Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed following a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Brennan Johnson scored twice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Mathys Tel was also on target from the penalty spot to consign Ivan Juric’s side to an immediate return to the Championship.

Saints are the first side in Premier League history to be relegated with seven matches still to play.

Johnson did the damage with a first-half brace and, despite Mateus Fernandes halving the deficit, Tel's stoppage-time spot-kick ended Spurs' four-match winless league run.

Ange Postecoglou’s side, who had dropped to 16th place following Saturday’s results, climb to 14th, with Southampton remaining rooted to the foot of the table.

How the match unfolded

Both sides went close early on with Aaron Ramsdale beating away Cristian Romero's fierce header.

Pedro Porro deflected Kamaldeen Sulemana's volley onto the post at the other end before Spurs broke through in the 13th minute, when Johnson flashed a first-time shot home from Djed Spence's low cross.

Lucas Bergvall was denied a second goal for offside following a VAR review, but the hosts did double their advantage in the 42nd minute. Southampton failed to deal with a cross and James Maddison nodded the ball back into the area for Johnson to flick home.

Ramsdale got down well to keep out Dominic Solanke in the 65th minute, while Sulemana and Yukinari Sugawara’s deflected effort tested Guglielmo Vicario as the Saints launched a late rally.

Fernandes halved the deficit in the 90th minute when he neatly controlled Sulemana’s cross, before drilling past Vicario.

However, Welington felled Johnson deep into stoppage time, with Tel tucking away the spot-kick to seal Southampton’s fate.

Spurs stop the rot

Without a win in four Premier League matches, this is a fixture Spurs will have been thankful for – especially with the need to build momentum ahead of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

Spurs were unbeaten in their 14 previous league matches against sides starting the day at the bottom of the table, though they were given a scare when Sulemana’s volley deflected onto the post early on.

Nevertheless, the hosts were quickly into the ascendancy and edged their noses ahead when Johnson rounded off a swift counter.

Ramsdale bravely denied Romero while the VAR thwarted Bergvall, but the second goal never looked far away. It duly arrived via Johnson, and that effectively ended the contest.

Despite Southampton’s late surge that saw them grab a consolation, the victory was never really in doubt, even before Tel converted his penalty.

Spurs will have been favourites to prevail here but, nevertheless, it was an important win.
Indeed, attention now turns to Frankfurt on Thursday, and the hope of keeping alive their only realistic chance to secure European football next season.

Saints’ fate sealed

After 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers came from behind to beat Ipswich Town on Saturday, this was Southampton’s date with destiny.

It was always going to be a tough ask, especially against a side with a point to prove.

Despite ending their six-match losing streak against Crystal Palace in midweek, a stoppage-time equaliser had denied them a rare win.

Having lost 18 of the 19 previous Premier League matches in which they had conceded the opening goal this season, the signs did not look good when Johnson fired Spurs in front.

The Saints faced an even bigger mountain to climb when Johnson scored again, though they did demonstrate some fighting spirit late on with Fernandes neatly finishing.

However, it proved yet another false dawn with Juric’s side conceding another stoppage-time goal, courtesy of Tel’s penalty.

Their return to the Premier League may have been brief, but Southampton’s focus will now be on ensuring they add at least another two points from their final seven matches to avoid recording the lowest tally in a season, which is currently held by Derby County (11 in 2007/08).