Connect with us

Sports

Everton survive on dramatic final day scare as Leicester, Leeds relegated from Premier League

Published

on

 

Everton have survived on the final day of the Premier League season by beating Bournemouth 1-0 at Goodison Park.

That means Leicester and Leeds have suffered relegation to the Championship. The Foxes kept their side of the bargain by beating West Ham 2-1 at the King Power, and they would have stayed up if Bournemouth had scored an equaliser on Merseyside.

Leicester’s relegation comes just seven years after they won the Premier League title. As for Leeds, they were beaten 4-1 by Tottenham at Elland Road to end their three-year stay in the top flight.

Everton sat on 33 points heading into the final day, with Leicester and Leeds both on 31 points. The Foxes boasted a far superior goal difference to their rivals, meaning they would stay up if they won and Everton drew. Leeds did not have the same luxury.

Within two minutes of the kick-off, Leeds’ hopes were in tatters. Son Heung-min teed up Harry Kane from around 12 yards out – and there was only going to be one outcome. The England captain smashed the ball into the top corner to silence Elland Road.

See also  Arsenal scored twice in stoppage time to beat Leicester 4-2

The Foxes then made their move. Harvey Barnes played a nice one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho down the left channel before slotting the ball into the back of the net. Leicester fans, knowing they were now out of the relegation zone, went wild.

Leeds started the second half in the exact same way. Kane put Pedro Porro through on goal after some brilliant work before the Spaniard did the rest. Rasmus Kristensen told his Leeds team-mates to keep their heads up, but their fate was all but sealed.

As Leicester fans listened to their portable radios, the worst possible news filtered through. Standing on the edge of Bournemouth’s box, Abdoulaye Doucoure hit the sweetest strike of his life into the bottom corner and sent Everton into 17th spot.

Gary Neville summed up the response of Everton fans. He said: “Goosebumps! The slight deflection on the way through helps Doucoure but my word, it helps Everton Football Club more. This gantry is rocking like no gantry I’ve been in before. This ground is shaking!”

See also  Police rescue eight kidnapped victims in Zamfara

Yet Leicester responded perfectly, as Wout Faes nodded in a second goal with just under 30 minutes left to play. It was now up to Everton to hang on to their lead. To the relief of everyone at Goodison Park, that is exactly what Sean Dyche’s side did.

Pablo Fornals pulled a late goal back for West Ham at the King Power, but they failed to find an equaliser. Over at Elland Road, Kane completed his brace before Lucas Moura scored on his final Tottenham appearance. Jack Harrison found the net for Leeds.

Everton’s Conor Coady said: “Relief is the main emotion. You don’t want to be part of this giant football club going down. This club has to rise and get better now.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

Published

on

By

Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

See also  100% START: Arsenal thump Bournemouth to go top

City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.

See also  Premier League releases 2022-23 season fixtures (See full list)

Continue Reading

Sports

WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

on

By

Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

See also  Nigerian youths may not have a country to call their own soon - Sanusi

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Continue Reading

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

on

By

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

See also  Opening-weekend fixtures in full: Manchester United host Arsenal to open Premier League season
Continue Reading

Trending News