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Southampton’s Premier League survival bid officially came to an end on Saturday afternoon after a 3-1 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur condemned them to relegation. The result confirms their immediate return to the Sky Bet Championship with a record-breaking seven games still left to play in the season. �
While Southampton’s fate had been looming for several months, Wolves’ 2-1 victory over fellow relegation contenders Ipswich Town on Saturday morning mathematically widened the gap to safety to an insurmountable 22 points for Ivan Juric’s side. This meant that the Saints needed at least a draw in North London to keep their slim hopes alive for another week, but a first-half double from Brennan Johnson sealed their fate.
Mateus Fernandes managed to grab a late consolation goal for Southampton, but Mathys Tel added a stoppage-time penalty for Tottenham, putting the final nail in the coffin. Southampton’s relegation with seven fixtures remaining sets a new unwanted Premier League record, surpassing Derby (2008) and Huddersfield (2019), who were both relegated with six games left.
For Tottenham, the three points provide a much-needed boost and lift some of the pressure surrounding manager Ange Postecoglou, particularly after their midweek defeat to Chelsea. This win will be a welcome morale boost for Spurs ahead of their crucial Europa League quarter-final first leg at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
The match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium began amidst pre-match protests from Spurs fans against chairman Daniel Levy and owners ENIC. Despite the off-field unrest, Tottenham started strongly, with early penalty appeals waved away and Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale making a fine save from Cristian Romero’s header.
However, it was Southampton who almost took a shock lead in the 12th minute when Tyler Dibling’s chipped pass found Kamaldeen Sulemana, whose volley was deflected onto the post by Pedro Porro. Just a minute later, Tottenham broke the deadlock. A sweeping move saw James Maddison find Son Heung-min, who waited for the overlap from Djed Spence before cutting the ball back for Johnson to rifle home his first goal at home in 2025. �
Ramsdale denied Romero again shortly after, but Tottenham thought they had a second goal in the 33rd minute. Bergvall prodded the ball in after another Romero header, but a lengthy VAR review ruled Romero offside, prompting frustration from both sets of fans. �
Despite the VAR controversy, Tottenham did manage to double their lead just three minutes before half-time. A header from Maddison after a Rodrigo Bentancur cross set up Johnson to poke the ball in for his 16th goal of the season.
The second half saw Son have an early shot blocked, but the game largely proceeded at a slower pace. Ramsdale made another good save to deny Dominic Solanke, but was later penalised for handball outside the area. As the clock ticked down, Southampton finally found the net through Fernandes in the 90th minute. �
However, Tottenham had the final say in stoppage time. Johnson was fouled in the penalty area by Welington, but instead of taking the penalty himself for a potential hat-trick, he handed the ball to Romero, who passed it to Tel. The young forward calmly slotted home his first Premier League goal, sealing a 3-1 victory for Tottenham and confirming Southampton’s relegation to the Championship. Despite the disappointing end to their season, the Southampton players were applauded by their loyal supporters as they now turn their attention to rebuilding for the next campaign. �
