West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League this morning for the first time in 15 years despite a 3-0 home win over Leeds United, as Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 victory over Everton confirmed the Hammers' demotion from England's top flight.
The hosts needed a victory with Spurs losing to stay up, having started the game two points behind their relegation rivals with a far inferior goal difference.
West Ham were fortunate to be level when news of Spurs' first-half goal spread around the ground, quietening the London Stadium and leaving the Hammers reliant on an Everton comeback.
They rarely looked like scoring until Taty Castellanos gave them hope with a 67th-minute header.
Jarrod Bowen doubled the lead with 10 minutes left to put the three points beyond doubt, prompting many fans to turn their attention to updates from Spurs' match across London.
"It's a horrible place to be in football ... relegation for a club like this, it hurts," Bowen told Sky Sports. "We did enough today in terms of our result but throughout the season we just haven't done enough consistently."
West Ham finished on 39 points from 38 games, the highest tally for a relegated team since Birmingham City and Blackpool went down with 39 points in 2010-11.
The Hammers will look back on a dreadful start to the season, taking four points from their first nine games, as the cause of their demise.
Coming three years after their Conference League triumph, the Hammers' problems stem from years of mismanagement and poor recruitment. Fans put protests against the ownership to one side on Sunday until shortly after Castellanos' goal, when chants of "sack the board" rang out from the stands.
"Last season we were in a similar situation but managed to wriggle out of it, this season we haven't managed to wriggle out of it because we've been there all season," Bowen said.
"So it's not something that has just happened and it's fresh. It's been something, especially for the last couple of seasons, we have been really, really below the standards."
Top players are likely to depart over the summer, meaning West Ham may struggle to bounce straight back as they did after they last went down.
But coach Nuno Espirito Santo declined to comment on the future of his players.
"Now we have to go through this period of sadness, understanding the frustration and anger of the fans and rightly so," he said.
Leeds finished 14th with 47 points in their first season back in the Premier League, having secured their top-flight status with relative ease.
"Everyone who's connected with Leeds United can look into a bright future because the foundations are there," coach Daniel Farke said.
Spurs survive
Spurs salvaged their Premier League status in the nick of time as Joao Palhinha's first-half goal earned a priceless 1-0 home victory over Everton this morning.
Only an 11th home league defeat of a miserable season could have sent Tottenham down for the first time since 1977, but Palhinha's 43rd-minute effort erased that nightmare scenario on a nervy afternoon in north London.
Tottenham's victory completed an escape mission led by Roberto de Zerbi who has rejuvenated the team since taking charge little more than a month ago with Spurs deep in trouble.
After an afternoon of tension and 10 agonising minutes of stoppage time in which every Tottenham clearance was cheered, the final whistle was met by huge relief with several Spurs players collapsing to the turf.
"It's unacceptable that the last game we played this season was to avoid relegation," said Spurs defender Micky van de Ven. "It was embarrassing to let it come to the final day but we did it and that is what is important."
It was all smiles as the players took the customary end-of-season lap of honour, but once the dust settles Tottenham will realise just how close they came to calamity after a 15-game winless run at the start of the year.
The twice English champions have only spent one season outside the top flight since 1950 - the last occasion being 1977-78. But for much of this year they have been in a spiral towards relegation that would have resulted in a financial hit in the region of £150 million ($NZ343 million).
Italian De Zerbi has taken 11 points from his seven games in charge, although defeat at Chelsea in the penultimate game of the season took the relegation battle to the wire.
The tension ratcheted up as kickoff neared with the spectre of Everton boss David Moyes saving his old club West Ham once again, this time while not even being their manager, a dark thought lurking in the back of fans' minds.
A sea of white filled the stadium and a loud rendition of the club's anthem "When the Spurs go marching in" was belted out as the teams made their way out. Even injured club captain Cristian Romero, whose decision to go back to Argentina for treatment had caused outrage, was back in the stands.
Desperate for an early goal to settle the nerves, Tottenham began strongly with Conor Gallagher smashing a shot into the side netting and Palhinha scooping a chance over.
Tottenham's initial burst of energy dissipated as the 31degC heat began to take a toll, but there was an explosion of relief as the hosts scored close to halftime.
Mathys Tel swung in a corner and Palhinha, a key figure since joining on loan from Bayern Munich, headed against the upright but reacted well to prod the rebound over the line.
With West Ham drawing 0-0 it meant Tottenham were four points clear of the trap door at the interval.
It was never going to be a straightforward final day, though, and word of West Ham scoring twice against Leeds prompted an outbreak of nail biting, especially with Everton finally showing some ambition.
The tension was suffocating as the minutes ticked down and Spurs retreated deeper and deeper. Had Antonin Kinsky not made a stunning save to keep out a stinging shot from Tyrique George, who knows what might have happened.
Tottenham live to fight another day but chants against the club's owners after the game offered a sober reality check for a proud club that has finished 17th for consecutive seasons.
