Southampton suffered the earliest relegation in Premier League history after a Brennan Johnson double inspired Tottenham Hotspur to a comfortable victory in North London.
The Wales forward converted Djed Spence’s cut-back in the 13th minute, before he latched on to James Maddison’s header over the defence to flick in a second three minutes before half-time.
Mateus Fernandes replied in the 90th minute, but Mathys Tel claimed his first Spurs league goal with a penalty in added time to ensure Saints became the first Premier League side to be relegated with seven games left, beating the previous record of six.
A subdued atmosphere hung over Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following another pre-match fan protest against chairman Daniel Levy and discontent with manager Ange Postecoglou, following a run of one win in their last 10 home league games that had left them fifth from bottom at the start of the day.
Spurs started brightly though, with Johnson and Lucas Bergvall creating problems and Cristian Romero’s thumping header forcing Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale into a smart stop from a corner.
Things could have turned sour for the hosts, though, when Kamaldeen Sulemana drifted in at the far post following a rare foray forward for the visitors, but his shot was deflected on to the post by Pedro Porro.
Spurs responded immediately to claim the opener and ease nerves through Johnson’s 10th league goal of the campaign.
Romero was again denied by Ramsdale when another powerful header struck the face of the former Arsenal keeper.
Bergvall thought he had doubled the lead when he bundled home Romero’s knock-down from a free-kick, but the Argentine defender was judged to have been offside after a four-minute video assistant referee (VAR) check.
Boss Postecoglou was visibly frustrated on the touchline, but cracked a smile when Johnson caught the Southampton defenders on their heels and slotted past Ramsdale.
Southampton improved after the break and dominated possession, with Fernandes chesting down Sulemana’s cross and firing through the legs of Vicario in the 90th minute for a late consolation.
Ramsdale made five saves – including fine stops from Spence and Dominic Solanke – to keep the hosts at bay, but Tel’s penalty – following a foul by Welington on Johnson – sealed Southampton’s fate with an instant return to the Championship.
Rooted to the bottom on 10 points, Southampton now need two more points to avoid beating Derby County’s record-low tally of 11, achieved in 2007-08.
Tottenham 11th win of the season moved them up to 13th in the table with 37 points.
