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Leicester City, who won the Premier League in the 2015-16 season and secured the FA Cup in 2021, have been relegated from the English Premier League. In a heart-wrenching turn of events on the final day of the Premier League season, Leicester City emerged victorious against West Ham United with a hard-fought 2-1 triumph. However, despite their valiant efforts on the pitch, the Foxes were dealt a devastating blow as Everton staged a dramatic victory against Bournemouth, overtaking Leicester City in the standings and securing their own Premier League survival.
The devastating turn of events left Leicester City and their loyal fans stunned, marking an unexpected end to their campaign and setting the stage for a period of reflection and rebuilding.
As it happened
Everton FC were two points ahead of Leicester City. So Foxes needed to win tonight as well as wait for Everton to lose. Therefore, Leicester’s boss deployed his best possible XI against West Ham United tonight at King Power Stadium. Leicester’s manager Dean Smith set up his team formation with 4-2-3-1, where Kelechi Iheanacho played as the only striker. James Maddison, Tielelmans, and Burns played just behind the striker. On the other hand, the West Ham boss played his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the same as Leicester.
As Leicester City had no alternatives to win the game, they were very aggressive from the very first minute. They highly pressed the visitors and created several crucial chances. But the Foxes had to wait until the 34th minute to find the net. Midfielder Harvey Burns scored that goal with the help of Kelechi Iheanacho to put the Foxes ahead of the London side club.
West Ham, however, tried hard to return the goal. But Leicester defended very well in the first half and conceded nothing in the first 45 minutes.
After the break, Leicester City kept pressing the visitors. Due to their high press, West Ham’s defense got shaky and as a result, Leicester City doubled their lead. This time, defender Wout Faes scored the goal in the 62nd minute. However, Pablo Forlans returned a goal for West Ham in the 79th minute. But it didn’t avoid the defeat of West Ham United.
Anyway, Leicester City have been relegated despite winning the game as Everton FC have overtaken them. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s only goal secured full three points for Everton, which secured the 17th place for the Toffees and left Leicester City in the relegation zone.
Dean Smith talked to Sky Sports
Leicester’s interim manager Dean Smith shared his thoughts after the match against West Ham United. He said, “That was our best performance today. We deserved a win. We put some pressure on, but it wasn’t to be.”
He added, “When I came here with eight games to go, I thought we probably needed 11 points. We’ve fallen two short of that with nine – and it ended up being 11 points. I’ll look back at the Leeds and Everton game, but it’s over a long season. I’m disappointed for the owner here and the staff and the players. It wasn’t to be.”
