Winners and Losers: Palace get their glory as Ajax's season ends in tears

Viktor Gyokeres and Jamie Vardy ended their seasons on high notes, while South London celebrated Crystal Palace's first-ever major trophy. Meanwhile, Manchester City and AC Milan are racking their brains as to how so many chances could have been squandered in the 2024/25 season, with Ajax enduring the heaviest disappointment of all. Catch up on another packed weekend with our Winners and Losers!

Winner: Viktor Gyokeres

In a particularly exciting season finale, Lisbon-based Sporting CP defended their Portuguese championship, something they have not done since the middle of the 20th century. The Lions' celebration comes after a turbulent season in which the team had as many as three coaches. Key to their success was their ruthless sniper Viktor Gyokeres.

The 26-year-old Swede scored the second in a 2-0 victory over Vitoria, taking his total in the Portuguese league to 39 goals. No one in Europe's top leagues has been able to achieve such a feat, and Gyokeres still leads the Golden Boot standings. He is followed by Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah, but their achievements are not as impressive.

Gyokeres' incredible scoring numbers in PortugalFlashscore

Gyokeres already has 53 goals and eight assists in 50 games in all competitions in the season that is coming to an end, and he has a Portuguese Cup final left to play in which Sporting are hoping to win the double. If there is anything Sporting fans might regret, it is the Swede's expected move away, but their club is set to make a fortune from it, you'd think.

Losers: Ajax

Ajax are the biggest losers, not just of the last weekend, but of the last few weeks. After two years of collapse, they had the championship within reach, but in the end, they let PSV enjoy their second title in a row, even though they were trailing the Amsterdam team by as many as nine points with five rounds to go.

On top of that, the coach who pulled the club out of a huge hole is leaving the club; Francesco Farioli has announced that he is leaving after only one season. This signals further turmoil in the boardroom, with the Italian not seeing eye to eye with the directors and therefore bidding farewell to the legendary club.

Winners: Crystal Palace

A whole generation has passed through the stands at Selhurst Park since Palace last won something, but let's face it, winning the second division in 1994 can't compare to lifting their first major trophy - the FA Cup. On Saturday, Croydon in London exploded with joy after Eberechi Eze provided the only goal of the game against Manchester City.

And while no more goals were scored, there was plenty of excitement at Wembley, from Omar Marmoush's missed penalty to Pep Guardiola's fury at the referees. However, the numbers showed that Palace were better prepared for this match, and the success is no coincidence.

Losers: Manchester City

As some make history, others are playing out their worst season in years. Guardiola's charges had a chance to end this bitter season with a trophy, which would have been at least a small consolation when looking at how bad they have been throughout the campaign.

Palace should not have been an insurmountable obstacle in the FA Cup final, but they proved so. Their rivals struck the killer blow as early as the 16th minute when Eberechi Eze scored. Palace then defended very well, while City were flagrantly ineffective, with Marmoush wasting a penalty kick in the 36th minute.

In the end, the match ended 1-0, and City will end the 2024/25 season without a trophy.

Winner: Jamie Vardy

It is rare for a player to be withdrawn from the last game of the season in favour of saying goodbye to the fans in the penultimate game. But in this case, it is hard to think of a different decision.

Sunday's match between Leicester and Ipswich was game number 500 of the great English forward's career and fell on the exact anniversary of his signing with the Foxes.

After 13 years at Leicester, Vardy also managed to round it off with goal 200 in the colours of the club to which he has dedicated his career.

Admittedly, in many ways, Foxes fans will not remember this season fondly, but Vardy's contribution will be remembered for decades to come, not least thanks to the 2-0 farewell win.

Losers: AC Milan

Among the losers, we certainly had to include AC Milan, who buried their chance of playing in Europe in a matter of days. First, the Rossoneri lost the Italian Cup final to Bologna, which not only deprived them of the trophy but also took away a certain place in a continental cup.

Over the weekend, they still had a chance to fight for Europe in Serie A, but for that, they needed a win against Roma. A quick goal was scored by the hosts, but Milan managed to equalise and stay in the game. However, the second half belonged to the team from Rome, who won 3-1, which leaves Milan only in ninth place with one round to go before the end of the season.

After five straight seasons, the Milanese will fail to earn even a euro from playing on the continent.

AC Milan are ninth in Serie AFlashscor