From Morgan Gibbs-White staying at Nottingham Forest and scoring 15 league goals, to Tottenham Hotspur appointing Roberto De Zerbi in the nick of time to save them from relegation, there have been plenty of twists and turns at the bottom of the Premier League this season.
On the final day, West Ham’s emphatic 3-0 win against Leeds United was in vain as they joined Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley in dropping down to the Championship. In north London, Spurs beat Everton 1-0 thanks to an incredibly scrappy goal from loanee Joao Palhinha.
The Athletic’s Jay Harris, Roshane Thomas, Paul Taylor, Elias Burke and Beren Cross look at all the pivotal moments in the relegation scrap over the course of the season…
Morgan Gibbs-White’s transfer U-turn
Weeks before the season had even begun, there were two seismic moments at Nottingham Forest.
In July, Evangelos Marinakis, the Forest owner, flew out to the club’s training camp in Portugal to personally persuade Morgan Gibbs-White to sign a new contract — against the backdrop of interest from Tottenham Hotspur, who believed they had activated a £60million ($80m) release clause in his contract.
The talismanic attacking midfielder proved to be a key figure in Forest’s push for survival, scoring 15 vital Premier League goals and generally dragging them over the finishing line as their regular captain.
But, at the same time in Portugal, Nuno Espirito Santo disclosed his sense of unrest for the first time, briefing the media about his concerns over the speed of recruitment and over the influence of the newly appointed Edu as global head of football.
Within a few months, it was a situation that proved to be a significant catalyst in Nuno’s departure. What was not clear at the time was that another three men would take charge at the City Ground before the season was over. But that was the start of the chaos.
Paul Taylor
West Ham let it slip at Bournemouth
After back-to-back wins against Newcastle United and Burnley — the first victories of Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign — West Ham arrived at the Vitality Stadium on November 22 with new-found confidence. The integration of Callum Wilson, the 34-year-old former England striker who joined on a free transfer last summer after his Newcastle contract expired, into the starting XI helped solve a shortage of attacking efficiency.
Wilson was initially behind Niclas Fullkrug in the pecking order, but had dislodged the German to make his fifth league start against Bournemouth, one of his former clubs. The forward scored twice in the opening 35 minutes and was on course for his first hat-trick since November 2017 (for Bournemouth against Huddersfield Town).
But Nuno substituted him in the 52nd minute, with West Ham then capitulating to let a two-goal lead slip. The decision to take Wilson off cost his side the game. The 2-2 draw began a barren run of form, with West Ham also failing to win any of their next nine league matches.
Roshane Thomas
Leeds’ miserable November
The night is darkest just before the dawn. What remains the low point of Daniel Farke’s Leeds tenure came just six days before the moment it all turned around (more on that later).
Aston Villa won 2-1 at Elland Road in what was the fifth defeat in six outings for Leeds. As Farke walked around the pitch after full time, pockets of the crowd were heard telling him he did not know what he was doing. During the second half, exasperated supporters were chanting for earlier substitutions.
Faith in Farke was waning. The performance against Villa was better than what had come before, but not good enough to keep the wolf from the door. Consecutive away losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest, 3-0 and 3-1, were the first real signs of concerns this Leeds team may not be able to compete.
Crucially, the players were clearly still trying and playing for their manager. There was no sense that tools had been downed on the field. The ownership took heart from that and, eventually, things improved.
Beren Cross
Angeball doesn’t take at Forest
The former Tottenham manager arrived at the City Ground seemingly with his head and, potentially, his heart still camped somewhere in North London.
Marinakis had forged a bond with the Greek-born Australian at a football awards ceremony in Athens and believed his brand of attacking football — which had helped Tottenham win the Europa League in 2025 — could take Forest to the next level.
But in interviews, Postecoglou often seemed to have more enthusiasm for reflecting on his time at Tottenham than he did for building a bond with Forest fans — who had held both Nuno and his predecessor, Steve Cooper, in hugely high regard.
Postecoglou was never the right fit. A radical change in tactical approach, with a squad that had been built to play in a different way, was never a viable formula, especially without a transfer window or pre-season for him to work on the squad.
Without the eight winless games of Postecoglou’s tenure — which saw them take only one point from five top-flight games — Forest may not have been in the relegation fight for as long. Or even at all.
His replacement, Sean Dyche, was ultimately sacked for being a little too, well, Sean Dyche-y. But the former Burnley and Everton boss at least got Forest moving in the right direction, even if it was far from pretty.
Paul Taylor
A deterioration of relationships at Spurs
Spurs have the third-worst home record in the Premier League this season, above only Wolves and Burnley. They have only taken 15 points and suffered some humiliating losses, which caused a fracture in the relationship with their fans.
September’s limp defeat to Bournemouth was a warning sign but everything truly unravelled under then head coach Thomas Frank in November. Spurs lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea and recorded an xG of just 0.05, to the audible frustration of the fans in the stadium. At the end of the game, vice-captain Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence ignored Frank when he asked them to applaud the fans. A week later, Richarlison put Spurs 2-1 up in second-half stoppage to put them within touching distance of a mood-changing win over Manchester United, only for them to concede a gut-punch of an equaliser with virtually the last touch of the game.
An awful month was completed when they were losing 2-0 to Fulham after only five minutes. Guglielmo Vicario’s mistake for Harry Wilson’s goal prompted the fans to ironically cheer him for the rest of the game when he touched the ball, something both Frank and Pedro Porro spoke out against after the game. The relationship between the squad and the supporters had completely deteriorated just months after that famous Europa League win in Bilbao. And other flashpoints, including in an away game at Bournemouth in January, made the mood even worse.
Jay Harris
A season-changing formation switch
United went into that match on the back of five losses in six games, which included some particularly insipid losses at Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest. They had to face City, Chelsea and Liverpool across seven decisive days.
Farke would have lost his job with a heavy defeat in any one of those three games, but that switch at City transformed their on-pitch performance. Their marauding full-backs were unleashed, they were able to get all three key centre-backs on the pitch and their strikers were no longer isolated.
They never looked back. There was one wobble through February and March, when goals became a problem, but the defence bailed out the attack across several key draws. Holding out for a 0-0 at Crystal Palace, despite playing more than half the game with 10 men, was another key moment of inspiration for this side.
Beren Cross
Nuno gets some much-needed help
Paco Jemez’s appointment on January 15 as first-team coach came at a crucial point of the season. West Ham were porous defensively, their league position was precarious and boss Nuno felt he needed to bring in help.
The club’s first win after Jemez’s appointment came as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 away, courtesy of Wilson’s stoppage-time winner. West Ham only suffered two defeats in their next nine games in all competitions, winning four and drawing three, including beating Brentford via penalty shootout in the last 16 of the FA Cup.
“I guess you could say he’s a lucky charm,” academy graduate Ollie Scarles told The Athletic after the 3-1 victory against Sunderland on January 24. “Paco’s been brilliant for us. He’s a defensive coach and has strengthened our back four. He’s really good to be around and brings a good vibe to the team. All the coaches are vocal, but it’s good for the group to have one to motivate us all.”
Roshane Thomas
Forest sour the mood at Tottenham
With their club drifting perilously close to the bottom three, Tottenham supporters tried to take matters into their own hands on March 22. Thousands of them welcomed the team bus when it arrived before their crucial game against Nottingham Forest. Flares were lit and some fans hung from lampposts while others perched on bus stop roofs. Blue and white flags were handed out to members of the crowd and the atmosphere made the game feel like a cup final.
Spurs started positively but they collapsed after Igor Jesus scored from a corner just before half-time, with Forest running out 3-0 winners and plunging Spurs deeper into crisis.
All of the pre-match positivity drained out of the stadium and many Spurs fans booed at full time.
Forest leapfrogged their opponents in the table and never looked back. Spurs head coach Igor Tudor’s position was untenable and it turned out to be his final game in charge after a miserable 44-day reign.
Jay Harris
The De Zerbi effect
Spurs tried to hire Roberto De Zerbi in the immediate aftermath of Frank’s dismissal in February. However, the Italian had only just left Marseille and the timing did not work out. Spurs persisted and eventually convinced De Zerbi to join them in March, handing him a five-year contract and lucrative salary.
The conventional wisdom at the time was that Spurs needed a caretaker manager in the mould of Michael Carrick at Manchester United; somebody who knew the DNA of the club and could motivate the players. De Zerbi did not fit that description but he has lifted the mood of the dressing room with his focus on possession-oriented football and positive messaging.
Spurs lost De Zerbi’s first game at Sunderland thanks to Nordi Mukiele’s deflected winner and drew against his former side Brighton after Georginio Rutter’s stoppage-time equaliser. The improvement was clear to see, though, and back-to-back victories over Wolves and Aston Villa lifted the gloom hanging over a club that had last won a Premier League game over 100 days earlier. De Zerbi deserves a huge amount of credit for coaxing such an improved performance out of this side, especially as captain Cristian Romero, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus and Dominic Solanke have all been missing through injury.
Jay Harris
Wood’s comeback leads to a formation change
There were a handful of clearly defined turning points in Forest’s season — all of which were related.
And there was one specific moment that underlined all of them, during the half-time interval in the game against Burnley on Sunday April 19.
Trailing 1-0 to one of their relegation rivals, Forest looked lost. But Vitor Pereira introduced Igor Jesus off the bench and tinkered with his attacking quartet, to have the Brazilian playing just behind Chris Wood — recently returned from a lengthy knee injury — with Gibbs-White pushed out to the left and Omari Hutchinson on the right.
Gibbs-White finished the game with a hat-trick and Jesus added another, as Forest romped to a 4-1 win. It was a performance and result that saw buoyant Forest follow up with a memorable 5-0 success at Sunderland.
Pereira’s biggest successes, following his appointment in February, has been instilling confidence and unity in his squad — and getting the best out of them, tactically.
Those two victories — along with a subsequent 3-1 win at Chelsea — were effectively what led Forest clear of trouble.
But Pereira’s calm tactical reshuffle against Burnley perfectly demonstrated the qualities that have helped Forest secure safety.
Paul Taylor
West Ham crumble in May
Before the 3-0 loss to Brentford, West Ham were on a three-game unbeaten run and buoyant about their chances of securing top-flight safety.
In the weeks leading up to that fixture, they sealed home wins against Wolves and Everton — though on reflection, a goalless draw at Crystal Palace felt like a missed opportunity. Wilson’s stoppage-time winner to beat Everton at London Stadium boosted morale but their survival hopes then took a dent against Brentford the following Saturday.
Konstantinos Mavropanos scored an own goal, El Hadji Malick Diouf conceded a penalty, Pablo Felipe squandered a good goalscoring opportunity and they hit the woodwork three times in a defeat that kick-started a three-game winless run, with further losses against Arsenal and Newcastle.
West Ham never recovered from that defeat in west London. Nuno and the players referred to every game thereafter as a cup final, but failed to rise to the occasion time and again.
Roshane Thomas
The scrappy moment that saved Spurs and condemned West Ham
It won’t go down as one of his best goals in a Tottenham shirt because there have been some outrageous ones, but Palhinha’s scuffed finish in the 41st minute will surely be remembered as the most important.
Tottenham were threatening from set pieces throughout the first half, with Kevin Danso twice going close with headed efforts before Mathys Tel swung a cross over the Everton defence, which Palhinha initially headed powerfully onto the post.
Palhinha was then the first to react to the rebound, nudging a goalbound shot past Jordan Pickford, which Everton striker Thierno Barry came close to clearing off the line before referee Michael Oliver checked his watch, gave the goal, and the crowd and team celebrated wildly.
Palhinha, whose loan from Bayern Munich ended after this game, has been an unlikely talismanic figure under De Zerbi. His hard tackling and intensity set the tone in midfield, and he has an impressive knack for turning up with big goals in important games.
His winner against Wolves to help Tottenham record their first league win of 2026 was similarly unimpressive but equally momentous. Had it not come, and Tottenham went into the half-time break level at 0-0, the second half, with West Ham taking the lead in east London, would have undoubtedly been a much more nervy affair.
It was the goal that secured Tottenham’s Premier League status and meant that whatever West Ham did against Leeds United was in vain.
Elias Burke