EPL

How the Premier League’s dramatic final day unfolded

By Sports Desk May 28, 2023

Leicester and Leeds have been relegated from the Premier League after a tense final day of the season in which Everton avoided the drop.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the battle for survival played out.

4.30pm: Final games kick off. Everton began the day in the crucial 17th position on 33 points (-24 goal difference) with Leicester 18th on 31 (-18) and Leeds 19th, also on 31 (-27).

4.32: Harry Kane gives Tottenham the lead at Leeds (live standings: 17: Everton 34, 18: Leicester 32, 19: Leeds 31).

5.03: Harvey Barnes puts Leicester 1-0 ahead against West Ham (17: Leicester 34, 18: Everton 34, 19: Leeds 31)

5.37: Leeds fall 2-0 behind to Spurs as Pedro Porro scores (17: Leicester 34, 18: Everton 34, 19: Leeds 31).

5.46: Abdoulaye Doucoure scores to give Everton a 1-0 lead against Bournemouth (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

5.51: Wout Faes doubles Leicester’s lead (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

5.57: Leeds pull it back to 2-1 against Spurs with a Jack Harrison goal (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

5.59: Kane’s second goal gives Spurs a 3-1 lead over Leeds (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

6.08: Pablo Fornals strikes for West Ham to cut Leicester’s lead to 2-1 (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

6.25: Lucas Moura puts Spurs 4-1 in front at Leeds (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

6.26: The final whistle blows at the King Power Stadium and Leicester beat West Ham 2-1 (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

6.27: Leeds are relegated as their game ends in a 4-1 defeat (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

6.30: Everton survive 10 minutes of injury time to beat Bournemouth 1-0, ensuring their survival and relegating Leicester (17: Everton 36, 18: Leicester 34, 19: Leeds 31).

Related items

  • Leon Bailey's injury update emerges with surgery a possibility Leon Bailey's injury update emerges with surgery a possibility

    Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey could be ruled out for over 10 weeks due to a hamstring injury picked up recently.

    This according to injury expert Dr. Rajpal Brar, who explained the best and worst-case scenarios for the Jamaican international, as he pointed out that surgery could also be on the cards.

    Manager Unai Emery was reluctant to put a timeline on Bailey’s return, and Dr. Brar, a physical therapist and sports scientist, agreed as he explained that the 27-year-old’s return will be determined based on the extent of the injury.

    “His return timeline remains TBD, so that leads me to believe it’s not just a low Grade 0 or 1 injury, which would be the best-case scenario. The worst case would be a Grade 4 hamstring rupture, which means over 10 weeks out depending on if surgery is needed or not, and that possibility cannot be ruled out yet,” Dr. Brar told Villa News.

    “One confounding variable with Bailey is that he’s a high-pace player, which puts more stress on the hamstrings, so you have to make sure he can handle those demands before being reintroduced,” he added.

  • Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg: Maanum strike ensures Champions League progression Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg: Maanum strike ensures Champions League progression

    Frida Maanum's first-half strike ensured Arsenal progressed to the second round of Women's Champions League qualifying after a 1-0 win over Rosenborg.

    Maanum netted the only goal of the game in the 19th minute after Caitlin Foord saw her cross spilled by Rugile Rulyte, with Maanum on hand to finish from close range. 

    The Gunners could have made the encounter more comfortable as Alessia Russo's header came back off the crossbar to conclude a dominant first half.

    Arsenal struck the woodwork a further two times after the interval, through Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross, with Leah Williamson also seeing her header cleared off the line.

    But Jonas Eidevall's side were able to restrict their opponents to very little, with the hosts ending the contest with 30 shots, though only five of those were on target.

    Arsenal go through to the next stage of the next stage of the competition, which is a knockout tie played across two legs.

  • Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Zirkzee enjoys dream full debut Netherlands 5-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Zirkzee enjoys dream full debut

    Joshua Zirkzee marked his first Netherlands start with a goal and an assist as Ronald Koeman's side kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

    The Manchester United forward opened the scoring early on at the Philips Stadion.

    A quiet start to proceedings burst into life in the 13th minute as Simons' deflected effort dropped kindly for Zirkzee, who nodded the ball beyond Nikola Vasilj. 

    But with their second shot on target, Bosnia snatched an equaliser after Denis Huseinbasic's defence-splitting pass picked out Ermedin Demirovic, who finished smartly. 

    Teed up by Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders restored the hosts' advantage before teeing up Cody Gakpo, who maintained the goalscoring form he displayed at Euro 2024.

    Bosnia provided a nervy finish to proceedings after Edin Dzeko neatly poked the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen, only for Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons to seal the win in the closing stages.

    Data Debrief: Gen Z(irkzee)

    Having only held a one-goal advantage until the 88th minute, the scoreline eventually reflected the Netherlands' dominance in Eindhoven. 

    Koeman's side generated an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, registering 28 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to their opponents' four and three.

    Zirkzee, meanwhile, became the fourth player after Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Bas Dost and Vincent Janssen to contribute a goal and assist on their starting debut for the Netherlands.

    It was also the first Netherlands game with three players representing the same non-Dutch club side (Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Gakpo for Liverpool) since November 2013 (Michel Vorm, Dwight Tiendalli and Jonathan de Guzman for Swansea City against China). 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.