Leicester relegated from the Premier League despite 2-1 win against West Ham
LEICESTER, England (AP) — Leicester City was relegated from the Premier League on Sunday despite ending the season with a 2-1 win against West Ham.
Everton's 1-0 victory against Bournemouth at Goodison Park meant there was nothing the 2016 league champion could do to avoid the drop.
Dean Smith's side had sparked hope it could mount a dramatic survival bid after Harvey Barnes struck in the 34th minute.
With Everton drawing 0-0 at the time, Leicester temporarily climbed out of the bottom three on goal difference, prompting wild celebrations inside the King Power.
But when news began to filter through that Abdoulaye Doucoure had put Everton ahead in the second half, the energy was sucked out of the stadium.
Wout Faes headed in a second for the home team in the 62nd, but Leicester's fortunes were dependent on what was happening on Merseyside.
By the time Pablo Fornals pulled one back for West Ham in the 79th, it mattered little on the day or for the season overall.
On a day of high drama, Leicester fans were tormented by rumors that Bournemouth had scored, sparking ripples of celebrations before reality hit.
Starting the day in the relegation zone, Leicester knew it had to win to stand any chance of survival - and even then, needed Everton to drop points.
A superior goal difference to the Merseyside club meant a victory would see it stay up even if Everton drew.
After some nervous moments early on, Leicester grew in confidence and began to find space behind West Ham's defense. Kelechi Iheanacho came close to opening the scoring with a spinning shot that clipped the top of the crossbar.
It was a moment that prompted the stadium to erupt as the fans tried to urge their team on.
It had the desired effect when Barnes found the back of the net after a slick passing move inside the box. Collecting Iheanacho's pass on the left of the area, Barnes slid his shot past Lukasz Fabianski from a tight angle.
Leicester went in search of a quick-fire second with Iheanacho and James Maddison both coming close.
There was another roar from inside the ground, which appeared to be the result of erroneous information that Everton had conceded.
In the 57th there was more information from Goodison and on this occasion it was accurate.
Doucoure had scored, prompting visiting West Ham fans to chant “You're going down.”
It could have been worse for Leicester but Said Benrahma struck the post for West Ham.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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