Liverpool enjoyed a day of celebration as the curtain was brought down on their title-winning campaign with Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser ensuring they signed off with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Anfield. Salah’s goal six minutes from time cemented his Golden Boot win and also equalled the Premier League goal involvement record as it took his tally to 29 goals and 18 assists. Arne Slot’s side had secured the Premier League title with a 5-1 win against Tottenham on 27 April,meaning they have been able to relax for the final few games of the campaign. With their opponents having won the the FA Cupjust over a week ago, and with nothing at stake in their domestic campaign, it made for a day of unified celebration at Anfield. The Eagles players lined up to give the Premier League champions a guard of honour before kick-off and, in a classy touch, the Liverpool players then did likewise to honour Palace’s trophy win. Bendel Insurance Makes Top Five Finish as Curtain Fails on 2024/2025 NPFL Season As the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL)2024/25 season came to an end yesterday, Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin finished among the top five teams in the elite division. Although the Benin Arsenal succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the ‘Cathedral’ in Enugu in the last fixture against already relegated Lobi Stars, the loss was of no consequence on the who Edo team who fought from the relegation zone in the first round to become contenders in the Continental battle. In the Match-day 38 and last match of the season, Uche Collins raised the hope of Insurance finishing on a winning note with an early penalty goal (Penalty) scored in the 5th minute of action, only for Lobi Stars to come from behind to score twice (Kumaga 28, Kunduahima 53′) for a 2-1 result in favour of the hosts. Bendel Insurance finished fifth on the table after winning 15 games, drew 11 and 12 losses to record 56 points, four points behind third placed Abia Warriors who will be playing in the CAF Confederation and three points close to fourth place finishers Ikorodu City. Remo Stars won the NPFL with three games to spare. The Ikenne team finished with 71 points while second placed Rivers United ended their campaign with 64 points . Elsewhere, the management of Akwa United FC has apologised to everyone associated with the club for the disappointing performance of the team in the just ended Nigerian topflight. In a letter to their fans and state government officials, the club said: “following the conclusion of the 2024-25 Nigeria Premier Football League season, the Management on behalf of the technical crew, staff and players of Akwa United Football Club, wish to express our disappointment and apologise to everyone associated with our club over our inability to retain our league status for a top flight football next season. “We fought hard as a club throughout the season to get into our rhythm but our results especially at home were rather not good enough as we dropped 18 points at home while picking just five on the road.” “We are particularly disappointed that after 14 seasons in the Premier League – a period in which we won two FA Cups in 2015 and 2017 and the league title in 2021, the 2024-25 season has come to an end with us being relegated from the NPFL.” The Akwa United management insisted that it was “hugely disappointing and embarrassing to the government and the wonderful people of our state as well as our fans, supporters, partners and sponsors. Now is the time to demonstrate love, strength and unity more than ever going forward,” it concluded