Southampton suffered the earliest-ever relegation in Premier League history when they lost 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, confirming their demotion to the second tier despite having seven games left in the season.
Southampton had needed a victory to stay alive in their fight for survival after 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers moved up to 32 points with Saturday's comeback win at Ipswich Town.
The Saints will not go marching on in the Premier League next season.#SSPremierLeague #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/GLngJTVwq4
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) April 6, 2025
The south-coast club, who earned promotion to the top flight only last season, have 10 points after 31 games to sit rock bottom and 22 points from the safety zone.
"We knew it was probably going to be inevitable at some point, we haven't been good enough all season... It is a sad day and one that this group of players will learn from," Southampton keeper Aaron Ramsdale told Sky Sports.
"We need wins, points, performances. It has to come to a point where the fans are happy and singing... We have to build some momentum going into the Championship season."
Southampton nearly took the lead 12 minutes in when Tyler Dibling's cross found Kamaldeen Sulemana at the far post but his shot was blocked as it rebounded off the woodwork.
If there was any hope of Saints taking a shock lead, Spurs put that notion to bed a minute later when they went down the other end where Djed Spence's cut-back found Brennan Johnson and he fired his shot into the roof of the net.
FIVE-MINUTE WAIT
Lucas Bergvall thought he had made it 2-0 with a stroke of luck from a set-piece when he stuck out his leg for a loose ball which ended up in the bottom corner, but VAR chalked off the goal for offside after a check that took nearly five minutes.
But Johnson doubled their lead minutes later when James Maddison headed the ball into the box where the Welsh forward slipped the ball past Ramsdale.
Ramsdale, however, denied Spurs several times, saving efforts from Spence and Dominic Solanke to limit the damage but Southampton did not have any luck at the other end until the 90th minute.
A cross from Sulemana found Mateus Fernandes, who expertly chested down the ball before fizzing a shot past Guglielmo Vicario to make it 2-1.
But there would be no late comeback after Welington brought down Johnson in the box, allowing Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel to step up and convert the penalty to score his first Premier League goal as Spurs sealed the three points.
The victory moved Spurs to 13th in the standings on 37 points, level with Manchester United who were hosting Manchester City later on Sunday.
"The first half was really good, really pleased. We were a bit sloppy with the ball in the second half," Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said.
"Stuff to improve on but it is a victory with three goals, so (that is a) positive. We looked threatening every time we went forward in the first half."