(MENAFN- Arab Times) Didier Drogba drew a line under his second spell at Chelsea as Jose Mourinho's side wrapped up their Premier League title-winning campaign with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Diego Costa confirmed his status as the club's number one striker with his 20th league goal of the season, a 36th minute penalty to cancel out Steven Fletcher's opening goal before Loic Remy completed the win with two second half goals.
Drogba, meanwhile, was carried from the field by his team-mates when he was replaced after a brief, 28-minute appearance that had all the signs of a final farewell.
There was always going to be a celebratory air to this game, particularly since Sunderland secured their Premier League future with the midweek draw at Arsenal, ensuring there was nothing at stake for either team.
And the mood was set before kick-off when members of Chelsea's 2005 title-winning team were reunited on the pitch before kick-off to mark the tenth anniversary of that success.
Three of that team € Drogba, John Terry and Petr Cech € were in the starting as Chelsea set the seal on their fourth title in a decade. But of those three, only Terry is expected to still be at the club when it begins its title defence in August and Jose Mourinho's decision to name Drogba as captain and start with Cech in goal added to the sense this game was as much about signing off and saying goodbye as it was gaining three more points in a campaign long since over.
Mourinho's competitive nature was never going to allow his side to coast, especially in the wake of Monday's 3-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion, Chelsea's third defeat of the league season.
But it was clear there was a degree of sentiment in the manager's team selection when Drogba was withdrawn after just 28 minutes.
Mourinho and his staff lined up on the touchline to applaud the 37-year-old as he left the field saluting to the crowd.
The forward is out of contract this summer and it was clear from his reaction that his second spell at the club is now coming to a close.
At that point, though, Chelsea were already trailing to Fletcher's 26th minute header after the Scotland international was left unmarked as he met Adam Johnson's corner.
Moments earlier Cech had been handed the opportunity to show why he will be in demand if, as expected, he leaves Chelsea during the close season.
The keeper reacted well to beat away a powerful shot from Jermain Defoe and it was clear there was risk Sunderland could take the edge off the home side's celebrations. The Wearside club have been lifted since the arrival of Advocaat and remain hopeful of convincing the 67-year-old Dutchman to remain at the club.
Advocaat had been left in tears following his side's display at the Emirates Stadium this week that confirmed he had succeeded in his task of keeping the Black Cats out of the Championship.
And it looked as though he might register another notable achievement by inflicting a first home league defeat of the season on Mourinho's men.
Sunderland's advantage didn't last, however, and within ten minutes of Fletcher putting them in front, Chelsea were on level terms.
Costa had appeared in place of Drogba and converted from the penalty spot after Juan Cuadrado's burst into the area had been halted by a clumsy challenge by John O'Shea, the Sunderland captain.
Once level, there was little chance Chelsea would let things slip again and Nemanja Matic should have put them ahead when he headed over in the 52nd minute.
That proved to be a temporary reprieve for Advocaat's team and Remy eventually found a way past Vito Mannone, the Sunderland keeper with a low drive from 20 yards out before completing the win with a close range finish two minutes from time.
City 2, Southampton 0
Frank Lampard marked his final game in English football in triumphant fashion as the Manchester City star's goal ensured the deposed champions ended the Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Southampton on Sunday.
With Sergio Aguero adding a late second goal at Eastlands, Manuel Pellegrini's second placed team secured a sixth consecutive victory, a strong end to an erratic season for City and their Chilean manager, who is expected to hold imminent talks with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak over his and the club's future.
Lampard, making his final English league appearance nearly 20 years and almost 900 domestic games after his first, took just over half an hour to open the scoring. It was the 259th goal of his domestic career and, like so many of those that came before it, saw the 36-year-old former Chelsea midfielder in precisely the right place at the right time following a flowing City attack.
David Silva fed the ball wide to James Milner whose accurate, first-time cross reached Lampard unmarked eight yards from goal and the veteran produced an unstoppable finish.
City wrapped up the points two minutes from time after a Jesus Navas shot was deflected high into the air and headed back across goal by Eliaquim Mangala for Aguero to nod over the line from point-blank range.
The events of the first half marked a fitting way for Lampard to say farewell to the Premier League before his move to the MLS and New York City, although the home supporters at Eastlands were possibly more interested in the fates of two other City midfielders.
The futures of Yaya Toure and Milner are the subject of speculation, but both played their respective parts in an entertaining and open final game of the season.
Toure set off on a breathtaking run deep from his own half after 37 minutes and eventually squared a pass, misjudged by Jose Fonte, for Aguero to force a flying, reflex stop from goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.
Earlier, Toure had sped away from Steven Davis to set up an attack which allowed David Silva to send Aguero clear, although the Argentina forward's shot was uncharacteristically well off the mark.
Then a Toure shot, from just inside the area, was parried by Davis although the Southampton keeper made up for that slight error by producing a magnificent block to deny Aguero, who finishes as the league's top scorer, as he looked certain to net the rebound from six yards.
Arsenal 4, WBA 1
A stunning first-half hat-trick from Theo Walcott gave Arsenal the perfect Premier League send-off from the Emirates with a 4-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
It ensured the Gunners would approach a record 19th FA Cup final appearance on Saturday against Aston Villa, who lost 1-0 to relegated Burnley, in confident mood.
Walcott may have reached an impasse with the club over the signing of a new contract € his current ¬£100,000-a-week deal expires at the end of the 2015-16 season € but the 26-year-old demonstrated his talent and quality ahead of any summer negotiations with three superbly-taken goals inside the opening 37 minutes.
With Champions League football already secured for a 18th successive year, this rout € Arsenal's joint second biggest victory this calendar year € was arguably the ideal preparation before attempting to defend the FA Cup next Saturday.
Arsenal had surprisingly failed to score in their previous three home matches at the Emirates. Supporters, whose match tickets are some of the most expensive in the country, had sat through 270 minutes of football € against Chelsea, Swansea City and Sunderland € without the pleasure of celebrating a goal.
In the fourth minute, following patient build-up on the edge of the penalty area, Santi Cazorla fed in Walcott along the right channel and the unmarked winger hit a venomous right-footed strike that Albion goalkeeper Boaz Myhill had little chance of stopping.
Ten minutes later and that lead was extended when Walcott showed great persistence to skip past one challenge before poking a strike into the bottom corner.
They were soon 3-0 up with West Brom shell-shocked.
After a corner was not properly cleared, the ball broke loose to Jack Wilshere, standing 20 yards out, and the midfielder thumped it first time left-footed with extraordinary accuracy and power.
It was a real stunner, a wonderful way to mark his 100th Premier League appearance, and the 23-year-old celebrated with physiotherapist Declan Lynch, who had been critical during his rehab from ankle surgery.
Three goals in the opening 17 minutes was an unequivocal response to manager Arsene Wenger's pre-match demands that, following the recent goal droughts, his team should display more speed in their passing and more quality in their finishing.
There were further celebrations on 37 minutes when Walcott sealed his hat-trick.
It proved to be the easiest of the three as he remained onside before converting Cazorla's driven cross at the back post.
It was hard on West Brom given that, since Tony Pulis became manager in January, the club had enjoyed 10 clean sheets in their previous 17 league matches.
Newcastle 2, West Ham 0
Cancer survivor Jonas Gutierrez scored one goal and made the other as Newcastle United secured their Premier League status with a 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday.
Gutierrez crossed for Moussa Sissoko to open the scoring early in the second half and then scored himself as a traumatic campaign ended with a huge sigh of relief at St James' Park.
But it was a nervy performance that illustrated why unpopular owner Mike Ashley will need to honour his pre-match pledge, in a rare television interview, to bolster his squad during the close season.
Hull's failure to beat Manchester United lessened the importance of the win, as it meant Newcastle would have been safe in any case.
But Gutierrez's 85th-minute goal was the stuff of fairytales, since it came from a player who spent 17 months battling testicular cancer and who was almost certainly playing his final game for the club.
Newcastle could hardly have asked for more accommodating visitors than West Ham, who had been assured of a mid-table finish for several weeks and who arrived in the northeast without a win in 11 away games.
But manager Sam Allardyce, told minutes after the game that he will not be given a new contract, prepared his side properly nonetheless and they proved to be stubborn opposition for more than half the game. There were a few anxious moments for Newcastle coach John Carver, who may also be looking for a new job soon, and who sprang a surprise by leaving out Ayoze Perez, one of his few successes this season.
Carver went for the more powerful presence of Emmanuel Riviere, a disappointment since he signed from Monaco last year.
It represented a gamble by Carver, but it almost paid off within 53 seconds of the start when Riviere should have capitalised on an opportunity created by Sissoko.
Instead, he pulled his shot across the face of the goal from a sharp angle.
Riviere was also responsible for Newcastle's next threat with an overhead kick that flashed wide, while Daryl Janmaat went even closer with an 18th-minute effort.
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