Get you up to speed: West Ham go down as Salah and Guardiola make emotional Premier League exits
West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League following a 3-0 victory over Leeds, while Tottenham Hotspur secured survival with a 1-0 win against Everton. The matches took place on the final day of the season, with Tottenham finishing two points ahead of West Ham.
West Ham United’s relegation follows a 14-year period in the Premier League, concluding with a defeat in the league standings. Tottenham Hotspur’s survival has secured their position in the top division for a 49th consecutive season, emphasising the contrasting fortunes of both clubs on the final matchday.
West Ham United will assess its strategic approach following relegation from the Premier League, marking the end of a 14-year stint in the top division. In the interim, Tottenham Hotspur aims to consolidate its position in the Premier League while reflecting on a season of near relegation and its ultimate survival.
What remains unclear — The future plans for West Ham United following their relegation from the Premier League are not detailed.
West Ham relegated as Tottenham secures survival and Guardiola, Salah bid farewell
Sport|FootballWest Ham go down as Salah and Guardiola make emotional Premier League exits
Tottenham secure Premier League survival with 1-0 win over Everton as West Ham’s 14-year stay in top division ends.
London, Britain, 24 May 2026. EPA/DAVID CLIFF EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos, ‘live’ services or NFTs. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.”>Tottenham’s James Maddison, eight, and Pedro Porro celebrate after Totteham’s win over Everton [EPA]
West Ham United were relegated and Tottenham Hotspur survived on an emotional final day of the Premier League season when Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah made their exits after record-breaking spells in English football.
West Ham beat Leeds 3-0 on Sunday but that was not enough to climb out of the relegation zone because fourth-to-last Tottenham also won, 1-0 at home to Everton, to stay two points clear of their London rivals.
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.
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.
That meant West Ham’s 14-year stay in the Premier League was over and Tottenham will be in the top division for a 49th straight season.
Guardiola’s decade-long tenure at Manchester City – which has included six Premier League titles – ended with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa that featured a mid-match guard of honour for first Bernardo Silva and then John Stones, two of Guardiola’s stalwarts.
Guardiola hugged both, and wiped away tears with his T-shirt
Salah was given a standing ovation – before he kissed the Anfield turf – during his second-half substitution in his 442nd and last game for Liverpool, in which he grabbed an assist in a 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The Egyptian winger finished his nine years with the Reds with 257 goals.
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Arsenal has already clinched the title and closed their first championship-winning campaign since 2004 with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Sunderland became only the fifth side in Premier League history to qualify for Europe in their first season following promotion after beating Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday.
Sunderland will join Bournemouth, who drew 1-1 at Nottingham Forest, in the Europa League next season with Chelsea missing out on Europe entirely after finishing in 10th place – just 10 months after winning the Club World Cup.
The Conference League spot went to Brighton in eighth despite a 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United.
United, whose talisman Bruno Fernandes scored a goal and supplied a record-breaking 21st assist of the season, had Champions League qualification wrapped up as did champions Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Liverpool picked up the point they needed to make mathematically certain with a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford.
Crystal Palace can also qualify for next season’s Europa League if they beat Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final in Leipzig on Wednesday.
In Sunday’s other games, relegated sides Burnley and Wolves played out a 1-1 draw, while Fulham beat Newcastle 2-0.
Haaland crowned Premier League’s top scorer
Erling Haaland won a third Premier League Golden Boot in four seasons at Manchester City on Sunday despite not featuring in Guardiola’s farewell at the Etihad after being left out of the squad.
Norwegian star Haaland scored 27 times in 35 league appearances as City fell just short in their quest to deny Arsenal the Premier League title.
Haaland joins Alan Shearer and Harry Kane as three-time winners and trails Salah and Thierry Henry as the only players to win the award four times in the Premier League era.
Brentford’s Igor Thiago finished second to Haaland on 22 goals, which propelled him into the Brazil squad for the World Cup.