Despite Slim Triumph over West Ham in the EPL, Leicester Bag Relegation
On the final day of the season, Leicester City lost 2-1 to West Ham United and were relegated from the Premier League, while Everton defeated Bournemouth 1-0 to remain in the division.
After finishing in 18th place with 34 points, two behind Everton, Leicester—who was promoted to the top flight in 2014 and defied all odds to win the title in 2016—was relegated alongside already doomed Southampton and Leeds United.
“Hard to swallow. We were aware that it would be a difficult task; we knew we had to triumph in our match and hope for the best. It didn’t, according to Leicester captain Jonny Evans, who was sidelined for a substantial portion of the season due to injury.
After an excellent pass exchange with Kelechi Iheanacho, Harvey Barnes gave the Foxes the lead in the 34th minute. He slid the ball past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to put Leicester ahead of Everton on goal differential.
West Ham appeared to be playing with the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina on June 7 in mind, but they continued to pose a threat on the break, keeping Leicester’s supporters on the edge of their seats.
When Wout Faes connected with a Youri Tielemans free kick to head past Fabianski in the 62nd minute to give Leicester their second goal, the crowd was already aware that Everton had taken the lead, thus the celebrations were muted.
Although Leicester’s destiny was already sealed when Jamie Vardy entered the game in the 77th minute, there wasn’t much the talismanic striker could do to aid.
Two minutes later, Pablo Fornals gave West Ham the lead again. Moments later, Leicester’s spirits were briefly raised as word of a Bournemouth goal circulated across the stadium, but those rumors turned out to be untrue, and the stadium rapidly fell silent once more.
The players huddled around in front of their phones to witness the final few seconds of stoppage time from Goodison Park, but Bournemouth was unable to provide the Foxes the goal they required, and relegation was finalized on Merseyside at the final whistle.
Evans from Northern Ireland continued, “You have to earn the right, there are so many good teams in this league.” “For you, everything must go perfectly. The league is fiercely competitive.
It’s a fantastic club. I have no doubt that we will recover.
