{"id":245013,"date":"2026-05-24T18:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/24\/tears-of-joy-despair-as-spurs-safe-after-final-day-nail-biter-london-rivals-relegated\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T18:09:00","slug":"tears-of-joy-despair-as-spurs-safe-after-final-day-nail-biter-london-rivals-relegated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/24\/tears-of-joy-despair-as-spurs-safe-after-final-day-nail-biter-london-rivals-relegated\/","title":{"rendered":"Tears of joy, despair as Spurs SAFE after final day nail-biter, London rivals relegated"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Tottenham secured Premier League survival on a dramatic final day of the season on Sunday as West Ham\u2019s 14-year stay in the top division came to an end.<\/p>\n

Spurs kicked off against Everton needing, realistically, only a draw to avoid relegation for the first time since 1977 — as they sat two points clear of the Hammers with a significantly better goal difference.<\/p>\n

Joao Palhinha released the mounting pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just before half-time, poking home after his header thundered back off a post.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img><\/amp-iframe><\/div>\n

The Portugal midfielder was mobbed by his teammates as head coach Roberto De Zerbi sprinted down the touchline, turning to celebrate with ecstatic fans in the London sunshine.<\/p>\n

That goal left Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s West Ham, then drawing 0-0 with Leeds, needing a favour from Everton, even if they went on to win their match.<\/p>\n

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Roberto De Zerbi, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, applauds the fans after the team secured safety from relegation.<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/amp-img>
Tottenham Hotspur fans celebrate after the team secured safety from relegatio.<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just a few miles away, at the London Stadium, Valentin Castellanos gave West Ham some hope midway through the second half as he fired the Irons in front.<\/p>\n

Jarrod Bowen and Callum Wilson made it 3-0 at the full-time whistle but it was too little too late for the Hammers as a nervy Spurs held on to secure all three points.<\/p>\n

Spurs have enjoyed a mini-revival in recent weeks under De Zerbi, who arrived in late March as the club\u2019s third manager of the season.<\/p>\n

Relegation would have been financially disastrous for the ninth-richest club in world, who won the Europa League last season under former boss Ange Postecoglou.<\/p>\n

The Hammers, who were promoted to the English top division in 2012, will join Burnley and Wolves in the Championship next season.<\/p>\n

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola walked out at the Etihad for the final time as manager after a decade of almost unbroken success, with newly crowned Europa League winners Aston Villa the visitors.<\/p>\n

The Catalan on Friday confirmed reports that he was leaving the club after 10 years in charge, with six Premier League titles and the Champions League in his huge collection of silverware.<\/p>\n

A huge banner rippled over the heads of the fans bearing a giant image of Guardiola, with the messages \u201cGame Changer\u201d and \u201cHistory Maker<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, reacts during an award ceremony following the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium on May 24, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were smaller banners either side to mark the departures of long-serving defender John Stones and midfielder Bernardo Silva.<\/p>\n

Antoine Semenyo gave the home side the lead but Ollie Watkins, named this week in England\u2019s World Cup squad, scored twice to secure fourth spot in the table for Villa.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere on a day of significant departures, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson revelled in a party atmosphere at Anfield as they said farewell to the club.<\/p>\n

Just a week ago Salah, 33, undermined Liverpool boss Arne Slot when he called for a return to the \u201cheavy metal football\u201d played under former boss Jurgen Klopp.<\/p>\n

But Slot included the \u201cEgyptian King\u201d — third on the list of Liverpool\u2019s all-time goalscorers — in his starting line-up alongside Scotland defender Robertson.<\/p>\n

Banners in the crowd celebrated both players, one saying \u201cThank you legends\u201d. Another said: \u201cWe Have Gone From Great To Glory. Salah Is Our King\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans.<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 1-1 draw meant that Liverpool finish fifth in the table — a stark comedown after last season\u2019s Premier League title triumph.<\/p>\n

Ten-man Chelsea lost 2-1 at Sunderland, meaning that newly appointed boss Xabi Alonso will have no European football when he is at the helm next season.<\/p>\n

Sunderland and Bournemouth have qualified for the Europa League while Brighton will be in the UEFA Conference League.<\/p>\n

There was a party atmosphere at Selhurst Park, where champions Arsenal made nine changes ahead of next week\u2019s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n

Crystal Palace players gave Mikel Arteta\u2019s men a guard of honour before kick-off to mark their Premier League triumph.<\/p>\n

The Gunners, who beat Conference League finalists Palace 2-1, sealed their first English league title since 2004 earlier this week after City could only draw at Bournemouth.<\/p>\n

On the south coast, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes set a new outright record of 21 assists in a single Premier League season when he set up Patrick Dorgu\u2019s goal in a 3-0 win at Brighton.<\/p>\n

FINAL DAY RESULTS<\/b><\/p>\n

Brighton 0 Manchester United 3 (Dorgu 33, Mbeumo 44, Fernandes 48)<\/p>\n

Burnley 1 (Flemming 47) Wolves 1 (Armstrong 5-pen)<\/p>\n

Crystal Palace 1 (Mateta 89) Arsenal 2 (Jesus 42, Madueke 48)<\/p>\n

Fulham 2 (Diop 20, Cairney 80) Newcastle 0<\/p>\n

Liverpool 1 (Jones 58) Brentford 1 (Schade 64)<\/p>\n

Manchester City 1 (Semenyo 23) Aston Villa 2 (Watkins 47, 61)<\/p>\n

Nottingham Forest 1 (Gibbs-White 34) Bournemouth 1 (Tavernier 54)<\/p>\n

Sunderland 2 (Hume 25, Gusto 50-og) Chelsea 1 (Palmer 56)<\/p>\n

Tottenham 1 (Palhinha 43) Everton 0<\/p>\n

West Ham 3 (Castellanos 67, Bowen 79, Wilson 90+4) Leeds 0 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tottenham secured Premier League survival on a dramatic final day of the season on Sunday as West Ham\u2019s 14-year stay in the top division came to an end. Spurs kicked off against Everton needing, realistically, only a draw to avoid relegation for the first time since 1977 — as they sat two points clear of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":245014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[2228,11661,1287,2191,7364,1192,1700,73228,85,2894,4399,3065,9606,73229,2227,2225,2488,1348,13339,54467,583,2232,732,981,58023,4997,73227,854,994,68434,47516,71825,6248],"class_list":{"0":"post-245013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-agence-france-presse","9":"tag-andrew-robertson","10":"tag-bernardo-silva","11":"tag-bruno-fernandes","12":"tag-callum-wilson","13":"tag-champions-league","14":"tag-dramatic-final-day","15":"tag-ecstatic-fans","16":"tag-england","17":"tag-english-league","18":"tag-europa-league","19":"tag-european-football","20":"tag-final-time","21":"tag-giant-image","22":"tag-goal-difference","23":"tag-head-coach","24":"tag-home-side","25":"tag-jarrod-bowen","26":"tag-john-stones","27":"tag-josep-guardiola","28":"tag-jurgen-klopp","29":"tag-manchester-united-football-club","30":"tag-mikel-arteta","31":"tag-mohamed-salah","32":"tag-ninth-richest-club","33":"tag-ollie-watkins","34":"tag-party-atmosphere","35":"tag-premier-league","36":"tag-roberto-de-zerbi","37":"tag-taty-castellanos","38":"tag-top-division","39":"tag-valentin-castellanos","40":"tag-xabi-alonso"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}