Everton survive Premier League relegation; Leeds and Leicester City sent to the Championship on last day

Behind a scrumptious strike from Abdoulaye Doucoure, Everton have avoided relegation with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at Goodison Park. With their win, Leeds United, and Leicester City, join Southampton as the teams heading to the Championship. Everton now keep the run going as one of the six English clubs to never have been relegated from the Premier League alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Chelsea. Everton have managed to continue a top flight run which has extended from the 1954-55 season. Although they have now left things late for the second season running. 

The loss of the Foxes from the Premier League will be a monumental one as they are the second team to win a Premier League title and be relegated along with Blackburn Rovers. Leicester City were a team on the cusp of Champions League qualification just two seasons ago and finished eighth in the league last season, but times can change quickly in English soccer. Only seven years since winning the title, the Foxes will now need to climb back to the Premier League.

With Leeds United dropping, the future of their trio of Americans, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, and Weston McKennie will come into question along with other players. The Yorkshire club was one that also needed late heroics last season to avoid the drop but weren’t able to avoid the same fate for two seasons running. Southampton knew their fate heading into the final day but went down with a bang scoring four goals at home against Liverpool.

The appointment of Sean Dyche in January was a masterstroke for an Everton side that was mired in the relegation zone as he oversaw the team to five victories and 21 of the final tally of 36 points that it took to keep the Toffees in the Premier League. With Dyche’s setup, there will be cautious optimism that with a full season in charge, he can avoid Everton needing to sweat out survival for three seasons running.

As always with relegation there comes the chance that some of these clubs don’t quickly return to the Premier League, a feat that Leeds knows all too well, but they don’t have to look far for hope of a quick stay in the Championship. Sheffield United and Burnley only needed one season in the second division to bounce back to the Premier League and there is enough talent in these sides for them to pull off a similar feat.

Players will leave but new ones will come but it will be a long summer ahead for the trio to prepare fo the grind that is the Championship season.