Southampton relegated after loss against Fulham

• Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after a loss to Fulham at home on Saturday afternoon.
  
• Fulham earned all three points thanks to goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
• Southampton have played in the Premier League for the previous 11 seasons.

Southampton’s 2-0 loss to Fulham at home on Saturday afternoon resulted in their official relegation from the Premier League.

The Saints knew going into the game that they required a victory to have any hope of staying out of the League for the upcoming season.

However, Fulham earned all three points thanks to second-half goals from Carlos Vinicius and newly back Aleksandar Mitrovic, moving them up to ninth place in the standings.

Southampton have played in the Premier League for the previous 11 seasons, however, the 2023–24 season will see them play in the lower division of English football.

The Saints have now dropped to the bottom of the table with 24 points, eight points behind Everton in 17th place with two games remaining. This means that their relegation has already been decided before their final two games of the season are complete.

How the game unfolded

Vinicius celebrates after scoring. |PHOTO: Sky Sports|

The game’s first half-chance came in the 21st minute when Paul Onuachu stole the ball from Issa Diop and tried to draw a save out of Bernd Leno, however, the Fulham goalkeeper was on hand to stop him.

In the 25th minute, Fulham wanted a penalty for a handball on Lyanco, but the referee was uninterested and VAR concurred. Onuachu then glanced a throw-in from Jan Bednarek into Leno’s arms as the game started to open up at St Mary’s after a tense start.

In the 33rd minute, Carlos Alcaraz attempted to score for the home team, but his shot inevitably rolled past Leno’s goalpost.

Willian appeared to have made the breakthrough for Fulham in the 41st minute, but Lyanco made a fantastic save to clear the Brazilian’s shot off the line, and the teams entered the tunnel with a score of 0-0 after a cagey first 45 minutes.

The second half

In the 47th minute, Southampton’s Alcaraz had the ball in the Fulham goal, but the goal was ruled out for offside, and less than a minute later, the visitors scored.

After Harrison Reed was able to move the ball in the direction of his teammate, Vinicius scored by tapping the ball into an empty net.

Southampton player Armstrong on the ground. |PHOTO: Telegraph|

In the 72nd minute, Mitrovic extended Fulham’s lead by heading a Harry Wilson cross into the goal to complete his comeback from an eight-game suspension.

Kamaldeen Sulemana missed an opportunity for Southampton in the 84th minute as they committed several players forward in the closing moments in an attempt to mount a comeback.

However, the Saints, who will play in the Championship during the 2023–24 season, were not going to make a last-minute statement.

This terrible feeling has been plaguing Saints supporters for a while. Since Christmas, they have spent all but seven days near the bottom, and they have been positioned among the bottom three since early November.