Second-half rout not enough as West Ham relegated
West Ham was relegated from the Premier League despite beating Leeds United 3-0 at the London Stadium, with Tottenham's 1-0 win over Everton keeping it up.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team entered the final matchday knowing it needed a win to have any chance of retaining its top-flight status. And given its vastly inferior goal difference, overhauling Spurs was only realistic if Roberto De Zerbi’s side was beaten.
There was a flat atmosphere by half-time after the Hammers struggled to create anything in the way of clear-cut chances, with Leeds going close through Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and news filtering through that Joao Palhinha had put Spurs in front.
West Ham did its bit in the second half, with Valetin Castellanos nodding Jarrod Bowen's deep corner beyond Karl Darlow in the 67th minute.
Bowen then added a goal of his own 12 minutes later, drilling across Darlow after Pascal Struijk failed to intercept Mateus Fernandes' piercing through-ball.
After seeing one effort tipped over by Darlow, half-time substitute Callum Wilson blasted beyond the Leeds goalkeeper from distance in stoppage time to add further gloss to the scoreline.
But it was all in vain as West Ham did not get the favour it required from Everton, which never truly threatened an equaliser throughout until stoppage time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when Tyrique George forced Antonin Kinsky into action.
