Hull City were relegated and Newcastle United survived the drop on a dramatic final day of the Premier League season on Sunday when West Ham United announced that manager Sam Allardyce's contract was not being renewed at Upton Park.
Newcastle's 2-0 win over West Ham at a raucous St James' Park, where Moussa Sissoko scored after 54 minutes and Jonas Gutierrez added a second in the dying minutes, meant they finished with 39 points while Hull ended on 35 and in the bottom three after drawing 0-0 at home with Manchester United.
Minutes after Newcastle beat the Hammers, the London club put out a statement saying they were searching for a replacement for Allardyce.
"The club have begun the search for a new manager after deciding not to renew Sam Allardyce’s contract," West Ham said on their Twitter page after the defeat.
Elsewhere there were also farewells for stalwarts Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba, who all played their last Premier League matches after long careers in the top flight.
Lampard scored Manchester City's opener in their 2-0 win over Southampton, while Gerrard scored Liverpool's consolation in a stunning 6-1 loss at Stoke City, their heaviest league defeat since April 1963.
Drogba, who is leaving Chelsea after his second spell at the club, was carried off by his team mates when he was substituted with an injury after 24 minutes of the champions' 3-1 home win over Sunderland.
The match was played in something of party atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea were presented with the Premier League trophy at the end of the game.
Tottenham Hotspur secured fifth place and a spot in the group stage of next season's Europa League when they won 1-0 at Everton with Harry Kane scoring his 31st goal of the season in all competitions.
Arsenal warmed up for next week's FA Cup final against Aston Villa with a 4-1 home win over West Bromwich Albion, which included a hat-trick from Theo Walcott, but Villa lost 1-0 at home to relegated Burnley.
Manchester United finished with 10 men after Marouane Fellaini was sent off late in the game at Hull for stamping on Paul McShane.
Hull had two goals disallowed in a two-minute spell during the first half, and their failure to beat United for the first time in eight Premier League matches sealed their fate.
They drop down to the Championship along with already-relegated Burnley and Queens Park Rangers, whose dismal season ended with a 5-1 thrashing at Leicester City.
