Southampton relegated from the Premier League after defeat to Fulham
The Saints will play Championship football next season following today's 2-0 loss
Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after slumping to a dismal 2-0 defeat against Fulham at St Mary’s.
The bottom side had needed to win to have any chance of beating the drop but second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic – in his first outing since serving an eight-game ban – confirmed their fate on Saturday afternoon.
It has been a miserable campaign for Saints and their fourth successive loss leaves them eight points behind 17th-placed Everton with just two games remaining.
Rasmus Kristensen struck a late equaliser as Leeds continued their fight against relegation by snatching a 2-2 draw against Newcastle in an eventful encounter at Elland Road.
The Dane netted with a deflected effort 11 minutes from the end of a game that saw three penalties and a red card.
Captain Luke Ayling gave Sam Allardyce’s side an early lead but Patrick Bamford then missed a penalty and third-placed Newcastle made them pay as Callum Wilson scored twice from the spot.
Kristensen spared Leeds from a seventh defeat in nine matches but their afternoon ended on a sour note as Junior Firpo was sent off in stoppage time.
Leeds remain in the bottom three but are just a point behind Everton, who play Manchester City on Sunday, while Newcastle are edging closer to a top-four spot.
Manchester United moved level on points with Newcastle with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves at Old Trafford. Anthony Martial put Erik ten Hag’s side ahead after 32 minutes with Alejandro Garnacho adding the second late on.
United and Eddie Howe’s Magpies both sit four points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool, who can close back to within one by beating relegation-threatened Leicester on Monday.
Aston Villa added to managerless Tottenham’s ongoing frustrations by beating them 2-1 at Villa Park to pull alongside the London side in the table.
Jacob Ramsey opened the scoring after just eight minutes with Douglas Luiz doubling the lead 18 minutes from time. Harry Kane replied with a penalty in the last minute but Villa held on.
Raheem Sterling and Taiwo Awoniyi scored two goals each as Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Awoniyi gave the visitors a half-time lead and struck again to earn a valuable point in their survival battle after Sterling responded with a quickfire double before the hour.
Eberechi Eze also scored twice as Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace continued their strong finish the season with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at Selhurst Park.
Published: by Radio NewsHub