Aboulaye Doucoure scored the only goal as Everton defeated Bournemouth 1-0 on the final day of the 2022-23 Premier League season to secure their survival status while Kelechi Iheanacho provided an assist in Leicester City’s 2-1 win over West Ham United but it was not enough to keep them up.
The Toffees had the advantage going into the final round of fixtures as they were out of relegation waters in 17th place. Victory was therfore all they needed against the Cherries at Goodison Park.
Leicester needed to defeat West Ham while hoping Everton fail to win and it looked to go that way when Iheanacho laid the ball for Harvey Barnes to roll the ball into the back of the net in the 34th minute.
Everton’s moment of glory however came in the 57th minute when a loose ball fell to Doucoure’s path just outside the penalty area and the Mali midfielder unleashed a ferocious shot that gave Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers no chance of stopping.
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— Everton (@Everton) May 28, 2023
Wout Faes doubled Leicester’s lead just past the hour mark before West Ham pulled one back via Pablo Fornals in the 79th minute. The Foxes held on for the victory but had to wait for the result at Goodison Park after 10 minutes of additional time was given.
Everton withstood the pressure from Bournemouth to ensure their 68th consecutive season in the English top-flight.
We did our job on Filbert Way today, but our latest Premier League chapter comes to an end.
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 28, 2023
For Leicester, nine years of top-flight football comes to an end with the highlight being their Premier League and FA Cup title success in 2016 and 2021.
They go down with Leeds United, that lost 3-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, and Southampton.
