Leicester and Aston Villa will remain in the Premier League next season as three sides were left trying to avoid relegation going into the last week of the season, dpa reported. A 0-0 draw for Leicester at Sunderland on Saturday gave them enough points to avoid the drop, an incredible escape after winning six of their previous seven games. Villa are also safe despite a 6-1 thumping by Southampton in the early kick-off. Hull City remain favourites to join QPR and Burnley in the Championship next season after they were beaten 2-0 at Tottenham, leaving them two points from safety. But Newcastle's 2-1 defeat at QPR means they and Sunderland, who have a game in hand, could still go down. Leicester were written off less than two months ago and manager Nigel Pearson was on the verge of losing his job. But their goalless draw at Sunderland, who are still not safe, completed one of the most remarkable survival stories in the history of the top flight. Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose scored the goals for Spurs as they left Hull on the precipice, after a week in which their midfielder Jake Livermore was suspended for testing positive for cocaine. Saido Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick in history with three goals in two minutes, 56 seconds as Southampton crushed Villa, boosting their hopes of Europa League football. Mane scored his goals in the 13th, 14th and 16th minutes while Shane Long grabbed two and Graziano Pelle got the other as Southampton stayed one point behind sixth-placed Tottenham. Leroy Fer scored the winner for already-relegated QPR, who fell behind to Emmanuel Riviere's early goal before Matt Phillips levelled. Steven Gerrard was given a rapturous reception on his last ever home match but Crystal Palace didn't read the script as they pinched a 3-1 win. Adam Lallana put Liverpool in front but Jason Puncheon, Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray gave 12th-placed Palace their first win at Anfield since 1991 and a first ever league double over Liverpool. Liverpool remain fifth but are now just one point ahead of Tottenham and two clear of Southampton. Romelu Lukaku scored a late winner for Everton in a 2-1 victory at West Ham while Burnley and Stoke drew 0-0 in the other match. -- SPA 23:44 LOCAL TIME 20:44 GMT تغريد
