Southampton have become the first team to be relegated from this season’s Premier League after an eleven year stay in the top-flight. The final nail in the coffin came at home against Fulham on Saturday when they lost 2-0.
Second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic secured the win for the visitors. It was the club’s 12th home defeat of the season.
The Saints have failed to win a single match in their last 11 matches. Their fate for next season has been sealed with 2 matches still to go.
Relegation had been coming for a while for the Saints as they have been rock-bottom of the league for the majority of the season. They have been in one of the relegation spots ever since November.
The Saints have only managed 6 wins in the league and have already lost 24 matches, a club record. They have only scored 31 goals in the league which is the second-lowest.
Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse said “the standards at the club have slipped” when asked where it all went wrong this season. The Englishman will surely be on the radar for many Premier League clubs after his club has slipped to the second division.
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Southampton sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl after four years at the club in November and his successor Nathan Jones lasted just three months.
Ruben Selles replaced the Welshman in February but was unable to save them from relegation even after some stellar performances against teams like Arsenal and Man United.
Reports suggest that some Championship and Spanish clubs are interested in Selles despite the failure with Southampton and the Spaniard is unlikely to stay at Saint Mary’s.
Southampton enjoyed a fruitful eleven-year stay in the Premier League as they managed to establish themselves as a regular mid-table club.
They have been responsible for bringing and grooming some exceptional talents to England. It is the club that gave the Premier League players like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk, Luke Shaw and even James Ward-Prowse in recent years.
The players were met with boos and chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” after the final whistle at the Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
