The Leeds United squad were en rotue to London at the time they found out their Premier League safety was confirmed
13:00, 12 May 2026
Leeds United players celebrate
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Leeds United will be playing Premier League football next season(Image: Malcolm Bryce/Leeds United via Getty Images)
Leeds United managed to watch the last 20 minutes of West Ham United’s defeat to Arsenal, which secured the club’s Premier League survival, having missed most of the match while flying down to London.
The final quarter of the game saw Gunners goalkeeper David Raya make a critical save before Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock on 83 minutes.
Callum Wilson thought he had equalised in stoppage time for the hosts when his shot made its way across the goal-line but VAR dramatically ruled it out with Raya adjudged to have been impeded in the build up.
The Leeds players who travelled south for Monday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur watched all of this unfold before enjoying dinner in a “relaxed” mood, according to captain Ethan Ampadu.
United may have been safe but wanted to continue their unbeaten run, which stretched to seven following the 1-1 draw and keeps Spurs firmly within the relegation battle with two matches to play.
Ampadu, who won the penalty for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s second-half equaliser, explained how the team followed the West Ham game, and how it all felt. “It was very good in the moment,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“We were flying so we were waiting to see the result when we landed and we caught the last 20 minutes on the coach together. We celebrated on the coach, it’s a massive achievement for this club. It’s what our aim was at the start of the season.
“I think moments like that you have to celebrate. It’s a very big moment for this club, to stay in the Premier League.”
Ampadu added: “It’s a bit weird because you want to do it on the back of your own result. It was a relaxed mood at dinner last night. Good mood, good vibes. But then, from this morning, it was focus on this game.
“No matter if we were safe or not, we wanted to play this game as we have the whole season. We want to wear the shirt with pride and put in our best performances. So it was all work mode.
“We had to get through today and put on a proper performance to get a result. I think maybe now we can have a couple of days to enjoy it and understand how big it is for the club and the fans, you could see them at the end. It’s very special.”
After ful-time on Monday, Ampadu was seen sporting a nasty-looking bruise on his forehead from the collision with Mathys Tel, Tottenham’s goalscorer, when the attacker attempted to clear the ball over his head.
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“I think it looks worse than what it felt,” Ampadu said. “The contact was there, I knew as soon as he made contact it was going to be a penalty.
"I wasn’t in any doubt about that and sometimes VAR has to come in and show it if the referee hasn’t spotted that.”