MIRROR
Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after a 2-0 defeat against Fulham.
Ruben Selles’ side needed to win to keep their hopes of staying in the top-flight alive as they dreamed of a ‘great escape’. However, Fulham cruised to a comfortable victory at St Mary’s Stadium, courtesy of second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Saints will now play their football in the Championship next season for the first time in 11 years following a terrible campaign. Southampton have won just six of their 36 top-flight fixtures so far and are winless in 11 games since their 1-0 win over Leicester on March 4.
They sit eight points behind 17th-place Everton with two matches to go, meaning Southampton cannot claw their way back above the dreaded drop zone. Saints have been in the Premier League since 2012 but will return to the second-tier alongside two of Leicester, Leeds, Everton, Nottingham Forest or West Ham.
Southampton have enjoyed a memorable time in the top-tier since their promotion, finishing as high as sixth on one occasion in 2015/16. They also competed in the Europa League in the following season, playing against Inter Milan in the process. But that is as good as it got for Southampton as slumped to five consecutive bottom-half finishes before the 2022/23 campaign.
