Leeds United travelled to the capital yesterday knowing that a win would transform the makeup of the upcoming final day, switching the impetus and putting safety in their hands rather than Everton's.
So, when Sam Allardyce's men roared into an early lead courtesy of Rodrigo's vicious volley, things were looking up for the Whites, who have endured a torrid season of desperate frustration.
However, this jubilation was not to last, and in the end their slender one-goal advantage gave way to three West Ham United goals that put the game to bed at 3-1.
What makes things even worse is that due to such a heavy swing, the Yorkshire outfit now need to topple Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season by three goals or more, and even then rely on the Toffees to drop points. Things are looking bleak.
Yesterday marked one of many occasions where Allardyce's key men had wilted under the pressure of a big game, whilst his consistent Spanish striker once again starred. He remains their top scorer by some distance, whereas his fellow frontman Patrick Bamford is nowhere near his tally.
Having once been of paramount importance to Leeds, the £70k-per-week striker has swiftly become a shadow of his former self, with yesterday marking yet another example of such anonymity.
How did Patrick Bamford play vs West Ham?
Given that the 29-year-old was withdrawn after just 34 minutes, it seemed that everything about this game served as a microcosm for the Englishman's career in recent years.
Likely hoping to redeem himself on this big occasion, injury once again struck to add to his ever-expanding list of ailments.
However, during his time on the pitch, he was hardly terrorising the hosts. Just 13 touches gave way to an abysmal two completed passes, with the toothless striker also failing to register a single shot, via Sofascore.
Given this limited play time, the fact he would merit a 6.6 rating is suggestive of just how uninfluential he had been, with only one of his starting teammates receiving a worse rating.
Having been branded as a "liability" by journalist Hunter Walker earlier this year, it seems his claim has come to fruition with Bamford's recent lack of goalscoring impetus in particular.
Big misses against Leicester City and Newcastle United, the latter of which came from the penalty spot, surrendered two opportunities for a potential three-point haul that would have almost guaranteed safety by now.
Instead, they crawl onto the final day knowing that things need to drastically turn in their favour if they are to retain their top-flight status. Should Bamford manage a return to fitness, Allardyce would be wise to ditch this underperforming flop who cannot be trusted at the moment.
