Premier League, Week 37: Liverpool shocked by Crystal Palace

Tony Pulis’ sides are renown for their prowess at defending set pieces, but they looked completely out of sorts during the first half. They should have conceded a goal in the 8th minute when Mamadou Sakho missed a completely free header and they were punished when they made a similar mistake 10 minutes later.

Sakho is expected to get chances on set pieces, but the scorer of Liverpool’s first half goal was an unlikely one: Joe Allen. The diminutive midfielder lost Joe Ledley with a looping run and was completely free when the ball found him at the back post, allowing him to head past Julian Speroni.

Crystal Palace injuries and suspensions

Out: None. In doubt: Kagisho Dikgacoi (knock)..

The first half featured the teams feeling each other out, without much action. Norwich City, despite being in the drop zone, set out with a fairly defensive team, possibly with a view towards earning a draw in this match and fighting for all three points on the final day of the season. Chelsea made some changes from the side they played in Champions League midweek, but put out an extremely strong side.

The Blues had a penalty shot of their own in the 57th minute when Eden Hazard went down under a challenge by Ryan Bennett. But on replays, it was clear that Hazard had jumped into the challenge and that Swarbrick was correct not to point to the spot. Branislav Ivanovic was absolutely irate with the decision and was shown a yellow card for dissent.

This was a waste of everyone’s time.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Monreal (Vermaelen 80’), Koscielny, Mertesacker, Sagna, Arteta (Kallstrom 63’), Flamini, Podolski, Özil, Cazorla (Rosicky 70’), Giroud

Chelsea injuries and suspensions

Out: Petr Čech (shoulder), Ramires (suspended). In doubt: Oscar (hip), Eden Hazard (calf), Samuel Eto’o (knee).

Full match report here.

Rickie Lambert scored in the 93rd minute, ruining all kinds of silly accumulator bets and costing lads everywhere tens of pounds.

And Newcastle supporters have had enough.

On Saturday, the club hosted their last home match of the season and the supporters organized a protest of Pardew and Ashley -- a walkout. In the 69th minute (to commemorate their last top flight trophy, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969), fans left St. James’ Park.

Tan’s new appointment, well-regarded young manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, kept the fans from rushing Tan’s office with torches and pitchforks. But by the time Solskjaer arrived, Cardiff were already a sinking ship. He was unable to turn them around, and now he’ll (probably) face the tough task of getting Cardiff back up.

Assuming that Tan isn’t going to abandon the club financially, Cardiff should stand a good chance of finishing in the top six in the Championship next season. A small handful of players will need to be sold or will demand to leave, but the core of a potentially great Championship side should remain. Then again, Tan doing something silly seems quite likely, doesn’t it?

It was a season that started in a promising manner for the Cottagers, with a new owner, as Shahid Khan bought the club from Mohamed Al-Fayed. Khan immediately began working to sure up the club’s finances, committing money to improving the team on the pitch, and helping to get the club essentially debt free as well.

Unfortunately, the results on the pitch simply didn’t come.

West Ham United injuries and suspensions

Out: Marco Borriello (calf). In doubt: None.

The Boleyn Ground; Saturday, 12:45 GMT/7:45 AM ET

With neither side having much to play for, it’s difficult to make much of a case for watching this game over other, significantly more important games. Adding to that difficulty: the fact that West Ham United are involved.