Manchester City, Liverpool book Champions League trips on final day

Manchester City and Liverpool condemned Arsenal to a tour of the less glamorous settings of European football next term after they booked 2017-18 Champions League jaunts.

Pep Guardiola's City was rampant at Watford, bashing five unanswered goals beyond Heurelho Gomes to wrap up third place and ensure Walter Mazzarri's last match in charge of the Hornets was a miserable one. The Mancunians' finish books a direct route into the Champions League group stages.

Jurgen Klopp's pacing and grimacing reflected the nervy scenes at Anfield until Georginio Wijnaldum rifled home just before the break. Further strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in the second stanza against relegated Middlesbrough mean Liverpool will begin its continental adventure in a two-legged playoff.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

City reached the 2016-17 Champions League Round of 16, where it bowed out to Leonardo Jardim's talented Monaco side. Liverpool, meanwhile, had no commitments outside of domestic duties, and seemed to benefit from this lessened workload until injuries to Klopp's relatively thin squad quickly derailed a Premier League title hunt.

The northwest outfits' impending Champions League campaigns sentence Arsenal to its first season outside Europe's showpiece since the 1997-98 season, when Arsene Wenger strengthened his ranks with the signings of Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit. This summer the Frenchman may be more concerned about outgoing players, with stars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil entering the final year of their respective contracts.