Aleksandar Mitrovic scored on his return to action as Fulham produced one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. Southampton managed only one shot on goal and the fourth-lowest home xG of the year (0.25), as their time in the top division came to an unmemorable conclusion. Vinicius scored the first goal for the visitors in the 48th minute after Harrison Reed’s diving challenge on Lyanco deflected the ball across the net. Only 57 seconds earlier, Carlos Alcaraz believed he had broken the tie, but his attempt was disallowed for offside. After serving an eight-game suspension, Mitrovic came in as a second-half replacement for Fulham, and just six minutes after his entry, the Serbian striker met Harry Wilson’s cross to add insult to Southampton’s injury.
The hosts needed to win to maintain any slender prospects of remaining in the division, but there was a sense of despondency among the home crowd, who began leaving before the game even started. It will be required to undergo a significant reconstruction, one that is significantly more targeted than the disastrous January transfer window, during which six players were added with little to no impact. With their sixth victory away from home in the Premier League, Fulham has climbed to ninth place and is on pace to finish in the top half for the first time since 2012.
It took Southampton seven years and League One promotion to return to the top tier after their previous Premier League relegation in 2004/05. After losing to Nottingham Forest last weekend, championship football seems assured for the first time since 2012. This terrible feeling has been plaguing Saints supporters for a while. Since Christmas, they have spent all but seven days near the bottom, and they have been positioned among the bottom three since early November. Despite Fulham’s somewhat anodyne domination, there was a feeling of defeatism in the air. After Wilson’s cross struck Lyanco, the visitors, seeking their first victory away from Southampton since the 1930s, had referee Thomas Bramall dismiss a handball claim.
Before the interval, Lyanco successfully cleared Willian’s attempt at the far post after another clever play combining Wilson and Reed. The Saints, on the other hand, provided almost nothing. The sound of the half-time siren cruelly interrupted what was intended to be Southampton’s last stand, a last Saints salute in defiance, as one fan was spotted dozing off in his seat. FiveThirtyEight’s statisticians predicted that Southampton had a 1% chance of surviving going into the weekend, but three minutes into the game, the light went out. The tenacious midfielder outwitted Lyanco with his clearing as the sliding challenge delightfully deflected for Vinicius to knock home a third goal after Wilson spotted Reed’s run.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a native of Southampton, was there for King Charles III’s coronation last weekend, but he noticed a drastically different atmosphere. From a happy gathering to a wake. only after the hour mark, Mitrovic came on for Vinicius, and only six minutes later, the striker showed no signs of rust by outmuscling Kyle Walker-Peters to head Wilson’s cross beyond Alex McCarthy. Southampton’s season has been a complete failure, starting with the dismissal of Ralph Hasenhuttl, the hiring of Nathan Jones, and the appointment of Selles, a charismatic but inexperienced manager who has failed to turn things around.
“It’s been a really difficult day for me, for everyone in the locker room, for the community, and for the supporters. For all of us, this season has been challenging,” Southampton boss Ruben Selles said. “Since the beginning, we have fought to avoid being demoted, and today was the day. I simply want to express my gratitude to everyone for the assistance we received right away. It’s difficult, especially for the supporters who have been with us their entire lives. With or without me, this club has the talent to recover quickly, but the way we feel right now is a huge letdown.”
“I want to thank the players and the supporters. The players did well to leave the house with three points and a spotless record thanks to the enthusiastic crowd,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said. “It was a hot day, the going was tough, and we were the best team on the pitch right away. Up until the very end, we had the game under control. Before the 1-0 and the second goal, we had one or two decent scoring chances.”
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