Southampton’s dismal Premier League campaign came to a historically early end on Sunday as a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham confirmed their relegation — the earliest in Premier League history with seven matches still to play.
Brennan Johnson struck twice in the first half for Spurs, while Mateus Fernandes’ late goal was nothing more than consolation. Southampton, bottom of the table, have now lost 25 of their 31 league matches and are 22 points adrift of safety.
This marks a new low in the Premier League era, surpassing the previous record set by Ipswich (1994-95) and Derby (2007-08), who were both relegated with six games remaining. Southampton, promoted just 315 days ago after their play-off final win over Leeds, are now the first club to suffer the drop with seven matches left.
Ivan Juric’s side — still without a win in seven matches — remain one point above Derby’s infamous 11-point record-low tally and risk further ignominy as the season winds down. The Croatian coach replaced Russell Martin in December after a 5-0 thrashing by Tottenham, but has failed to reverse the slide.
Martin’s attacking style, successful in the Championship, faltered badly in the top flight. The Saints had picked up just five points from 16 games by the time of his dismissal.
At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Johnson put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute after a neat cut-back from Djed Spence, before doubling the lead with a composed finish following James Maddison’s headed assist. A potential third goal by Lucas Bergvall was ruled out by VAR for offside.
Despite their misery, the travelling Saints fans retained their sense of humour, ironically singing “Que sera, sera… we’re going to Coventry” as their relegation fate became inevitable.
Fernandes offered a late spark, chesting down a pass and firing into the net in the 90th minute. But a foul on Johnson by Wellington in added time allowed Mathys Tel to convert from the spot, sealing a rare win for under-pressure Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
The result lifts Tottenham to 13th and provides a timely morale boost ahead of their Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.
For Southampton, however, the focus now turns to salvaging pride in their remaining games — and avoiding the shame of finishing with the worst-ever Premier League points total.
