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West Ham drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Monday, earning an important point in their fight to avoid relegation and ensuring the demise of bottom Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves cannot accumulate enough points from their last five games to avoid the drop and will return to the Championship for the first time since 2018.
Relegation seemed inevitable for the Midlands club for most of a dismal season, but even a string of more encouraging performances over the past two months could not save them.
The end came far from home in a listless match in south London.
West Ham took the upper hand in the early exchanges but the score remained goalless at half-time. Although Palace woke up in the second half, they didn’t create many chances and neither goalkeeper was very busy.
The point was nonetheless welcomed by the Hammers, who moved two ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in 18th place.
“A point at the end of the day is not the worst thing in the world,” captain Jarrod Bowen said.
“We are trying to keep West Ham in the Premier League. We can’t rely on anyone else, we have to look at ourselves and keep fighting to stay in the Premier League.”
Palace, who have won just three of their last 26 Monday night Premier League games, remained 13th.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s shutout was Palace’s 12th shutout of the season, a record bettered only by top two Arsenal and Manchester City.
“(This record) is an incredible return for our position in the league,” Henderson said. “The defensive unit is so good, everyone who steps up has been excellent. These are the foundations we have built and we hope to add some goals at the other end.”
Associated Press reporting
