Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. They are the first club to have suffered that fate with as many as seven matches still to play.
Sunday's loss at Spurs was Southampton's 25th defeat in 31 Premier League matches this season. They have only earned points from six matches - two wins and four draws.
Bottom-of-the-table Saints have 10 points and are 22 points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th place with only seven matches and 21 points to play for.
Wolves' 2-1 win at Ipswich Town on Saturday had set up the possibility of Southampton being relegated on Sunday afternoon, and that prospect became all the more likely when Ivan Juric's side fell behind to Brennan Johnson's goal after just 13 minutes.
Johnson compounded Saints' woes by grabbing his second goal three minutes before the break, leaving the visitors needing to score twice in the second half, without conceding, to delay their relegation.
They managed to only score once, through Mateus Fernandes in the 90th minute, and Spurs almost immediately followed that by making it 3-1 with a stoppage-time penalty from Mathys Tel, after Johnson was fouled in the area.
Commenting on relegation, Juric said after the match: "It's a difficult day, a tough day but I see the fans, how they love their players and their team. It's something incredible. This experience has to serve to create something stronger than this.
"We played better in the second half and I want to see that second-half performance in the next seven games."
What is relegation?
The teams who finish the season in the bottom three places of the Premier League table - 18th, 19th and 20th - drop down to the Championship, the second tier of English football.
Those teams are replaced in the Premier League for the following season by three promoted clubs - the sides who finish first and second in the Championship, plus the winners of that division's end-of-season playoffs.
Southampton’s relegation will be officially confirmed at this summer’s Premier League AGM. The three relegated clubs will transfer back the share certificates that gave them Premier League status, and the Premier League Board will confirm the cancellation of those shares.
Might Southampton have the lowest points total in Premier League history?
Southampton could still set another Premier League unwanted record.
Ipswich and Derby County both had their relegation confirmed with six fixtures left in 1994/95 and 2007/08 respectively, a record Southampton have now surpassed.
Saints will now try to avoid having the lowest-ever points tally in a Premier League season.
Derby's 2007/08 team finished with 11 points - one point more than Southampton have now.
Who else could be relegated?
Saturday's damaging home defeat by relegation rivals Wolves has all but ended Ipswich's hopes of staying in the Premier League, according to their manager Kieran McKenna.
Jorgen Strand Larsen's 84th-minute goal completed a crucial comeback win for Vitor Pereira's side after Pablo Sarabia had cancelled out Ipswich's opener from Liam Delap. It was in-form Wolves' third consecutive win, extending their lead on third-bottom Ipswich to 12 points.
"I think it's certainly more than likely on the balance of probabilities," McKenna said, when asked about the prospect of relegation.
"It's not that I think we can't finish the season strongly, but Wolves are a strong side and the chance of them losing all their games is really low.
"The likelihood is we'll fall short of our ultimate dream."
Of Wolves' remaining fixtures this season, four are at home, including the visit of second-bottom Leicester City, who host Newcastle United on Monday night. Ruud van Nistelrooy's Foxes are on a run of 14 defeats in their last 15 matches, and have failed to score in their last seven.
A win against Newcastle on Monday would provide a glimmer of hope, reducing their deficit behind Wolves to 12 points with 21 still to play for. Their last seven fixtures include a Matchweek 34 trip to Molineux, plus home games against fellow bottom-three sides Ipswich and Southampton.
Leicester defender Wout Faes believes that a win against Newcastle could prove a "turning point" as his side look to produce a great escape.
"It’s not finished yet. Obviously, it’s a very difficult task and everyone knows that, but it’s doable," Faes told Leicester's official website.
"I hope that we have a new energy and positive things to work on for the next few games. Let’s hope we are still in the race by then. I don’t think we need to look towards the last games because by then it could be finished if we think like that."
Remaining Premier League fixtures
| Date | WOL | IPS | LEI | SOU |
| 5-7 Apr | W 2-1 v IPS | L 2-1 v WOL | NEW (H) | L 1-3 v TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-13 Apr | TOT (H) | CHE (A) | BHA (A) | AVL (H) |
| 19-20 Apr | MUN (A) | ARS (H) | LIV (H) | WHU (A) |
| 26 Apr | LEI (H) | NEW (A) | WOL (A) | FUL (H) |
| 2-3 May | MCI (A) | EVE (A) | SOU (H) | LEI (A) |
| 10-11 May | BHA (H) | BRE (H) | NFO (A) | MCI (H) |
| 18 May | CRY (A) | LEI (A) | IPS (H) | EVE (A) |
| 25 May | BRE (H) | WHU (H) | BOU (A) | ARS (H) |
