Premier League relegation battle LIVE: Results and reaction as Everton survive
Leeds and Leicester were both relegated on the final day of the season
Everton secured Premier League survival over Leicester and Leeds on a nervous and tense final day. Needing to defeat Bournemouth to claim their place in the top-flight next season things looked bad for the Toffees as the visitors took the early initiative at Goodison Park.
At the King Power Stadium, Harvey Barnes gave Leicester the lead over West Ham with Leeds falling behind to Tottenham up at Elland Road. That was how things stood at half-time with the Foxes out of the relegation zone and Everton in trouble.
The second half began and Leeds fell further behind Spurs effectively putting them out of the battle. Leicester extended their lead over the Hammers to gain control of their and Everton continued to struggle.
Then, Abdoulaye Doucoure received the ball on the edge of the box and smoked home a wonderful strike to put Everton in front. Sean Dyche’s men lasted through 10 minutes of stoppage to collect their three points and clinch their place in the top-flight.
Relive the action from the Premier League final day below:
Kane speaks to BT Sport
On the result: “We were playing for pride today. We also had the chance to finish seventh but that wasn’t the case today. It is about showing the fans some fight and determination. It is not an easy place to come away from home. Leeds are fighting for their lives and we put in a great performance. They put a lot of balls into the box and we stood up to that well.”
On Lucas Moura’s goal: “Fantastic for him. He has been really professional and waiting for his moments this season. When someone is out of contract, they might hide but full credit to him. That moment is the perfect moment for him to finish his career with the club.”
On Spurs’ season: “It has been disappointing. We can’t let this win dust over that. There’s a lot to work on and we have had to show fight in some moments. A club this size should not be finishing eighth and we need to go away and look at how we can improve.”
On his future: “I have focused on this season and helping the team as much as possible. I am just looking forward to a nice break and some games with England.”
Reaction from Leicester’s Jonny Evans
Leicester captain Jonny Evans spoke to Sky Sports following the team’s relegation saying: “Hard to take. We knew it would be a tough ask. We knew we had to win our game and hope something went for us. It didn’t.
“As the game went on we were asking the referee, asking the linesman [about the Everton score]. There were a few cheers but we didn’t know what they were about. We were trying to cope with that and focus on taking our game right to the end.
“It’s hard to put a finger on things. Everyone wants to blame things. As a club we haven’t been good enough. We’re out of the league. It’s a great club. I have no doubt it’ll bounce back.
“There’s so many good teams in this league. Everything has to go right for you. It’s a really competitive league. It’s tough. If you’re not on it, you get punished.
“After the first couple of months after a bad start it’s hard to turn it round. We got ourselves into a bad place and found it difficult to get out.
“You never know what way the club will see things. We will have to deal with the uncertainty. A lot of players are out of contract and I’d guess there will be a lot of changes at the club.”
Allardyce speaking to BT Sport on his future at Leeds
“I don’t know. I can only come to that decision when I know if they want me and what the outlook and the strategy of the club are going to look like and what direction they want to go in.
“Those are some pretty big things that need to be talked about and sorted out before next season. If that’s all going in the right direction for me and the board then we’ll see.”
‘It’s professional suicide’ says Allardyce after Leeds United relegation
Speaking to BT Sport after his side’s 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, Sam Allardyce was hugely critical of his side’s performance which saw Leeds relegated from the Premier League after a three-year stay.
He said: “It’s professional suicide - you prepare for a game and give the players tactics and then make huge errors. So we messed up again. We tried to fight our way back but messed up in a big way again because we couldn’t find the back of the net.
“We had 21 shots but two on target - that tells you everything about our capabilities of attacking - yes we can create opportunities but our quality of finishing was poor and then at the other end switching off and, in the end, Tottenham had better quality than we had.
“I wanted to go out with a sense of pride today but unfortunately I didn’t see that .”
Leeds’ relegation confirmed as Harry Kane hits double in Tottenham win
Leeds’ three-season stay in the Premier League is over after a 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham confirmed their relegation.
Harry Kane and Pedro Porro scored early in either half to put Spurs 2-0 up and, although Jack Harrison reduced the deficit, Kane struck a game-clinching second in what could be his last game for the London club.
Tottenham substitute Lucas Moura rubbed salt into Leeds’ wounds by waltzing through a porous defence in stoppage time to complete their misery.
Leeds’ relegation confirmed as Harry Kane hits double in Tottenham win
How the final day played out as Everton survive and Leicester relegated with Leeds
The final day of the Premier League was always set to be a dramatic one at the foot of the table, with the last two remaining relegation spots the only major matter left to be concluded.
With Southampton already down, Leeds United, Everton and Leicester City were fighting it out to survive - with the Toffees in the driving seat at the beginning of the afternoon and knowing that a win for themselves made everything else irrelevant.
What unfolded though saw one side quickly out of the running and one doing their job, but needing to wait to confirm their future.
Here’s how the final day played out at the bottom of the league:
How the final day played out with Everton surviving relegation fight
Leicester relegated from Premier League seven years after winning title
Leicester have equalled the record for most relegations from the English top flight with 12 the same amount as Birmingham City.
Everton remain in Premier League after avoiding last day relegation
‘It’s relief’ says Coady after Everton secure survival
Everton’s Conor Coady gave a post-match interview saying that keeping the club in the Premier League was a big relief but they need to be better to avoid this feeling in the futer.
“It’s relief,” he said. “We don't want to make it a thing, we need to improve. It's the hardest season of my life, it's a lot of relief.
“We had a plan, we worked so hard, it’s important. Loads of pressure, but relief, this giant of a football club going down, you don’t want to be part of that. This club has to rise and get better now.
“It's been so hard emotionally, we have to be better. It needs to be better. I’m not imagining that [relegation], we are where we are. We don’t want this to happen again, it has to improve, this club is a giant.”
Leicester relegated from Premier League seven years after winning title
Leicester have been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship after a dramatic final day of the 2022/23 season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s thunderous strike earned Everton victory over Bournemouth, meaning Leicester’s win over West Ham was in vain.
The results left Sean Dyche’s side two points clear of the Foxes, with Dean Smith’s team unable to close the gap facing them entering the final game of the campaign.
The 2015/16 champions, who join Leeds and Southampton in next season’s Championship, started positively and a superb Harvey Barnes goal had them moving out of the relegation zone on goal difference after 34 minutes.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments