Southampton relegated in record time after Spurs defeat

Southampton were relegated from the Premier League on Saturday, April 5th, suffering the earliest relegation in the competition’s history after a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur. A brace from Brennan Johnson inspired Spurs to victory, confirming Southampton’s drop with seven games still remaining, surpassing the previous record of six.

Despite a subdued atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following pre-match fan protests against chairman Daniel Levy and discontent with manager Ange Postecoglou, Spurs started brightly. Johnson opened the scoring in the 13th minute, converting Djed Spence’s cutback.

Cristian Romero saw two powerful headers saved by Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and Lucas Bergvall had a goal disallowed for offside against Romero following a lengthy VAR check.³ Southampton offered little threat initially, though Kamaldeen Sulemana did hit the post after a rare foray forward.

Johnson added his second three minutes before halftime, latching onto James Maddison’s headed pass and flicking the ball past Ramsdale.

Southampton improved after the break and dominated possession for periods. They were rewarded with a late consolation goal in the 90th minute when Mateus Fernandes fired through Guglielmo Vicario’s legs.

However, any faint hopes of a comeback were extinguished deep into stoppage time. Johnson won a penalty after being fouled by Welington, and substitute Mathys Tel converted the spot-kick for his first Premier League goal, sealing Southampton’s fate.

Saints Down, Spurs Win Amidst Fan Unrest

Southampton’s instant return to the Championship has long seemed inevitable. Rooted to the bottom of the table with just 10 points, they now need two more points from their remaining seven games to avoid surpassing Derby County’s record-low tally of 11 points (2007-08). While they showed more fight in the second half, their lack of cutting edge, as the division’s lowest scorers, was evident.

For Tottenham, the victory, only their second home league win of 2025, moves them up to 13th place with 37 points and provides some respite amidst growing supporter frustration. Postecoglou praised Johnson’s “outstanding” performance but lamented his team becoming “sloppy” in the second half. “The first half was really good,” he said. “[There is] stuff to improve on, but it is a victory with three goals so positive… we have got to make sure we do that for the full 90.”