LONDON: West Ham United all but guaranteed their Premier League safety with a 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Watford on Friday as Leeds United ended their 16-year exile from England’s top-flight.

Michail Antonio scored his seventh goal in five games as the Hammers struck three times in a dominant opening 36 minutes to leave Watford reeling, moving David Moyes side six points clear of the drop zone with two games to go.

“It’s got us in a really strong position,” West Ham manager David Moyes said, “and I’m hoping that we can win more games but if we don’t then I’m hoping that the points total will also be enough to keep us up.”

Antonio gave West Ham the lead in the sixth minute and it was doubled by a header from Tomas Soucek.

Declan Rice fired in the third from distance in the 36th minute as West Ham went into the break in complete control.

Troy Deeney pulled one back for Watford at the start of the second half, but the visitors struggled to impose themselves on the game, despite having periods of possession after the interval.

We started really well,” Rice, who scored his first goal of the season, said.“But the second half wasn’t good enough. We need to stop being in a comfort zone and see teams off. But luckily enough we got the win. Tonight was massive.”

The result leaves Watford just three points above the relegation zone, and facing daunting remaining matches against Manchester City and Arsenal.

Nigel Pearson was hired as manager when Watford had just nine points from 16 games. The team has taken 25 points from 20 matches but have lost five consecutive Premier League away matches.

“It’s a game which has passed us by somewhat in the first half, performance wise,” Pearson said. “Its not what I would expect from us and its very disappointing. We’ve got to find a win now in the last two games.

“It’s not easy to deal with. I didn’t think we were resilient enough collectively. Im not saying everybody was, we had some spirited performances out there, but we were not what I would expect from us. Whether thats the pressure of the situation, who knows? But now we have to find good performances in the last two games to give us chances of winning those games, its as simple as that.”

16-YEAR ABSENCE

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds secured promotion from the second-tier Championship with two games to spare as West Bromwich Albion’s loss at Huddersfield Town guaranteed them a top-two finish.

A huge favour from Leeds’ Yorkshire neighbours, who won 2-1, meant the celebrations could start in earnest at Elland Road.

Leeds have 87 points with two games remaining, five more than second-placed West Brom who slumped to defeat at the John Smith’s Stadium on Friday and have one game left.

Leeds are six points ahead of third-placed Brentford, who have also played 44, and a point from their last two matches will ensure Bielsa’s team rejoin the elite as champions.

We are back. Leeds United are Premier League,” the club said on their Twitter account moments after the final whistle.

A tense 1-0 win over Barnsley at Elland Road, secured by Michael Sollbauer’s own goal, had moved Leeds to the brink of promotion on Thursday.

Three-time English champions, Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2004 after hitting financial trouble and being forced to sell a host of big-name players such as Robbie Keane, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer.

The problems were only just starting though and after three years in the Championship they slipped to the third tier and into administration with the future of the club in doubt.

While they eventually regained their place in the Championship in 2010 they never really challenged for promotion until the enigmatic Bielsa took charge in 2018.

They have been transformed under the former Argentina coach and can now look forward to renewing old rivalries with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.

It’s unbelievable and it’s still not sunk in,” Leeds captain Liam Cooper said. Our club, our fans and our players have sacrificed so much. We’ve been in the doldrums for 16 years. To lead this team to promotion back to where we know we’ve always belonged is unbelievable. We deserve it. We’ve been the best team all season.”

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2020