Tottenham Hotspur secured their Premier League status on May 24, 2026, with a tense 1-0 victory over Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The result confirmed West Ham United's relegation to the Championship.
Midfielder Joao Palhinha scored the decisive goal in the 43rd minute, driving home a rebound to ensure Tottenham finished 17th in the standings for the second consecutive season.
Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky preserved the clean sheet with a crucial full-stretch save to tip over a top-corner effort from Everton substitute Tyrique George in the ninth minute of added time.
The victory marked only the third home league win for Spurs in a turbulent campaign that saw the dismissals of Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank, followed by a disastrous 44-day stint under Igor Tudor.
Emergency manager Roberto De Zerbi, who guided the team to 11 points from seven games after taking over late in the season, expressed his relief and outlined plans for the club's immediate future.
"We deserved this day, this win," De Zerbi said. "We deserved to stay up because we made 11 points in seven games.
My players played a fantastic game, especially in the first half they played very well, and I'm proud."
De Zerbi acknowledged the passionate atmosphere created by the fans who greeted the team bus with high energy before the match.
"They were fantastic, the fans," he said. "Before the game, they arrived with big emotion.
Next season the target is to make them happier, to stop this suffering."
The Italian manager emphasized that the squad requires major adjustments ahead of the next campaign to avoid repeating the struggles of this season.
"It's now around 7pm, and around 8pm or 9pm we will start working towards next season," he said.
De Zerbi added that the core group of the squad is strong, but top-tier recruitments are necessary to elevate the club's competitive standard.
"Next season we have to build a top, top, top team," he said.
"We don't have to change too many players in our squad, but we have to bring in some first level players."
The manager expressed how heavily the relegation battle weighed on everyone associated with the institution during the final weeks.
"I'm happy, I enjoyed today, the beginning of the day until now," he said.
"Football is nice because if you give your best, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, after tomorrow, you receive back everything from football.
It's incredible."
The club avoided a projected 250 million pound financial deficit by maintaining its top-flight status, remaining ahead of relegated West Ham United whose 14-year run in the Premier League came to an end.
"From tonight we have to start to organise and to build a new team," De Zerbi said. "I don't think we have not to change too many players.
We have 10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay, good enough, like players, like people.
Then we have to complete the squad with the first level of players. The first level of players, because we suffered too much."
Tottenham Hotspur will remain in the Premier League for the upcoming season, while north London rivals Arsenal celebrated winning their first league title in 22 years across the capital at Crystal Palace.
