 matches.

Man City again needs to step up as they face Aston Villa and the challenge for 4th and they'll need to do it without Shay Given who suffered a shoulder separation over the weekend. In a strange move that illustrates an improbable situation they've petitioned the league for the right to snatch a keeper from elsewhere to finish their season? The league says they have “special rules” regarding keepers and since City has three of them unable to perform they have granted the emergency transfer. City wanted to bring Joe Hart back (on loan to Birmingham) but his loan agreement did not include a recall provision. So, City have been permitted to sign Marton Fulop from Sunderland on an emergency basis to complete the season.

The lunacy of the request aside City's form lately has been on again, off again and for this one Mancini needs to find the answer to switch them full on. City's loss in stoppage time to United then the disappointing response at the Emirates demands a good effort here if they are serious about their stated goal. The truth is City's inconsistent nature has lost for them the advantage they held over their challengers for 4th. City were level on points despite having played two or three fewer matches than their opponents but failed to take full advantage of those games in hand. In fact, they have fallen behind as Spurs went on a brilliant run to carry them forward while City stumbled. The mission now for Mancini is to shake that nature and put it behind them once and for all. If he fails to do that City may sink back down to their former selves despite all the money spent.

And the team that thinks they have that “feeling” about them right now is Villa. Deserved or not they are the club that was clearly on the outside looking in when it came to any realistic chance of grabbing that final Champions League place just a few weeks ago. Whether the penalty was deserved or not in the big derby last weekend it is Villa that is on the “up” and City with their heads down. A loss here for Villa would very likely mean a 6th place finish for the 3rd consecutive season. A victory here for City sets up the big head-to-head showdown with Spurs in the mid-week. So does City step up and earn a new status or do they fold?

And the envelope please: the City 3-1 win was just what they needed at Eastlands after the painful loss to United in stoppage time sent them reeling. And as it turns out it sets up the match that will decide it all when they face Spurs on Wednesday.

To take this win they had to fightback after a terrific strike from Carew (16) put Villa on top. He also did it again but his shot hit the bar sending City the other way that resulted in a Tevez penalty (41) earned by a terrific run by Adam Johnson. Two minutes later Johnson did it again winning space with great footwork and a marvelous turn and found Adebayor for the match winner (43). Bellamy would add the 3rd late (89) for the final scoreline.

Portsmouth came up winners 3-1 versus Wolves in their final home game in a very difficult season. Dindane's opener (20) set them in the right direction but Kevin Doyle leveled for Wolves (35) to peg them back a bit but that wouldn't last long. Utaka's strike (39) put Pompey back on the front foot and Michael Brown settled the issue in the 67th. But it was an enterprising game by Kevin Doyle that kept Wolves in it. Doyle hit the post and had his overhead tipped over the bar by James as Wolves were working hard to get back on level terms ahead of Brown's goal that closed the book.

Stoke rebounded from the hammering at The Bridge last weekend to produce a clean sheet in a deadlock with Everton. The Toffees had the ball in the net in the 72nd when Jagielka headed in Arteta's corner but it was ruled out for offside. It was one of those where this guy was offside (Anichebe), but was he involved in the play or not? The draw is Everton's 10th unbeaten in a row, a club record, but it also ends their hopes of catching their neighbors from the other side of Stanley Park and nick the last Europa League place.

Tottenham edged Bolton 1-0 on a laser blast from Huddlestone (38) to hold 4th doing their part to set up the big match in the mid-week with City that will decide who finishes in that final Champions League place.

Liverpool's disappointing season comes down to this match with Chelsea. While they can't win anything themselves they could decide who raises the trophy. A loss here would end their slim hopes of the final Champions League place and could also stop them from securing even a Europa League spot completing their demise. Ahead of the match Benitez takes the media spotlight suggesting he's on his way to Juve (I say go and good ridance) and again peddling his nonsense about needing more money after he's wasted well over a hundred million buying turkeys instead of soccer players. After the record of poor personel decisions he's made why in the world would any owners hand him more? I swear the guy lives on planet Bonzo.

Back before the holiday period Benitez did pull off a move that has actually put the owners in a corner and he and his agent have exploited that ever since. Rafa was given a new contract that all but made it impossible for the board to fire him because to sever the relationship would cost them millions that they don't have. This is part of why Benitez gets away with hammering them in the press with no rebuke. That, and the fact that the owners are in the fans' dog house not him, and he plays that card continuously. Rafa's insolence is applauded by the wacko fan base and the owners are powerless to deal with it which only adds to the difficulty and attitude that permeates the club. Rafa knows that if he repeats the lie often enough a lot of people will believe it. Unfortunately for Liverpool that also includes a lot of the players he puts on the pitch.

As if they didn't notice no team was decimated more by injuries than Arsenal and yet they maintained their professional decorum and earned their 3rd place finish. What of Aston Villa with a far smaller squad and much smaller budget too that are frequently more competitive regardless of the opponent than this version of Liverpool.

The craziness is such that all involved seem to forget that this Liverpool team LOST two of their first three games of the season, lost 4 of the first ten and yet Bentiez was rewarded for that. They all also seem to nod in approval when Rafa offers his excuses forgetting that Torres was the second high scorer in the league after those ten games and Liverpool had lost 4 of them despite that. When you reward failure you are sure to get more of it and that is just what has happened at Liverpool.

In the event a horrid backpass from Gerrard was pounced on by Drogba and slotted past Reina (33) for the opener. It was another example of Gerrard's negatives in this season of despair for the Reds. Lampard made it 2-0 for the Blues (54) and Liverpool produced little in the way of any challenge from that point on. Credit to Chelsea for that I suppose but truth be told Liverpool's heart wasn't in it after Lampard's goal.

Fulham topped West Ham 3-2 with the opener from Dempsey in first half stoppage time, a Carlton Cole OG doubled the advantage (58) before Cole's glancing header of a Parker free kick (61) got the Hammers back in it. Fulham made it 3-1 after Nevland's cross found Okaka in the six-yard box before Franco set the final score making it appear closer than it really was.

Can Sunderland's Steve Bruce take points from his former boss at Man United? Rooney returned to dispell any such thoughts doing his part in United's 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light. Credit to the Black Cats making them work hard for it. The only goal came from a dizzying display by United as Giggs found Berbatov in the area then it went Rooney-Fletcher-Nani for the finish. A highlight moment for United fans; Owen Hargreaves made an appearance in stoppage time for the first time in almost two years.

Wigan hosts Hull and the opportunity to officially put the Tigers back down to the Championship. It is also Hull's last chance to win a match on the road as the Tigers are the only side in the EPL to fail to win at least one on their travels.

They still haven't won that match on the road. Wigan's last second overhead equalizer from Ghouri and 2-2 draw confirms Hull City's relegation back to the Championship. Dowie fielded a youthful side and they nearly produced a win. The last ditch goal denied them that small measure of success that would have changed nothing as Hull was already down unless they won by about 20 goals. Hull goes the entire season without winning a single game on the road, the only EPL side to manage that.

Arsenal took the early lead from a corner headed across by Sagna and nodded in by RVP (13) at Ewood Park. David Dunn got Rovers level just ahead of half time knocking in a loose ball from in close (43) also resulting from a corner. On a goal resulting from yet another patch of play immediately after a corner Chris Samba headed home a Pederson cross for the match winner (68) for Rovers 2-1 victory.

Reminder: Ahead of the final weekend the two remaining rescheduled games will be played on Wednesday with Fulham facing Stoke City and Man City goes face-to-face with Tottenham at Eastlands in the match to decide 4th and the final Champions League place.