Leeds United and Leicester City have been relegated from the Premier League. At Everton, the relief was great at the end of the relegation battle, in which Abdoulaye Doucouré became the hero of The Toffees.
Everton 1-0 AFC Bournemouth
The assignment for Everton going into the last game was simple: win to ensure survival. What could help was that opponent AFC Bournemouth was already safe. The Cherries had also already collected seventy hits this season in the Premier League. Still, it took Everton a long time to find an opening. The tension was palpable at Goodison Park, where reports also came through about competitor Leicester City’s opening goal against West Ham United.
Even greater than the nervousness at 0-0 was the relief when the spell was finally broken in the 57th minute. Just outside the penalty area, the ball fell well for Abdoulaye Doucouré, who had already been relegated with Watford. It did not come to a second fall from the Premier League for the thirty-year-old Malian, thanks to his devastating blow. Doucouré blasted the ball past goalkeeper Mark Travers, sending a wave of relief and sheer joy through Goodison Park. That was true again when the final whistle blew. An incredibly tough season ended for lifeguard Sean Dyche’s team with survival.
Leicester City 2-1 West Ham
Leicester hoped to score early to put maximum pressure on Everton. Where coach Dean Smith opted for an extremely defensive approach against Newcastle United on Monday evening to grab a point (0-0), it was different against West Ham United. Harvey Barnes returned to the starting line-up and the 25-year-old winger showed his class in the 34th minute. After a combination with Kelechi Iheanacho, the Englishman hit the far corner: 1-0.
The first goal was celebrated very passionately at the King Power Stadium, but when Wout Faes made it 2-0 after more than an hour, the atmosphere was already depressed at The Foxes. Just before that, competitor Everton had taken the lead against Bournemouth. The former defender of SC Heerenveen’s header from a free kick by Youri Tielemans was nice, but did not yield anything. Pablo Fornals determined the final score at 2-1. The club that became champion of England in a fairytale way in 2016, is now falling to the second level.
Leeds United 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur
Of the three teams battling for 17th place, Leeds United had the most complicated escape scenario. Sam Allardyce’s team had to make up a two-point deficit to Everton and had to get an even better goal difference than Leicester, who also had 31 points at the start of the 38th round. The season finale started downright dramatic for the number nineteen in the ranking. Harry Kane brought Leeds closer to relegation in the second minute by making it 0-1.
Tottenham had to win to have a good chance to finish seventh. They took a 0-2 lead via Pedro Porro shortly after the break. The right wing defender shot the ball convincingly into the far corner. Leeds brought the margin back to one goal for a while, but took the final blow shortly after Jack Harrison’s connecting goal. From a counter, Kane made it 1-3 on a pass from Porro. Deep into extra time, Lucas Moura scored another goal (1-4). After the game, two teams were left disappointed. Relegation had become permanent for Leeds and for Spurs an already extremely turbulent season ended with disappointment by losing the battle for seventh place. Competitors Aston Villa won 2-1 from Brighton & Hove Albion, which meant that the Londoners grabbed next to European football.