Southampton have made unwanted Premier League history by becoming the first team to be relegated with seven games still to play following their 3-1 defeat at Tottenham, making them the fastest team to suffer relegation.
The Saints' swift return to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday as they suffered their 25th loss of the season.
Spurs' victory consigned rock-bottom Southampton to the earliest relegation in Premier League history, surpassing the previous record held by Derby County who went down with six games remaining in 2008.
Brennan Johnson proved to be the difference-maker for Tottenham, netting twice to secure their first league win in five matches.
Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League
Reuters
The Welsh forward opened the scoring after a fine team move involving James Maddison and Son Heung-min, with Djed Spence providing the final assist.
Johnson later doubled Spurs' advantage by smartly turning home a Maddison header.
Mateus Fernandes scored a late consolation for Southampton in the 90th minute, briefly putting Tottenham under pressure before Mathys Tel's stoppage-time penalty sealed the result.
The defeat leaves Southampton with just 10 points from 31 matches, a dismal return that has seen them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.
While they can still avoid finishing with the record-low points total in Premier League history, their relegation has been confirmed earlier than any team before them.
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Southampton's immediate return to the Championship comes after a season in which they have struggled desperately for form.
The South Coast club have endured a torrid campaign under Russell Martin and his successor Ivan Juric.
Derby County famously finished the 2007-08 season with just 11 points, a record low in Premier League history that Southampton could still surpass.
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Tottenham eased the pressure with a 3-1 win over Southampton
Reuters
The infamous Derby side received their relegation status with six games remaining, as did Huddersfield Town in the 2018-19 campaign.
Despite their historically poor campaign, Saints still have an opportunity to avoid becoming statistically the worst Premier League team ever.
They currently sit two points shy of Derby's record-low haul.
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Southampton have just 10 points from 31 matches
Reuters
The victory provided some welcome relief for Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, who has faced increasing pressure following a disappointing league campaign.
Spurs move up to 13th in the table after this comfortable win against the division's bottom side.
The atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was notably subdued throughout much of the contest, with fans earlier staging another protest against chairman Daniel Levy outside the ground.
Postecoglou will now turn his attention to Thursday's crucial Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.
