Tottenham Survive as West Ham Suffer Premier League Relegation

Tottenham Hotspur have avoided relegation from the Premier League after their 1-0 win over Everton on the final day of the 2025/26 season, sending rivals West Ham to the Championship.

Joao Palinha, who has spent the season on loan from Bayern Munich, scored the only goal of the game on Sunday to secure Spurs’ Premier League status after a survival battle that has gone on for months.

West Ham did their job on the day, defeating Leeds United 3-0, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the top flight of English football. On a tally of 39 points, it is the joint-second highest on which a team has been relegated, only second to West Ham’s tally of 42.

Heading into what promised to be a tense final day, Spurs knew they could be relegated only if they lost at home and West Ham beat Leeds 27 miles away at the London Stadium.

Palhinha’s goal, which just barely crossed the line, settled the nerves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but when their rivals went ahead across the capital with a little over 20 minutes remaining, the atmosphere made for a tense finish in north London.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side held on against Everton thanks to some superb defending and even better goalkeeping from Antonin Kinsky deep into the nine stoppage minutes.

“I’m very happy and elated for the performance of my players.”

“They showed they are good people and top players. We played maybe the best game in my time here.

“We played against an Everton side who had a coach that maybe wanted to help keep West Ham up, but I’m sorry he couldn’t do that.”

Sunday marked Spurs’ third home league win this season, and their first since the beginning of December.

Thomas Frank began the season in charge before he was sacked and replaced by Igor Tudor, whose ill-fated stint did not deliver a turnaround in results.

Frank’s tenure unraveled after lackluster displays against Chelsea and Arsenal left fans and players losing faith in his football, while Tudor’s reign lasted just 44 days in charge, with Spurs deep in the mire.

​But De Zerbi’s arrival at the end of March brought a sharp turnaround in performance and results as Spurs finished with 11 points from their last six matches, proving enough to see them beat the drop.