The longest season

BAYERN MUNICH brought the curtain down on the protracted 2019-20 season with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Lisbon.

Former PSG forward Kingsley Coman scored the winner with a header just before the hour-mark in a match which never lacked in quality but which never fully came alight either.

The Parisiens had the best of the early chances - decent efforts by Kylian Mbappe were blocked by Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich before Neymar was foiled by a sprawling Manuel Neuer.

However, Bayern Munich - who dominated possession throughout - took over proceedings towards the end of the first half with Robert Lewandowski having hit the post.

Nonetheless, Mbappe had a glorious chance on the stroke of half time following a mesmerising exchange of passes in the box with Angel Di Maria, only for him to shoot tamely straight at Neuer. 

But, in the second half, the German side reasserted their dominance - and, on 59 minutes, they took the lead when Coman, little more than six yards out, converted Kimmich's neatly flighted cross. 

Barely a minute later, Lewandowski could have put the result beyond doubt but he was denied by a brilliant last-second interception by Presnel Kimpembe. 

For the last half hour, though, the match became increasingly disrupted by a series of fouls as both sides had valid claims for a penalty. 

PSG - despite their ownership by the Qatari royal family and a team costing £540m in transfer fees - badly ran out of steam, with Neymar particularly frustrating to watch as the clock wound down. 

As a result, Bayern Munich held out with relative ease for a sixth European Cup after previous wins in the competition in 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 and 2013.

So ended the longest season in football history - one which in Britain especially has been pockmarked throughout the divisions by a series of asterisks. 

Even without taking into account the devastating effects of the coronavirus on teams in the lower reaches, this had been a tough campaign for many of those sides.

Bury became the first club since Maidstone United in August 1992 to be expelled from the Football League - while Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, and Macclesfield Town - also all from the North West of England - suffered severe financial difficulties in 2019-20.

All of them received points deductions during the course of the season and all of them were eventually relegated, with Macclesfield losing their Football League status.

Elsewhere, further down the pyramid in England, all promotion and relegation below National League level was cancelled, meaning a lot of effort by many teams simply went to waste. 

The Scottish League playoffs and the Welsh Cup Final were also ditched - although the Scottish Football Association still harbour hopes of hosting its FA Cup Final at Hampden Park on 20 December. 

Now, at least, the coronavirus restrictions have been eased somewhat - and clubs in England below the National League divisions can admit supporters while following strict social distancing measures.

Of course, there is a valid argument to suggest that - with the bars and beaches so busy in any case - the guidelines could also quite safely be applied by most, if not all, of the National League clubs, as well as those in the lower Scottish divisions and Welsh leagues. 

But, for now, the only matches in the United Kingdom which fans can attend are those in the seventh tier and below in England. 

Importantly, though, it is exactly these community-based clubs who are most in need of the financial support right now. 

So, while the 2019-20 season may have felt like it lasted forever, perhaps it is already worth seeking out a non-league match with which to kick-start the 2020-21 campaign.

ROLL OF HONOUR 2019-20

ENGLAND

Premier League

Champions	Liverpool
Runners-up	Manchester City
Champions League	Manchester United (third place), Chelsea (fourth place)
Europa League	Arsenal (FA Cup winners), Leicester City (fifth place), Tottenham Hotspur (sixth place)
Relegation	AFC Bournemouth, Watford, Norwich City

Championship

Champions	Leeds United
Runners-up	West Bromwich Albion
Playoff winners	Fulham (won 2-1 aet v Brentford)
Relegation	Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic*, Hull City

* Wigan Athletic were deducted 12 points for entering administration.

League One
On 9 June, a majority of clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. The final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.

Champions	Coventry City
Runners-up	Rotherham United
Playoff winners	Wycombe Wanderers (won 2-1 v Oxford United)
Relegation	Tranmere Rovers, Southend United, Bolton Wanderers*
Expelled	Bury**

* Bolton Wanderers were deducted 12 points for entering administration.
** Bury were expelled from the EFL on 27 August 2019. At the time of their expulsion, they had played no matches.

League Two
On 15 May, a majority of clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. The final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.

Champions	Swindon Town
Runners-up	Crewe Alexandra
Also promoted	Plymouth Argyle
Playoff winners	Northampton Town (won 4-0 v Exeter City)
Relegation	Macclesfield Town*

* Macclesfield Town were deducted four points on 19 December and seven points on 7 May for failing both to pay their players' wages and to fulfil their fixtures. On 11 August, a further six-point deduction was given for breaches of regulations over non-payment of wages, making a total of 17 points deducted.

National League Premier
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-off matches played behind closed doors.

Champions	Barrow
Playoff winners	Harrogate Town (won 3-1 v Notts County)
Relegation	Ebbsfleet United, AFC Fylde, Chorley

National League North
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-offs matches played behind closed doors.

Champions	King's Lynn Town
Playoff winners	Altrincham (won 1-0 v Boston United)
Relegation	None

National League South
On 22 April, clubs voted to curtail the season due to coronavirus. On 17 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with play-offs matches played behind closed doors.

Champions	Wealdstone
Playoff winners	Weymouth (won 3-0 on pens v Dartford, after 0-0 draw)
Relegation	None

Domestic Cup Finals

FA Cup Final	Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
League Cup Final	Manchester City 2-1 Aston Villa.
FA Community Shield	Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool. Manchester City won 5-4 on penalties.
EFL Trophy	Portsmouth v Salford City: not yet played due to coronavirus
FA Trophy	Not yet played due to coronavirus
FA Vase	Not yet played due to coronavirus

SCOTLAND

Premiership
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 18 May, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.

Champions	Celtic
Runners-up	Rangers
Europa League	Rangers (runners-up), Motherwell (third place), Aberdeen (fourth place)
Relegation	Heart of Midlothian

Championship
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.

Champions	Dundee United
Runners-up	Inverness Caledonian Thistle (not promoted)
Relegation	Partick Thistle

League One
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.

Champions	Raith Rovers
Runners-up	Falkirk (not promoted)
Relegation	Stranraer

League Two
On 13 March, the Scottish season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 15 April, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method with all play-offs matches cancelled.

Champions	Cove Rangers
Runners-up	Edinburgh City (not promoted)
Relegation	None

Domestic Cup Finals

FA Cup Final	To be played on 20 December
League Cup Final	Celtic 1-0 Rangers
Challenge Cup Final	Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Raith Rovers: not yet played due to coronavirus

WALES

Welsh Premier League
On 13 March, the season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 19 May, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method.

Champions	Connah's Quay Nomads
Europa Lg	The New Saints (runners-up), Bala Town (third place), Barry Town United (fourth place)
Relegation	Carmarthen Town, Airbus UK Broughton

Welsh Cup Finals

FA Cup Final	Cancelled due to coronavirus
League Cup Final	Connah's Quay Nomads 3-0 STM Sports

NORTHERN IRELAND

Irish Premiership
On 13 March, the season was suspended indefinitely due to coronavirus. On 23 June, the final table was calculated on a points-per-game method.

Champions	Linfield
Europa Lg	Coleraine (runners-up), Glentoran (cup winners)
Relegation	Institute

Irish Cup Finals

IFA Cup Final	Glentoran 2-1 Ballymena United
League Cup Final	Coleraine 2-1 Crusaders

EUROPE

UEFA Finals

Champions League	Bayern Munich (Ger) 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain (Fra)
Europa League	Sevilla (Spa) 3-2 Inter Milan (Ita)
Super Cup	Liverpool (Eng) 2-2 Chelsea (Eng), after extra time. Liverpool won 5-4 on penalties.

Major European league champions

Spain	Real Madrid
Italy	Juventus
Germany	Bayern Munich
France	Paris Saint-Germain*
Portugal	FC Porto
Netherlands	None**
Belgium	Club Brugge
Greece	Olympiacos
Turkey	İstanbul Başakşehir

* Paris Saint-Germain were declared champions on 30 April following the indefinite suspension of Ligue 1 on 13 March due to coronavirus.
** No title was awarded due to coronavirus.

Liverpool lift trophy as Villa hunt down "crazy" Hornets

	Premier League - top half	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
C	Liverpool	37	31	3	3	82	32	+50	96
2	Manchester City	37	25	3	9	97	35	+62	78
3	Manchester United	37	17	12	8	64	36	+28	63
4	Chelsea	37	19	6	12	67	54	+13	63
5	Leicester City	37	18	8	11	67	39	+28	62
6	Wolverhampton	37	15	14	8	49	38	+11	59
7	Tottenham Hotspur	37	16	10	11	60	46	+14	58
8	Sheffield United	37	14	12	11	38	36	+2	54
9	Burnley	37	15	9	13	42	48	-6	54
10	Arsenal	37	13	14	10	53	46	+7	53

LIVERPOOL produced an exhibition display at Anfield last night as they lifted the Premier League trophy for the first time ever following a 5-3 win over Chelsea.

There were some sublime finishes from the now 19-time English league champions as Nabi Keita, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gini Wijnaldum, Robert Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the Reds' goals ahead of their on-pitch celebrations.

Jurgen Klopp's men led 3-0 - and 4-1 with most of the second half to go - and, just as Chelsea threatened to act as party poopers by dragging it back to 4-3, ran the ball from one end of the pitch to the other for Oxlade-Chamberlain to slot home emphatically.

By the time captain Jordan Henderson held the trophy aloft, darkness had fallen on a slightly eerie Anfield which was empty except for the players, staff, and their families. 

But, considering that coronavirus - at its worst - threatened the possibility of a null-and-void season while Liverpool were sitting 25 points clear, the Merseysiders will have still settled for the party which was had inside and outside the stadium - despite police warnings about the latter. 

Outgoing champions Manchester City can still earn the consolation of hitting 100+ league goals for the third time in the last seven years with three against bottom-placed Norwich City. 

Meanwhile, on an individual level, Kevin De Bruyne needs one more assist to equal Thierry Henry's record of 20 set in the 2002-03 season. 

Overall, though, this has been a disappointing league campaign from a distracted Man City with perhaps their biggest victory coming in the courts. 

At one stage, Pep Guardiola's men had been banned by UEFA from European football for two seasons after alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules surrounding the brokering of inflated sponsorship deals.

But Man City overturned the ban after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland - although even that judgement did not entirely exonerate them. 

Nevertheless, in football terms, it has left only two Champions League places available with three teams still battling it out for them. 

Leicester City had a fantastic start to the season with a top-flight club record eight wins in a row in the autumn including a 9-0 away thrashing of Southampton. 

But indifferent form from Brendan Rodgers' team in 2020 has allowed Manchester United and Chelsea to catch up with the Red Devils going third with a point in their draw against West Ham United, following the Foxes' latest defeat which came at Tottenham Hotspur. 

Ahead of their final day fixture against each other in what is effectively a playoff game for a Champions League spot, Man United lead Leicester by a point. 

Meanwhile, Chelsea - level on 63 points with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's men - also have matters in their own hands as the Blues know even just a point against Wolverhampton Wanderers will suffice for a top four place, regardless of events at the King Power Stadium. 

Wolves, of course, have their own designs on a place in the top six - and lead Tottenham by a single point heading into the final day. 

And it means that, despite finishing above their North London rivals for a fourth season in a row, seventh-placed Spurs could yet be denied a Europa League spot by Arsenal if the Gunners win a record 14th FA Cup in the Final against Chelsea on 1 August. 

At the bottom, Trézéguet scored as Aston Villa earned a crucial home win against Arsenal to overtake Watford on goal difference and clamber out of the bottom three ahead of the final day on Sunday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Watford had suffered their third battering by Manchester City in just over 12 months as Raheem Sterling scored twice in a 4-0 win at Vicarage Road.

The defeat damaged Watford's goal difference to the extent that it now stands at -27, which is level with Bournemouth and one goal worse off than Villa.

In terms of goals scored, which is the next tiebreaker after goal difference, Villa also lead the way with 40 netted compared to Watford (34) and Bournemouth (37).

And so that leaves the permutations ahead of the final day as follows:

▪️ Aston Villa will stay up with any equal or better result than Watford, even an equal or lesser defeat to West Ham, unless Bournemouth beat Everton.

▪️ Watford need a better result than Villa, or a win against Arsenal by two goals better than Villa manage if both teams win.

▪️ Bournemouth need to win at Everton while both Villa and Watford lose.

Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster has admitted the Hornets' confidence is "crazy low" at the end of a mad week in which the Hornets sacked manager Nigel Pearson, their third such sacking of the season.

For the record, the winless Javi Gracia lasted until 7 September before the bizarre reappointment of Quique Sanchez Flores - who won just once before being fired on 1 December. 

Pearson took Watford from seven points adrift of safety to a position where they had more than a fighting chance - but he lost his temper in a fiery post-match interview on Friday following the woeful 3-1 defeat to West Ham.

Nevertheless, the 56-year-old remains the only man to have won a league match at home all season.

Finally, the fate of record-breaking rock-bottom Norwich was sealed more than a week ago as the Canaries became the first team in the Premier League era to be relegated from the top flight five times. 

With only 21 points ahead of their final day fixture against Man City, this occasion has been, statistically at least, the worst of the lot - and it has culminated in an ongoing nine-match losing streak during which they have scored just once. 

Their somewhat promising start - which actually included a 3-2 success over Man City in September as one of their only five league wins - now seems an extremely long time ago indeed. 

	Premier League - bottom
15	West Ham United	37	10	8	19	48	61	-13	38
16	Brighton & Hove Albion	37	8	14	15	37	53	-16	38
17	Aston Villa	37	9	7	21	40	66	-26	34
18	Watford	37	8	10	19	34	61	-27	34
19	AFC Bournemouth	37	8	7	22	37	64	-27	31
R	Norwich City	37	5	6	26	26	70	-44	21

⚽️

	Championship - top	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
C	Leeds United	46	28	9	9	77	35	+42	93
P	West Bromwich Albion	46	22	17	7	77	45	+32	83
3	Brentford	46	24	9	13	80	38	+42	81
4	Fulham	46	23	12	11	64	48	+16	81
5	Cardiff City	46	19	16	11	68	58	+10	73
6	Swansea City	46	18	16	12	62	53	+9	70
7	Nottingham Forest	46	18	16	12	58	50	+8	70
8	Millwall	46	17	17	12	57	51	+6	68

LEEDS UNITED celebrated their long-awaited Premier League return with a 4-0 thumping of Charlton Athletic who suffered relegation on an incredible final night of the Championship season.

The Whites were one of the few clubs not living on their nerves last night having been promoted as champions before they kicked a ball at the weekend after defeats for West Bromwich Albion and Brentford.

Marco Bielsa's thrilling team then went to Derby County on Sunday and enjoyed an extremely satisfying 3-1 win for good measure. 

Pride Park was the ground on which Leeds' promotion dreams had been shattered at the end of the previous campaign amid an acrimonious spying feud when it came to light that a member of Leeds staff had been found watching Derby train from a public footpath.

But, this time, the Yorkshire club marched to victory in the East Midlands before thumping the Addicks to finish the season on a sequence of six successive wins.

While Leeds eventually strolled over the line, the second automatic promotion place was one of several issues decided on a breathtaking night of action in the second tier.

Nerves had already been in evidence at the weekend when Brentford blew the chance to overtake West Brom despite the Baggies' 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town on Friday night.

Instead, the Bees were beaten 1-0 by Stoke City in a Saturday early kick-off while Fulham beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-3 to give themselves an outside chance of second place.

The first twist on the final night went in the favour of Brentford who were suddenly doing enough at 0-0 against Barnsley when West Brom fell behind to Queens Park Rangers.

But Slaven Bilic's men turned their match around with goals either side of half time while, at the same time, Brentford fell behind to Barnsley.

Still, there threatened to be another twist as QPR and Brentford both scored equalisers in their respective games to leave West Brom's promotion hopes vulnerable to a single goal in either game.

Another goal in the Brentford match almost inevitably came. Just as dramatically, though, it went to Barnsley who made it six points in four days to secure an unlikely position of safety - for now - after having propped up the division as recently as Saturday night.

The Tykes began what appears to be a great escape with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday as the Tricky Trees gave up their first chance of securing a place in the playoffs.

And therein lies another story from last night. 

With Cardiff City cruising against a wretched Hull City side in the final round of games, Welsh rivals Swansea City could only catch Forest in their own bid to finish in the top six.

Forest were duly behind at home to Stoke at half time - but such a scenario seemed unlikely to say the least with the Swans only managing to be level with Reading. 

The Royals had been reduced to 10 men just before the break, however - and Swansea took advantage to run up a 4-1 win. 

Still, it would not have been enough for Swansea if Forest had got anything out of their match against Stoke - and, on the hour, Sabri Lamouchi's men drew level. 

From that point onwards, though, Forest imploded disastrously, conceding three goals in the last quarter of the 90 minutes to drop out of the top six for the first time since before Christmas. 

The Championship surely is a cruel mistress - though only crueller still for the clubs at the bottom with no fewer than eight clubs fearing relegation and none down before last night. 

Middlesbrough took control of matters for themselves as a 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday ensured even the most unlikely combination of results could not trouble them. 

Boro's recent form justified the trust imparted in the post-lockdown appointment of 71-year-old Neil Warnock following the sacking of local lad Jonathan Woodgate. 

Meanwhile, managerless Huddersfield always had enough in hand following their aforementioned win over West Brom last Friday in what was surprisingly the last match of the Cowley brothers' tenure. 

Birmingham City limped their way to safety on 50 points while Luton Town turned things around dramatically following the return of Nathan Jones to Kenilworth Road.

Jones returned to the Bedfordshire club during lockdown with the Hatters six points adrift of safety - but four wins and 16 points from the last nine matches has proven to be enough. 

By contrast, Hull have only themselves to blame after taking just six points out of their last 60 to drop from eighth to bottom and relegation to the third tier for the first time since 2004-05. 

Undoubtedly, the Tigers nadir came nine days ago when they were completely embarrassed by Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium last Tuesday. 

The Latics were 7-0 up at half time and eventually won 8-0 - and, with 87 goals conceded, it is clear from where the Humberside club needs a complete rebuild. 

Charlton - to a lesser extent than Hull, of course - also let themselves down in the run-in and will make an immediate return to League One after their last-minute playoff win over Sunderland last year. 

However, the last relegation place looks like being decided in the courts. 

Wigan, in spite of that 8-0 win over Hull, fell into the bottom three on the final day after their 12-point deduction for going into administration was applied to the table at the end of the season. 

Even then, Wigan had almost saved themselves by taking the lead against Fulham before an equaliser - and the deduction - left the Latics two points short of the safety mark. 

"We're hurting as you can imagine," said manager Paul Cook in his post-match interview. "We've just got to keep hold of our dignity at the minute because it's painful.

"The support staff around the stadium who've kept coming in and working and keeping us going - I feel physically sick for everyone." 

However, it may not yet be over. The Football League has made it clear, the sanction against Wigan is "subject to appeal" and the Latics have appointed leading barrister David Phillips QC for the hearing on 31 July.

Of course, the Wigan situation is not the usual administration story of a club simply overstretching on the wage bill. 

Instead, the club was placed in administration on 1 July, just weeks after the club changed Hong Kong-based owners. 

The argument is that no-one - neither at Wigan nor the Football League - could have foreseen what Au Yeung Wai Kay was going to do and therefore the punishment should be withdrawn.

Incredibly, the Wigan conundrum is not the only issue in the Championship which remains outstanding with all of the games played. 

Back on 14 November, Sheffield Wednesday were charged with misconduct by the EFL over the £60m sale of their Hillsborough stadium to owner Dejphon Chansiri, without which the Owls would have made a substantial loss. 

Wednesday denied they had done anything wrong and were heard before an independent panel in June.

But, infuriatingly, the overdue verdict is still yet to be announced, and it means Garry Monk's men do not know if they could be facing their own points deduction.

For the record, the Owls finished 16th on 56 points, eight clear of the bottom three as it stands so the determination could easily be crucial. 

Finally, Derby face a similar charge to Sheffield Wednesday - although their hearing only began on 13 July. 

The Rams finished in 10th place at the close of the season on 64 points, a full 16 clear of the drop.

 

	Championship - bottom
17	Middlesbrough	46	13	14	19	48	61	-13	53
18	Huddersfield Town	46	13	12	21	52	70	-18	51
19	Luton Town	46	14	9	23	54	82	-28	51
20	Birmingham City	46	12	14	20	54	75	-21	50
21	Barnsley	46	12	13	21	49	69	-29	49
R	Charlton Athletic	46	12	12	22	50	65	-15	48
R	* Wigan Athletic	46	15	14	17	57	56	+1	47
R	Hull City	46	12	9	25	57	87	-30	45

* Wigan Athletic were deducted 12 points for entering administration, subject to appeal

⚽️

	League One - top	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	PPG
C	Coventry City	34	18	13	3	48	30	+18	67	1.97
P	Rotherham United	35	18	8	9	61	38	+33	62	1.77
3	Wycombe Wanderers	34	17	8	9	45	40	+5	59	1.74
4	Oxford United	35	17	9	9	61	37	+24	60	1.71
5	Portsmouth	35	17	9	9	53	36	+17	60	1.71
6	Fleetwood Town	35	16	12	7	51	38	+13	60	1.71
7	Peterborough United	35	17	8	10	68	40	+28	59	1.69
8	Sunderland	36	16	11	9	48	32	+16	59	1.64

	League One - bottom
18	Rochdale	34	10	6	18	39	57	-18	36	1.06
19	Milton Keynes Dons	35	10	7	18	36	47	-11	37	1.06
20	AFC Wimbledon	35	8	11	16	39	52	-13	35	1.00
R	Tranmere Rovers	34	8	8	18	36	60	-24	32	0.94
R	Southend United	35	4	7	24	39	85	-46	19	0.54
R	* Bolton Wanderers	34	5	11	18	27	66	-39	14	0.41
E	** Bury	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

* Bolton Wanderers were deducted 12 points for entering administration
** Bury were expelled from the EFL on 27 August 2019. At the time of their expulsion, they had played no matches.

⚽️

	League Two - top	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	PPG
C	Swindon Town	36	21	6	9	62	39	+23	69	1.92
P	Crewe Alexandra	37	20	9	8	67	43	+24	69	1.86
P	Plymouth Argyle	37	20	8	9	61	39	+22	68	1.84
4	Cheltenham Town	36	17	13	6	52	27	+25	64	1.78
5	Exeter City	37	18	11	8	53	43	+10	65	1.76
6	Colchester United	37	15	13	9	52	37	+15	58	1.57
7	Northampton Town	37	17	7	13	54	40	+24	58	1.57
8	Port Vale	37	14	15	8	50	44	+6	57	1.54

	League Two - bottom
22	Morecambe	37	7	11	19	35	60	-25	32	0.86
23	* Macclesfield Town	37	7	15	15	32	47	-15	23	0.62
R	Stevenage	36	3	13	20	24	50	-26	22	0.61

* Macclesfield Town deducted four points for failing to both pay their players' wages and to fulfil a fixture, reduced from six points after appeal. A further seven-point deduction was given for failing to play December's match against Plymouth Argyle. A further two-point deduction was given for breaches of regulations over non-payment of wages.

WYCOMBE WANDERERS reached the second tier of English football for the first time in their history after narrowly beating Oxford United in the League One playoff final. 

Joe Jacobson scored a penalty in the closing stages as the Chairboys joined Rotherham United and title winners Coventry City in securing Championship football next season.

Of course, the regular season in this oddest of campaigns ended prematurely due to the coronavirus when the majority of League One clubs voted to base the final standings on a points-per-game basis.

The decision was not unanimous, however - and several members were left aggrieved by the outcome with Peterborough United and Sunderland both missing out on a place in the top six.

By contrast, Wycombe moved up from eighth to third after gaining the same number of points (59) as Posh and the Black Cats in fewer games. 

And, with no perfect solution forthcoming, points-per-game was probably the fairest way to sort out an increasingly chaotic situation. 

Indeed, the whole season in League One has been chaotic after the division was left with an uneven number of teams following the sad demise of Bury. 

The Shakers became the first club to be expelled from the Football League since Maidstone United in 1992 - and the woes in the third tier did not end there. 

Bolton Wanderers - who, as recently as 2011 were at Wembley in an FA Cup semi final, went into administration last summer and so began the season on -12 points. 

Then, after fielding a team with an average age of 19 in their first starting line-up against Coventry, the Trotters risked further censure when opting to postpone their home match against Doncaster Rovers without Football League authorisation due to concerns over welfare to their young playing staff.

The resultant suspended five-point deduction at least had no immediate effect on Bolton's predicament. 

But the situation was already hopeless, and it took Wanderers until mid-November just to wipe out their initial deficit.

Southend United had no such handicap - but their own inexperienced defence was regularly torn apart as the Shrimpers leaked 85 goals in just 35 games to finish well short of safety on just 19 points.

By contrast, Tranmere Rovers were only three points short of AFC Wimbledon - and safety - with a game in hand when football was brought to its dramatic halt.

The Merseysiders were not best pleased with the cancellation of the campaign, to say the least.

Rovers owner Mark Palios - a former FA chief executive - said: "I have lost count of the number of chairmen who have sympathised at the unfairness of our plight, whilst still voting for it.

"However, sympathy doesn't pay wages or assuage a deep sense of unfairness. It cannot be right that clubs are pitted against clubs, when nobody voting (including Tranmere) is able to take a purely dispassionate view.

"I have no doubt that we would have survived had we been able to play on. For Tranmere fans this will leave a burning sense of injustice."

At least, despite the controversy, the decisions of the Football League about League One have seemingly been accepted.

However, the same cannot be said about League Two where rage about the single relegation place continues.

On the pitch, Stevenage finished with just three wins and 22 points from 36 matches, a poor enough record usually to guarantee any sort of relegation in normal circumstances. 

But - even before the coronavirus crisis took hold - Macclesfield Town had so many points deductions for failing to pay wages, that it was starting to become difficult to keep count. 

Altogether, Macc have had 13 points taken off them, enough to leave them just a point clear of Stevenage and 0.01 points clear on a per-game average. 

That is not the end of the matter, though - with the Football League in the bizarre position of appealing against the penalty meted out to one of its member clubs. 

Notably, Stevenage representatives will also be able to give their perspective at the appeal meeting, whenever it is eventually held. 

At least the top of the table has not been so controversial - although Swindon Town swapped places with pre-lockdown leaders Crewe Alexandra to win the League Two title on the points-per-game basis.

Plymouth Argyle were also promoted automatically in third place while Devon neighbours Exeter City narrowly missed out and - yet again - had to settle for the playoffs. 

The Grecians' subsequent defeat to Northampton Town made it a three heartbreaking final defeats in the last four years at Wembley as the Cobblers sped to a 4-0 success under the arch.

So, while Northampton head to the likes of Portsmouth and Sunderland in League One, Exeter will entertain Cumbrian outfit Barrow who regained their place in the Football League after a 48-year exile by winning the National League.

Patient Liverpool end 30-year title wait

	Premier League - top half	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
C	Liverpool	31	28	2	1	70	21	+49	86
2	Manchester City	31	20	3	8	77	33	+44	63
3	Leicester City	31	16	7	8	59	29	+30	55
4	Chelsea	31	16	6	9	55	41	+24	54
5	Manchester United	31	13	10	8	48	31	+17	49
6	Wolverhampton Wanderers	31	12	13	6	44	34	+10	49
7	Tottenham Hotspur	31	12	11	10	50	41	+9	45
8	Sheffield United	31	11	9	9	30	31	-1	44
9	Arsenal	31	10	13	8	43	41	+2	43
10	Crystal Palace	31	11	9	11	28	36	-8	42

LIVERPOOL won their maiden Premier League title - and became English champions for a 19th time - after Manchester City were beaten by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last night.

Jurgen Klopp's men put themselves on the brink 24 hours earlier with a 4-0 thumping of Crystal Palace at Anfield, stretching their already mammoth lead at the top to 23 points.

Coincidentally, that win made it 23 consecutive home league wins for the Reds since a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in January 2019. 

It meant Man City needed to win all eight of their remaining games while Liverpool lost all of theirs.

That was never going to happen, of course - but, after 30 years and 58 days (or, alternatively, over 11,000 days) of waiting, it was understandable that Reds fans still wanted things to be confirmed officially. 

After all, last time that Liverpool were English league champions, Margaret Thatcher was British Prime Minister, George HW Bush (senior) was US President, and West Germany and the Soviet Union both still officially existed. 

Madonna held the UK number one with Vogue and the mother of Reds' captain Jordan Henderson was pregnant with him. 

True, Liverpool have continued to be successful during that 30-year period winning two European Cups, a UEFA Cup, three FA Cups, four League Cups, three European Super Cups and one Club World Cup. 

However, the league title itself continually eluded Liverpool, sometimes cruelly.

In 2009, Rafael Benitez's vintage scored more Premier League goals than eventual winners Manchester United - and beat their eternal rivals 4-1 at Old Trafford in a run of 10 wins and a draw out of the last 11.

Man United, though, were just as ruthless against the weaker teams in the league and took that title by four points.

Then, in 2014 under Brendan Rodgers, there was that slip up by Steven Gerrard which allowed Man City to steal in.

Last season was perhaps the hardest to take of all. Despite compiling a record of just one defeat across the 38 matches, it was that sole defeat, away at Man City, which proved costly. 

Liverpool, indeed, collected 97 points - but still fell one short of the 98 won by Man City. 

Incredibly, the Reds - newly crowned European champions for a sixth time - ramped up their consistency even further in 2019/20 and have dropped just seven points so far.

Win each of their seven remaining fixtures - including at Man City next Thursday - and Klopp's men will have taken 107 points out of a possible 114.

Their last league defeat at home came 38 months ago in April 2017 against Crystal Palace - and that was also the last time Liverpool lost a league match after holding the lead. 

Paradoxically, this is the earliest, in terms of matches played, and - due to the coronavirus lockdown - the latest date on which a Premier League title has been won.

Matches being played behind closed doors at the resumption have caused some trolls to suggest that this championship requires an asterisk to be put against it. 

But, while there are some asterisks flying around in this oddest of seasons, this is not one of them. Liverpool thoroughly deserve to be champions. 

It was inevitable, given the wait, that some supporters would ignore the official advice and congregate at Anfield to celebrate long into the night. 

On what had been the hottest day of the year, though, thousands of people earlier had flocked to the beach - so those fans at Anfield were far from the first to flout the lockdown rules and seem unlikely to be the last. 

Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously declared his team would knock Liverpool off their perch as the Old Trafford club set about overhauling the Reds' total of English league titles.

Liverpool still remain one short of the Red Devils on that front - but the Merseysiders have regained the outright lead from their rivals in terms of total major honours won.

Not only then is the Liver Bird back on its perch, it is positively alive and kicking with surely more to come.

Return of the match

EXACTLY 100 days after the last ball had been kicked in the Premier League, English football emerged from the grim shadows of the coronavirus pandemic with two completed matches last night.

Villa Park played host to the first game in England featuring a top-flight team held behind closed doors in 37 years since, coincidentally, a game at the same venue during the 1982-83 season. 

Perhaps, after more than three months of waiting, it was destined to finish 0-0.

For relegation-haunted Aston Villa, though, this might yet prove to be a valuable point against high-flying Sheffield United who moved above Wolverhampton Wanderers into the top six.

But the Blades will rightly argue it could have been so much better if either goal-line technology or the video assistant referee (VAR) had given a goal when Oliver Norwood's viscous in-swinging free-kick completely caught out Orjan Nyland.

The Norwegian Villa keeper misjudged the flight of the ball and fell into the side netting before recovering his footing so that he could hold the ball against the upright.

"I think the goalkeeper was in the Holte End when he caught it," fumed Blades boss Chris Wilder afterwards.

The Hawk-Eye system, however, failed to give the goal, with its inventors claiming that all seven of its cameras monitoring the goal were obscured by either the goalkeeper, a defender or the goalpost.

Referee Michael Oliver also failed to consult VAR over a decision which, even to the naked eye, looked like a clear and obvious error.

It was a complete mess all round, and so it had taken less than one half of football for controversy surrounding VAR and officiating to make its own inevitable return to the Premier League.

Manchester City won the later game against a bedraggled Arsenal side at a rain-soaked Etihad Stadium, with Gunners defender David Luiz at the centre of the action for all of the wrong reasons.

Entering the pitch as a substitute for the injured Pablo Mari in the 24th minute, the Brazilian defender allowed the ball to skip off his thigh in first half stoppage-time, letting in Raheem Sterling to score the first goal since the Premier League resumption.

Luiz then hauled down Riyad Mahrez to give away a penalty and was sent off. The suspension will mean he has played his final game for Arsenal unless he extends his deal.

The rest of the second half was largely played out like a training match until, late on, when Man City reduced themselves down to 10 men after goalkeeper Ederson collided heavily into defender Eric Garcia who had to be stretchered off.

In the opening action of the resulting 11 minutes of stoppage time, substitute Phil Foden made it 3-0 after fellow sub Sergio Aguero had hit the post.

And so Man City cut the gap to runaway leaders Liverpool to a mere 22 points with nine matches to play. 

The result last night means Liverpool cannot now win the title in the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday - but it simply remains a matter of how long it will take the Reds to win a first title in 30 years.

In all, 90 matches remain to be played in the 2019-20 Premier League season, with 60 of these fixtures (see below) having now been given new set dates and kick-off times. 

A third of these 60 games will be broadcast free-to-air with those on Pick TV, Amazon Prime and the BBC (🔸) all available to a far wider audience than usual.

Indeed, Bournemouth v Crystal Palace on Saturday night will be the first time since the Premier League's inception in 1992 that a top-flight game is shown live on the BBC.

Meanwhile, the FA Cup will be played to a finish with the Final arranged for 1 August - and the Championship season will be completed in full from Saturday onwards.

However, the regular seasons in League One and League Two are already over after a majority of clubs in the bottom two divisions voted to decide the final placings on a points-per-game basis.

In League One, this led to Coventry City being declared champions with Rotherham United also promoted, and Tranmere Rovers, Southend United and Bolton Wanderers relegated.

In League Two, champions Swindon Town jumped above Crewe Alexandra in the final reckoning but Alex were also promoted along with Plymouth Argyle.

Bottom-placed Stevenage or Macclesfield Town will be relegated, pending a Football League decision over whether to deduct points against the latter for a third time following non-payment of players and staff.

Finally, in football terms, European club competitions will make their return throughout August with the Europa League Final in Köln on 21 August and the Champions League Final in Lisbon on 23 August.

And the new 2020-21 season has been tentatively pencilled in to begin, still behind closed doors, in mid-September.

Elsewhere, fears of a summer spent entirely without cricket have been allayed by the arrival of the West Indies squad ahead of their three-Test series which begins on 8 July. 

The matches will be played behind-closed-doors in Southampton and at Old Trafford in Manchester, both venues at which there are on-site hotels in which the two teams can be based. 

Meanwhile, Formula One has yet even to get off the start-line this year due to the pandemic with several races cancelled altogether, including the sport's blue-ribbon event in Monaco.

Thankfully, though, the FIA has now arranged a minimum calendar of eight Grand Prix, the number officially required to constitute a season - with the campaign beginning with back-to-back races on consecutive weekends at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. 

In August, there will also be consecutive Grand Prix at Silverstone - the second of which marks the 70th anniversary of the first ever round of the Formula One World Championship.

The European leg of the season is then set to close with visits to Barcelona, Spa and Monza - ahead of races elsewhere in autumn which are yet to be confirmed. 

Also yet to be scheduled is the conclusion of the Six Nations Championship, with four matches still outstanding - including the whole of the final round.

Of course, the presence of Italy in the Six Nations meant it was unavoidably among the first competitions to be affected. 

But little did we know back in March that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 would end up hitting still yet harder in the UK with the death toll here now standing at 42,288.

Undoubtedly, this is, at the very least in part, a consequence of the delayed lockdown and the well-publicised difficulties with procuring personal protective equipment and reliable testing supplies. 

Poor Government communications have not helped either - and the chaotic messaging from Prime Minister Boris Johnson was completely undermined in any case when his senior advisor Dominic Cummings drove from London to Durham and returned via Barnard Castle while he was ill.

Earlier, towards the start of the crisis, Health Secretary Matt Hancock called out footballers in particular, after some clubs furloughed non-playing staff without having looked at players' wages.

But Mr Hancock's comments appeared to be a convenient deflection tactic as no players had objected to contributing some of their wealth to help their clubs at a time when their finances are in peril. 

Indeed, one player notably has gone further and gone on to use his influence for the good of society as a whole.

Since the beginning of lockdown, Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has helped raise £20m to help feed 400,000 children.

Rashford also launched a campaign to help the homeless, and learned sign language to judge a poetry event in a deaf school. 

Most prominently, though, this week the 22-year-old personally secured a Government u-turn on the extension of the free school meals programme for disadvantaged children during the summer holidays. Wythenshawe 1-0 Westminster.

Of course, England international Rashford's position as a prominent black UK sportsman has not gone unnoticed in this. 

His actions have come against the background of anti-racism protests which were sparked by the killing by American police of black man George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis.

The Black Lives Matter movement spread quickly outside of the United States around the world - including to the big cities in the UK. 

Perhaps the most notable incident here came, not in London but in Bristol, where the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hauled down by protestors in an act which, far from being an attack on history, was history in the making.

On the football field, the BLM movement was marked by all of the players at Villa Park and the Etihad Stadium taking a knee, a form of protest which itself derives from athletes across the Atlantic.

Notably, the players kneeled after the whistle to signal the start of the matches meaning, in effect, the protest was the equivalent of a withdrawal of labour (i.e. strike action). 

It was another reminder that, while the sporting calendar has slowly started to regain a semblance of normality, for hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and millions around the globe, year 2020 will be remembered for a time when everything changed.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL
June

Fri 19

6pm ▪️ Norwich City v Southampton ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

8.15pm ▪️ Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United ▪️ SkySports
Sat 20
12.30pm ▪️ Watford v Leicester City ▪️ BT Sport
3pm ▪️ Brighton & Hove Albion v Arsenal ▪️ BT Sport
5.30pm ▪️ West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers ▪️ SkySports
7.45pm ▪️ AFC Bournemouth v Crystal Palace ▪️ BBC 🔸
Sun 21
2pm ▪️ Newcastle United v Sheffield United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
4.15pm ▪️ Aston Villa v Chelsea ▪️ SkySports
7pm ▪️ Everton v Liverpool ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
Mon 22
8pm ▪️ Manchester City v Burnley ▪️ SkySports
Tue 23
6pm ▪️ Leicester City v Brighton & Hove Albion ▪️ SkySports
8.15pm ▪️ Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United ▪️ SkySports
Wed 24
6pm ▪️ Manchester United v Sheffield United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
6pm ▪️ Newcastle United v Aston Villa ▪️ BT Sport
6pm ▪️ Norwich City v Everton ▪️ BBC 🔸
6pm ▪️ Wolverhampton Wanderers v AFC Bournemouth ▪️ BT Sport
8.15pm ▪️ Liverpool v Crystal Palace ▪️ SkySports
Thu 25
6pm ▪️ Burnley v Watford ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
6pm ▪️ Southampton v Arsenal ▪️ SkySports
8.15pm ▪️ Chelsea v Manchester City ▪️ BT Sport
Sat 27
12.30pm ▪️ Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers ▪️ BT Sport
Sun 28
4.30pm ▪️ Watford v Southampton ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
Mon 29
8pm ▪️ Crystal Palace v Burnley ▪️ Amazon Prime 🔸
Tue 30
8pm ▪️ Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

July

Wed 1
6pm ▪️ Arsenal v Norwich City ▪️ BT Sport
6pm ▪️ AFC Bournemouth v Newcastle United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
6pm ▪️ Everton v Leicester City ▪️ SkySports
8.15pm ▪️ West Ham United v Chelsea ▪️ SkySports
Thu 2
6pm ▪️ Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur ▪️ SkySports

8.15pm ▪️ Manchester City v Liverpool ▪️ SkySports

Sat 4

12.30pm ▪️ Norwich City v Brighton & Hove Albion ▪️ BT Sport

3pm ▪️ Leicester City v Crystal Palace ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

3pm ▪️ Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth ▪️ BT Sport

5.30pm ▪️ Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal ▪️ SkySports

7.45pm ▪️ Chelsea v Watford ▪️ SkySports

Sun 5

12pm ▪️ Burnley v Sheffield United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

2pm ▪️ Newcastle United v West Ham United ▪️ SkySports

4.30pm ▪️ Liverpool v Aston Villa ▪️ SkySports

7pm ▪️ Southampton v Manchester City ▪️ BBC 🔸

Mon 6

8pm ▪️ Tottenham Hotspur v Everton ▪️ SkySports

Tue 7

6pm ▪️ Crystal Palace v Chelsea ▪️ SkySports

6pm ▪️ Watford v Norwich City ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

8.15pm ▪️ Arsenal v Leicester City ▪️ SkySports

Wed 8

6pm ▪️ Manchester City v Newcastle United ▪️ BT Sport

6pm ▪️ Sheffield United v Wolverhampton Wanderers ▪️ SkySports

6pm ▪️ West Ham United v Burnley ▪️ BT Sport

8.15pm ▪️ Brighton & Hove Albion v Liverpool ▪️ SkySports

Thu 9

6pm ▪️ AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur ▪️ SkySports
6pm ▪️ Everton v Southampton ▪️ Amazon Prime 🔸

8.15pm ▪️ Aston Villa v Manchester United ▪️ SkySports

Sat 11

12.30pm ▪️ Norwich City v West Ham United ▪️ BT Sport
12.30pm ▪️ Watford v Newcastle United ▪️ Amazon Prime 🔸

3pm ▪️ Liverpool v Burnley ▪️ BT Sport

5.30pm ▪️ Sheffield United v Chelsea ▪️ SkySports

8pm ▪️ Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City ▪️ SkySports

Sun 12
12pm ▪️ Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

2pm ▪️ Aston Villa v Crystal Palace ▪️ SkySports

4.30pm ▪️ Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal ▪️ SkySports

7pm ▪️ AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

Mon 13

8pm ▪️ Manchester United v Southampton ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

Tue 14

8.15pm ▪️ Chelsea v Norwich City ▪️ SkySports

Wed 15

6pm ▪️ Burnley v Wolverhampton Wanderers ▪️ BBC 🔸

6pm ▪️ Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

6pm ▪️ Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur ▪️ BT Sport

8.15pm ▪️ Arsenal v Liverpool ▪️ SkySports

Thu 16

6pm ▪️ Everton v Aston Villa ▪️ SkySports

6pm ▪️ Leicester City v Sheffield United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸

8.15pm ▪️ Crystal Palace v Manchester United ▪️ BT Sport

8.15pm ▪️ Southampton v Brighton & Hove Albion ▪️ BT Sport

Fri 17

8pm ▪️ West Ham United v Watford ▪️ SkySports

Sat 18

5.30pm ▪️ Norwich City v Burnley ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
Sun 19

2pm ▪️ AFC Bournemouth v Southampton ▪️ BT Sport
4pm ▪️ Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City ▪️ SkySports

Mon 20

6pm ▪️ Brighton & Hove Albion v Newcastle United ▪️ SkySports/Pick 🔸
6pm ▪️ Sheffield United v Everton ▪️ Amazon 🔸
8.15pm ▪️ Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace ▪️ BT Sport
Tue 21
6pm ▪️ Watford v Manchester City ▪️ SkySports
8.15pm ▪️ Aston Villa v Arsenal ▪️ SkySports

Wed 22
6pm ▪️ Manchester United v West Ham United ▪️ SkySports
8.15pm ▪️ Liverpool v Chelsea ▪️ SkySports

Sat 26
4pm ▪️ Arsenal v Watford ▪️ tbc
4pm ▪️ Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion ▪️ tbc

4pm ▪️ Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers ▪️ tbc
4pm ▪️ Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur ▪️ tbc

4pm ▪️ Everton v AFC Bournemouth ▪️ tbc
4pm ▪️ Leicester City v Manchester United ▪️ tbc

4pm ▪️ Manchester City v Norwich City ▪️ tbc
4pm ▪️ Newcastle United v Liverpool ▪️ tbc

4pm ▪️ Southampton v Sheffield United ▪️ tbc
4pm ▪️ West Ham United v Aston Villa ▪️ tbc

OTHER FOOTBALL DATES
June
20 Championship season restarts
27 FA Cup QF: Norwich City v Manchester United (5.30pm, BBC)
28 FA Cup QFs: Sheffield United v Arsenal (1pm, BT Sport); Leicester City v Chelsea (4pm, BT Sport); Newcastle United v Manchester City (6.30pm, BBC)
29 League Two playoff final
July
13 League One playoff final
18-19 FA Cup semi finals
21 Championship regular season ends
August
1 FA Cup Final

4 Championship playoff final

5-19 Champions League and Europa League matches

21 Europa League Final
23 Champions League Final
September
12 Proposed start of 2020/21 season

CRICKET
July
8 First Test ▪️ England v West Indies ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton
16 Second Test ▪️ England v West Indies ▪️ Old Trafford, Manchester
24 Third Test ▪️ England v West Indies ▪️ Old Trafford, Manchester

August
5 First Test ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Old Trafford, Manchester
13 Second Test ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton
21 Third Test ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton

28 First T20I ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton
30 Second T20I ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton

September
1 Third T20I ▪️ England v Pakistan ▪️ Rose Bowl, Southampton

FORMULA ONE
July
5 Austrian GP ▪️ Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
12 Styrian GP ▪️ Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
19 Hungarian GP ▪️ Hungaroring, Mogyoród
August
2 British GP ▪️ Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
9 70th Anniversary GP ▪️ Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
16 Spanish GP ▪️ Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
30 Belgian GP ▪️ Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
September 
6 Italian GP ▪️ Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 

TENNIS GRAND SLAMS
August
31 US Open begins ▪️ Flushing Meadows, New York
September 
21 French Open begins ▪️ Roland Garros, Paris

GOLF MAJORS
August
6 PGA Championship ▪️ Harding Park, San Francisco, CA
September
17 US Open ▪️ Winged Foot, Mamaroneck, NY
25 Ryder Cup ▪️ Whistling Straits, Haven, WI
November
12 US Masters ▪️ Augusta National, GA

SNOOKER
July 
31 World Championships begin ▪️ The Crucible, Sheffield