90min

Southampton relegated from Premier League with unwanted division record

  • Southampton's relegation from the Premier League made official on Sunday
  • Saints lost 3-1 to Tottenham Hotspur
  • Defeat seals earliest relegation in division history

By Tom Gott

Southampton have been relegated
Southampton have been relegated / IMAGO / IPS
facebooktwitterreddit

Southampton's fate was sealed on Sunday as their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur saw them relegated from the Premier League.

The Saints have struggled all season and have been rooted to the bottom of the league table since early November, having won just one of their 20 fixtures since a 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on matchday 11 left them propping up the standings.

Indeed, Southampton's focus for the past few months has been avoiding the unwanted honour of becoming the worst team in Premier League history - a title currently held by Derby County from the 2007/08 campaign.

The Saints have, however, claimed one miserable record from Derby. By tumbling through the trap door on matchday 31, Southampton become the earliest side to be relegated in the competition's history.

Derby were relegated on March 22, 2008 and hold the record for the earliest relegation when it comes to the date on the calendar but they, alongside 2018/19 Huddersfield Town, saw their fates sealed in matchday 32.

Brennan Johnson, Ryan Manning
Tottenham dealt the final blow / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

Ivan Juric's side will now be desperate to avoid any further unwanted accolades. They currently sit on ten points and need to find two more in their remaining seven games to better Derby's tally of 11.

Sunday's defeat was Southampton's 25th of the Premier League season. The division record for most losses in a single campaign sits at 29, set by Derby, Ipswich Town (1994/95), Sunderland (2005/06) and Sheffield United (2020/21), meaning the Saints must lose no more than three more games to steer clear of tying that unwanted honour.

Wolves' 2-1 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday was hugely significant in the race to avoid relegation. Leicester City currently sit 19th on 17 points from 30 games, while Ipswich are three points further ahead having played one more game.

There is then a 12-point jump up to Wolves in 17th. Vitor Pereira's side look to have secured their safety with just seven matches remaining.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP

feed

Home/Southampton