(Football news) Southampton are relegated from the Premier League after they lost 2-0 at home to Fulham as it brought an end of an era bringing their 11-year to a stand still. The defeat means Southampton, who needed a win to avoid relegation, can no longer go past 17th-placed Everton. Ruben Selles’ team are going to finish bottom of the league with just 24 points from 36 games, while Fulham’s moved to ninth.
Ward-Prowse will most likely move in the summer a player who came through Southampton’s academy and has gone on to make 341 Premier League appearances for the club. The first half was scrappy and disjointed as neither side were able to take control of the game, with Fulham having the fair share of possession with better attempts but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Southampton did their level best to play with more attacking intent in the second half, as they thought they had scored through Carlos Alcaraz but had his goal disallowed by VAR before Carlos Vinicius rub salt into their wounds when he latched onto a loose ball in Southampton’s box and scored a easy opener for Fulham in the 48th minute. Aleksandar Mitrovic who returned from an eight-match ban and scored the goal which sealed the fate of Southampton, who will now play Championship football next season.
Southampton in the second half had the lion’s share of possession but were unable to create anything sort of constant attacks.In the end they looked very tired and it almost looked like they had accepted the result after Mitrovic’s 72nd minute goal with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a Southampton native, watching from the stands, he saw his side get relegated from the Premier League.
“It’s disappointing. It is a moment that has been coming. We knew we had put ourselves in a difficult position,” Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse said. “I believe we should be performing at a better level than we have done and we have not done that on a consistent basis. The standards have slipped away and that is why we are where we are now.”
“Over the last 10 years we have had that kind of consistency and that has wavered. It will be testing for everybody but these are the times that make you as a player and as a club, we have done it before and we will do it again,” the 28-year-old said.
The club’s owners Sport Republic described the relegation as “hugely disappointing. We have fought tirelessly as a club throughout the season, but the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world and our results were simply not good enough to stay there,” they said in a statement. “While this outcome is distressing for all of us, now is the time to demonstrate unity.
“Our work begins today to return Southampton Football Club — an inaugural member of the Premier League with a rich history — to where it belongs. Our goal is to return to the Premier League as soon as possible and ensure that we stay there.”
Also read: Barcelona win La Liga after a 4-year long wait with 4 games to spare
