Two manager's were involved in their final games for their clubs on the final day of the English Premier League season, and both of them eventually bid goodbye with a smile on their faces as Rafa Benitez ended his stint as Chelsea manager with a 2-1 win over David Moyes' Everton.
Juan Mata opened the scoring for Chelsea, before Steven Naismith made it 1-1 in the first half. With the game seemingly headed towards a draw, Fernando Torres popped up with the winner on 76 minutes to hand the Europa League champions three points in the final game of the English Premier League season.
Benitez was happy to leave Chelsea on a winning note and paid tribute to the players and the backroom staff.
"To play 69 games with this group of players, and not a big squad, it means the medical department, fitness coaches and coaches have been doing a great job," he said. "Also, the players have been taking care of themselves.
"It was great. This is a top side challenging for trophies, playing two games a week without much time to go on holiday.
"The relationship with the staff and players has been quite good, you can feel it every week a little bit more.
"Winning some games in the style we did and changing things at half-time, like we did sometimes, creates a sense of union, and enables you to stick together more and more."
Benitez said he had seen a lot of improvement in the players since he took over from Roberto Di Matteo.
"You have seen a lot of players improving," Benitez said. "Today (Victor) Moses was very important in the second half, but David Luiz, (Cesar) Azpilicueta, Oscar, even Mata have been at a good level.
"(Frank) Lampard, without playing every single game, has been fresh and scoring goals, so we have a lot of players that have been improving, and they will be even better in the future."
Benitez felt the majority of the fans had supported him in the end, despite some of them giving him an extremely hard time during his tenure at Stamford Bridge
"The majority of them (fans) were very positive in the end, which was good," he added. "We tried to do our best until the end.
"It's been a great experience. We took a team that was in transition with young players and we have left a good team with more experience, good character and more balance, so it will be good for the next manager as he will have a good team.
"I think the owner will bring more players, so this team will be challenging for the title next year."
Everton manager Moyes bid goodbye to Everton after 11 years at the club, with the Scot set to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United next season.
"It is difficult to sum it up in a few words," he said. "But I am grateful to have had the chance and I hope I am leaving a club in better condition than when I took over.
"I will go into Finch Farm some of the days next week and make sure things are in place for whoever the incoming manager is.
"I would like to be remembered for doing a hard working honest job because that is what the football club stands for."
Moyes said he was proud of his players despite suffering a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
"I thought it was a really good game," he added. "We played excellently and the result was harsh on us.
"The attitude of the players and their performance levels were as good as we have had this season. But for a few misses we would have had a point.
"We have competed from the first day to the last this season. We have had bad days but show me a team who haven't."
