Leeds United and Leicester City have joined Southampton as the relegated teams from the 2022-23 English Premier League season.
The final day of the Premier League season was an action-packed one with all fixtures played at same time – as is the usual custom – causing much anxiety in various match venues across England.
Heading into the final matchday of the campaign, Leeds United, Leicester and Everton were fighting for just one survival spot. Leeds and Leicester both had 31 points and in 19th and 18th positions respectively. Meanwhile, Everton were on 33 points, occupying the 17th spot.
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This meant Everton needed a win to survive the drop no matter the results from the other two contenders.
Interestingly for the Toffees, they won their match 1-0 against Bournemouth at the Goodison Park. Former Watford midfielder, Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the winner in the 57th minute. The victory also ensures Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi won’t be dropped to the Championship.
Leicester relegated in sorry circumstance
Although Leicester grabbed all three points at the King Power Stadium, they couldn’t help themselves stay in the league. Brendan Rodgers’ charges beat West Ham 2-1 on Sunday evening.
Leicester’s campaign have been a disappointing one as they started the season on a series of bad outings.
Despite the departure of key players like Kasper Schmeichel and Wesley Fofana, the Foxes failed to make adequate replacements. At a point, Leicester were the only team in all the recognised leagues across England not to have signed a single player.
Wout Faes was eventually bought to replace Fofana but the team didn’t look sharp enough against most of their opponents for a large part of the campaign.
Legendary striker Jamie Vardy is no longer the force he used to be. The defence is too vulnerable and largely unbalanced while injuries hampered some players’ season.
The likes of Harvey Barnes and James Madison gave rays of hope but their individual brilliance was not enough. Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho wasn’t disappointing when called upon.
However, Iheanacho’s compatriot Wilfred Ndidi endured an injury-laden season. He has been an integral part of the team ever since he joined them and his absences were sorely missed. His performances have also waned as he’s slowly becoming a shadow of his past, no thanks to recurring injury setbacks.
Leicester’s unprecedented Premier League 2015-16 title winning campaign will linger in our memories forever.
Their heroic performances throughout that season endeared a lot of football fans to them. It was a truly remarkable feat that demonstrated the beauty of football. Everything about that title-winning season was an absolute beauty and remains one of the greatest sporting stories ever.
They have also won the FA Cup during their nine-year stay since gaining promotion in 2014. The Foxes won the 2021 FA Cup title after beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final.
Leicester had beaten the likes of Brighton and Manchester United in the lead up to the final with Iheanacho scoring vital goals
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