Premier League: Who finishes top in the final week of Sportsmail’s POWER RANKINGS?

After a dramatic final day of the Premier League season that saw plenty of twists and turns, it was Manchester City who triumphed to retain their crown. 

Pep Guardiola’s men were pushed all the way by a resilient Liverpool side, who were pipped to the post once again by just a point.

Having trailed by two goals against Aston Villa at the Etihad, City showed their true champion spirit but netting three goals in a manic five-minute period to seal their fourth title in five years.

Man City pulled off a stunning comeback against Aston Villa to win the Premier League title

Liverpool held up their end of the bargain by beating Wolves in a thrilling 3-1 victory at Anfield but their Quadruple hopes were dashed following City’s late comeback. 

Meanwhile, Tottenham secured Champions League football for next season after thumping Norwich 5-0 to finish ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal, who have to settle for the Europa League.

Spurs only needed a point to finish fourth but their comfortable victory at an already-relegated Norwich saw Antonio Conte finish ahead of Arsenal, with the Italian hailing their Champions League finish as one of his greatest achievements as a manager.

At the other end of the table, it was Burnley who were relegated to the Championship after they were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle, ending their six-year stay in England’s top flight.

That means it’s another season of Premier League football for Leeds United, who pulled off their own great escape by beating Brentford in west London.

And now with the final round of fixtures done and dusted, it means it’s time to look at Sportsmail’s final top 10 Premier League Power Rankings  for the 2021-22 campaign. 

10. Raphinha, Leeds (new entry)

With Premier League survival on the line, Raphinha stepped up when Leeds needed him most.

The Brazilian was a live wire at the Brentford Community Stadium and calmly converted a second-half penalty to give the Whites the lead and help settle some nerves in their battle to beat the drop.

Leeds went on to secure survival and another season in the Premier League when Jack Harrison scored a 94th-minute winner, capping off a tense day in west London.

And Raphinha endeared himself even further to the Leeds faithful after a brilliant performance against the Bees by climbing into the away end at full-time to celebrate with the fans and his girlfriend. Leeds will need to do everything if they are to keep him at Elland Road beyond the summer.

Raphinha netted a penalty in Leeds’ 2-1 win over Brentford, helping the Whites beat the drop

9. Callum Wilson, Newcastle (new entry)

After starring in Newcastle’s superb 2-0 win over Arsenal earlier in the week – which saw him have his front tooth knocked out – Callum Wilson was back in amongst the goals again, netting a brace to relegate Burnley.

The former Cherries man really got his teeth stuck into the final day fixture, first tucking away a first-half penalty before showing brilliant positioning and awareness to tuck home Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross in the second half.

It was anything but a toothless display from Wilson against the Clarets, who were sent down to the Championship as a result.

Injuries may have hampered his season but the 30-year-old showed he still has plenty of bite when called upon by Eddie Howe.

Callum Wilson put Burnley to the sword by scoring both of Newcastle’s goals in a 2-1 win

8. Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham (new entry)

Arguably one of the signings of the season, Dejan Kulusevski has settled into Tottenham’s front three superbly since he arrived in January.

The Swedish forward scored his first career brace in Spurs’ 5-0 rout of Norwich – with his second a curling effort leaving Tim Krul beaten all ends up in the second half.

It would have been the pick of the goals hadn’t Son Heung-min turned up – but more on that later.

His two goals against Canaries take his goal contributions to 13 for the season, scoring five and setting up his team-mates on eight occasions to cap off a brilliant first six months in Spurs colours.

Dejan Kulusevski netted the first brace of his career in Tottenham’s 5-0 win at Norwich

7. Jamie Vardy, Leicester (down one)

Despite struggling with injuries for large parts of the season, Jamie Vardy showed he is as lethal as ever after netting five goals in his final four Premier League games. 

His most recent strike came at the weekend in the 4-1 thrashing of Southampton – and what a goal it was.

Harvey Barnes brilliantly dances past two Southampton defenders before sliding the ball through to Vardy, whose touch completely bamboozles Lyanco before later sitting the Brazilian down by faking to shoot and then scoring the Foxes second.

A special mention must go to James Maddison for his brace but Vardy was an absolute menace when going up against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.

Jamie Vardy proved to be an absolute nightmare for Southampton’s backline

6. Sadio Mane, Liverpool (new entry)

Sadio Mane has really stepped up for Liverpool since the turn of the year and has been the go-to guy when goals have been needed.

Jurgen Klopp’s men fell behind to a surprise Pedro Neto opener after just three minutes, heaping the pressure on the Reds from the get-go.

However, Mane kept his cool in front of goal to equalise after just 24 minutes, collecting a delightful flick from Thiago to race through and slide the ball past Jose Sa.

The Senegalese forward also had the ball in the back of the net again in the second half but his wonderful dinked finish was correctly ruled out for offside. Liverpool went on to win the game but fell agonisingly short in the race for the title. 

Sadio Mane has been in electric form since January and got another goal on Sunday

5. Raheem Sterling, Man City (non-mover)

Pep Guardiola made three inspired substitutions while trailing against Aston Villa which helped them win the title – and Raheem Sterling was one of them.

The forward kick-started City’s rapid revival by coming off the bench to set up the hosts’ first with some classic wing play. 

Facing Lucas Digne one-on-one, Sterling showed a superb burst of pace to get to the byline to cross the ball to the backpost. Waiting there was Ilkay Gundogan, who headed the ball home to send a nervous Etihad into raptures.

The comeback was well and truly on and it was sparked by a wonderful bit of play from Sterling. 

Raheem Sterling (left) made the desired impact coming off the bench to set up City’s first

4. Rodri, Man City (down one)

While Sterling was one of Guardiola’s three inspired substitutions, another helped create City’s equaliser to make the game 2-2 with 12 minutes left.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – on the opposite flank to Sterling – also came off the bench, beat his man and darted into the penalty area to lay the ball on a plate for Rodri.

The Spaniard, who isn’t known for his goalscoring but has shown on more than one occasion this season he can let fly, calmly side-footed the ball from the top of the area into Robin Olsen’s bottom left corner.

It was a finish a striker would have been proud of and gave City the momentum they needed to go on to complete their stunning comeback. 

Rodri’s (right) superb finish from at the top of the area saw City draw level with Aston Villa

3. Kevin De Bruyne, Man City (down one)

Compared to recent weeks, this was one of Kevin De Bruyne’s quieter performances.

Saying that, the Premier League’s Player of the Season popped up with the game-winning assist when he found Gundogan at the back post with a brilliant through ball, catching the whole Aston Villa out.

De Bruyne made the difference when it mattered, securing what is his fourth Premier League winner’s medal.

It feels harsh to drop him and Rodri down a place in this week’s Power Rankings but the two men above them are more than deserving of their spots. 

Kevin De Bruyne popped up with a brilliant assist to set up City’s third and title-winning goal

The Premier League’s Player of the Year now has four titles at Manchester City

2. Son Heung-min, Tottenham (down one)

Going into Sunday’s clash at Carrow Road, Tottenham needed just a point to secure Champions League football. Son Heung-min, on the other hand, had his heart set on more. You see, the South Korean was trailing Mohamed Salah by a goal in the race for the Golden Boot and had left it to the last game to overtake the Egyptian king.  

But at certain points, it looked as if Son would fall short. Spurs took a two-goal lead in the first half following some sloppy defending by Norwich before Kulusevski grabbed his brace in the second half.

Son had several good chances to finally get on the scoresheet throughout the afternoon but it appeared as if Tim Krul was hellbent on denying him from scoring.

Son Heung-min scored twice against Norwich to finish as this season’s joint-top scorer alongside Mohamed Salah

However, Lucas Moura’s impact helped Son finally get his goal, sliding the ball past the Dutch goalkeeper, seeing him go level with Salah on 22 goals for the season. 

Then, with 15 minutes left on the clock, Son scored again in emphatic fashion, picking up a loose ball from a free-kick before curling a shot from outside the box, beating Krul to make it 23 goals for the season. 

Another stunning display from Son but there was only one winner for this week’s top spot in our Power Rankings…

1. Ilkay Gundogan, Man City (new entry)

The third, and arguably most crucial, of Guardiola substitutions against Aston Villa was Ilkay Gundogan.

The German was ultimately the difference on a thrilling final day of the Premier League season with his two goals helping City overturn a two-goal deficit to beat Steven Gerrard’s men and win the Premier League title.

Gundogan was in the right place at the right time, not once, but twice to score the most important brace of his career.

Having headed home City’s opener after some brilliant work on the wing from Sterling, Gundogan was found in the exact same spot for the hosts’ third, tapping in De Bruyne’s exquisite through ball.

His heroics at the Etihad have rightfully earned him top spot in our final edition of this season’s Power Rankings for what could be his final appearance for Manchester City.

Ilkay Gundogan earns top spot for his Premier League final day heroics against Aston Villa