Everton survive with Bournemouth win as Leeds and Leicester relegated from Premier League - The Athletic 28/5/23
By Ben Burrows
Leeds United and Leicester City have been relegated from the
Premier League on a dramatic final day of the season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure scored what proved to be the pivotal goal
of the afternoon as Everton beat the drop with a 1-0 home win over Bournemouth.
It had looked very different when Harvey Barnes and Wout
Faes put Leicester ahead against West Ham United and temporarily moved them out
of the drop zone.
But Doucoure’s second-half strike from outside the box at
Goodison Park was enough for all three points to keep Everton up and preserve
their 69-year stay in the English top-flight.
That result meant Leeds’ fate was sealed even before the 4-1
home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.
Harry Kane scored twice with Pedro Porro and Lucas Moura
adding further goals as Leeds’ three-year stint in the Premier League was
brought to an end.
Southampton, who drew 4-4 in a thrilling final game with
Liverpool, were already the third team heading down to the Championship, with
their own relegation confirmed earlier this month.
On Everton’s survival, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford told Sky
Sports: “It’s been a grind again. We spoke earlier about mentality. I think we
showed that in the first half with our attitude, our dedication and the
mentality. We just needed to add that quality, that extra 10 per cent and Doucs
found that strike, I don’t know where from.
“To get us over the line, it’s massive for the club for us
as players, for the club, the fans. We’ve worked our nuts off all week and
every week. We’ve given our all. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off but if you put in
the work you know you can be proud no matter what.
“It’s come down the line in the last couple of years but we
keep going.”
Kane’s first effort and Porro’s goal both came within 2
minutes of the first and second halves starting respectively, with interim
Leeds manager Sam Allardyce commenting: “It’s professional suicide.
“You prepare for a game, you get the players down here, put
in some tactics, you look at the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and then
try to play the game as best you can.
“But when you do what you do in the game, football in those
moments, the errors are huge errors and Harry Kane is going to take full
advantage. We messed up again. We tried to find our way back and then we mess
up again in a big way.
“Our response to going 1-0 down was very good but
unfortunately with a huge amount of attempts, I think we had 20 or 21, only two
were on target and that probably says it all for Leeds this season. You want to
go out with some pride but unfortunately, I didn’t see that sadly.”
