Southampton suffered Premier League relegation after Aleksandar Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang to help Fulham secure a 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Second-half finishes from Carlos Vinicius and substitute Mitrovic inflicted a club-record 24th defeat of the season on the division’s bottom club to leave them eight points from safety with just two fixtures remaining.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – a Saints fan – was among those in attendance on the south coast as the hosts’ 11-season stay in the top flight ended in tame fashion.
He witnessed a team lacking confidence, ideas and urgency produce another feeble performance of a miserable campaign featuring three managers and just two home league wins.
Vinicius broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, before Mitrovic, who was handed the lengthy suspension for grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh in his side’s FA Cup loss at Manchester United on March 19, condemned Saints to the Sky Bet Championship by heading home his 13th goal of the season.
Boos and chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” from home supporters greeted the full-time whistle.
Southampton began the day in the perilous position of needing to win each of their final three fixtures to stand any chance of survival following Monday’s damaging 4-3 loss at fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Pockets of empty red seats suggested plenty of Saints fans were already resigned to the club’s fate, albeit the reduced crowd was boosted slightly by the presence of Southampton-born politician Sunak.
Unchanged Fulham dominated possession from the first whistle but created little in a forgettable opening period of few chances.
Brazilian forward Vinicius saw a close-range effort blocked for the away side, moments after recalled Saints striker Paul Onuachi fired tamely at Bernd Leno from range following a mistake from Issa Diop.
Fulham then had passionate penalty appeals waved away after Harry Wilson’s inswinging cross struck the arm of Southampton defender Lyanco, prompting visiting players to surround referee Thomas Bramall at the next break in play.
Willian came closest to a first-half breakthrough when his 41st-minute volley was headed off the line by Lyanco following fine work from Wilson and Harrison Reed’s ball across the box.
A dismal contest desperately requiring a goal burst into life immediately after the restart.
Carlos Alcaraz momentarily thought he had fired Southampton ahead, only for his confident, slotted finish to be flagged offside, before Fulham quickly compounded that disappointment to suck the life out of home supporters.
Vinicius claimed the simple opener, tapping home unmarked from close range after the industrious Reed diverted the ball across goal with a crunching, sliding challenge on Lyanco.
The party mood among the away end was heightened by the long-awaited return of Mitrovic 25 minutes from time, with a host of Serbia flags unfurled on the terraces.
And the Cottagers’ top scorer wasted little time in reintroducing himself.
The lively Wilson was once again Southampton’s tormentor-in-chief, producing a pinpoint cross from the right for Mitrovic to stoop and nod beyond goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
Victory for Fulham was a club-record 15th of a Premier League campaign and a first away to Southampton since 1935 to lift them to ninth place.
Beleaguered Saints, meanwhile, are left to contemplate a first season in the second tier since 2011-12 and, following games against Brighton and Liverpool, an uncertain summer of transition.
Man City, Arsenal claim first wins of WSL campaign
Khadija Shaw opened her account for the Women's Super League season as Manchester City beat Brighton 1-0 to get their first win on the board.
Shaw was the runaway top scorer in the WSL last season, and she got up and running for the 2024-25 campaign with a neat close-range finish from Kerstin Casparij's low cross late in the first half of Sunday's clash at Joie Stadium.
Her goal was one of seven shots the Jamaican had throughout the contest, with Shaw having gone close on three occasions prior to breaking the deadlock.
Mary Fowler and Jessica Park both went close to extending City's lead after the break, while Lauren Hemp stung the palms of Sophie Baggaley.
The only disappointment for Gareth Taylor will have been that his side failed to make their dominance count for a second goal, with City mustering 3.03 expected goals (xG) to Brighton's 0.76.
"We got the job done," defender Alex Greenwood told BBC Sport.
"Sometimes in this league, you have to win ugly. I thought off the ball today we were better. Against Arsenal, we struggled with that at times, but we have worked really hard on that, and I thought we saw an improvement in that.
"This league is getting tougher and tougher every year, and we saw that with Brighton, it was a tough game. We take the win and the clean sheet all day."
Arsenal, who drew 2-2 with City last week, also got their first win on the board, with Frida Maanum's second-half strike proving decisive in a 1-0 defeat of Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Alessia Russo capitalised on an error from Catherine Bott, with the former Manchester United forward keeping her cool to set up Maanum for a simple finish, as Arsenal claimed a seventh straight WSL win over Leicester.
There was a thrilling finale in Aston Villa's clash with Tottenham, as three goals in 20 minutes saw the points shared in a 2-2 draw.
Spurs led through Eveliina Summanen's 23rd-minute penalty at Villa Park, but Adriana Leon and Rachel Daly flipped the match on its head.
However, Villa's hopes of claiming a memorable victory were dashed when Bethany England netted deep in second-half stoppage time.
Manchester United made it two wins from two as Grace Clinton's fourth-minute goal downed her former club Everton 1-0.
United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made good stops to deny Karoline Olesen and Inma Gabarro before the latter had to be taken off following a lengthy treatment for an injury.
West Ham, meanwhile, hit back late on to frustrate Liverpool in a 1-1 draw.
Liverpool's club-record signing Olivia Smith had put the Reds ahead early on, but a fine header from Riko Ueki ensured the spoils were shared.
Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham: Visitors pile more misery on Ten Hag with rout
Tottenham claimed a dominant win at Old Trafford to pile the pressure on Erik ten Hag, as they beat 10-man Manchester United 3-0 on Sunday.
Micky van de Ven opened up United's defence with an excellent run to set up Brennan Johnson with just three minutes on the clock, and it never got better for United from then on.
Alejandro Garnacho struck the post before Bruno Fernandes received a straight red card in the 42nd minute for a late tackle on James Maddison, giving United a mountain to climb.
It was a challenge they were unable to overcome, with Spurs capitalising on their numerical advantage early in the second half through Dejan Kulusevski before Dominic Solanke tapped home a third, and it could have been more, if not for some big Andre Onana saves.
Ange Postecoglou's side rise to eighth with 10 points, while United slip to 12th, behind Brentford on goal difference.
Data Debrief: Spurs run riot
It has been a tough start to the season for United, who have only scored one Premier League goal at Old Trafford so far this season, with that coming in their opener against Fulham.
Fernandes' sending-off did not help matters, as he became the fourth United captain to be sent off in the competition at Old Trafford, receiving his first red card since joining the club (242 appearances).
While the hosts may have been poor, it should not take anything away from Spurs. They accumulated a huge 4.67 expected goals from their 24 shots, with 10 of those on target.
They also had nine big chances, the joint-most ever created in a Premier League game after Arsenal v Fulham in January 2019. They scored two of the six they had in the second half as they cruised to their first away win in the competition this season.
Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa: Delap's double earns hosts a point
Liam Delap scored twice as Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town claimed a confidence-boosting 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.
Villa looked set to forge another comeback win when Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins propelled them into the lead.
But Delap, who had opened the scoring in the eighth minute at Portman Road, had other ideas.
At the end of a rapid counter-attack, Delap brilliantly bamboozled Diego Carlos before firing a left-footed effort into the bottom-right corner in the 72nd minute.
It might have been a hat-trick for Delap if not for Emiliano Martinez, who had made a fantastic save in a one-v-one with Ipswich's forward in the first half.
Pau Torres preserved a point for Villa with a brilliant last-ditch block from Wes Burns, while both goalkeepers were also called into action – by Ross Barkley and Jack Taylor respectively – late on.
Data Debrief: Delap's double delight
Delap became the first Ipswich player to score a double in a Premier League match since Marcus Bent in March 2002 (v Newcastle United), and the youngest to do so in the competition for the Tractor Boys, at the age of 21 years and 234 days.
It was also his first career double in a league match.
At the opposite end, Watkins – who headed in from a Leon Bailey cross after teeing up Rogers' equaliser – continued his fine form in front of goal. The England striker has now scored and assisted in eight Premier League matches in his career, which is the joint-most of any player for Villa (matching Dwight Yorke and Gabriel Agbonlahor).
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