Southampton's 11-year stay in the Premier League ends: Key Stats
Southampton's 2-0 defeat against Fulham confirmed their relegation from the Premier League on Saturday. Goals from Carlos Vinicius and Aleksandar Mitrovic were enough to sink the Saints away from home. This was their 24th defeat in the league from 36 matches. They have only secured six wins and as many draws and have compiled only 24 points. Their 11-year-long stay ends.
Worst campaign in terms of defeats
Southampton became the first team to get relegated from the Premier League this season. This is the third time Southampton have been relegated from the English top flight. The previous two times were back in 1973-74 and 2004-05. As per Opta, Southampton have lost more league games this season (24) than in any previous campaign in their history.
Too many managerial changes
Southampton finished 15th last season and a poor start to this season saw Ralph Hasenhuttl get sacked in November after four years at the club. They roped in Nathan Jones, who was sacked after three months in charge. He lost seven out of eight league matches. Interim manager Ruben Selles is in charge till the end of the season.
Unwanted stats for Southampton
Southampton made an unwanted record of losing at least seven or more matches under all of their three managers this season in the Premier League. They lost eight under Hasenhuttl, seven games under Jones, and a ninth defeat under the tutelage of Selles.
Breaking down Southampton's 11-year stay in the Premier League
Southampton earned promotion to the Premier League back in 2012. They finished in the top eight for four straight seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-17. In 2017-18, Southampton survived relegation (17th). In 2018-19, they ended 16th. Southampton improved in the 2019-20 season, ending 11th before finishing 15th in 2020-21. In 2021-22, they once again settled for 15th place.
How did the match pan out?
It was a very nervy first half for Southampton as they did not create many chances. The best chance of the half came to Fulham winger Willian but his effort was cleared off the line by Lyanco. In the second half, Carlos Alcaraz scored for Southampton but he was judged offside. Later, Vinicius and Mitrovic's dual strike sunk the Saints.
Did you know?
Southampton's highlight of their 11-season stay was Sadio Mane's fastest hat-trick in PL. He scored thrice in two minutes and 56 seconds as Southampton won 6-1 against Aston Villa in 2015. Shane Long's goal in 7.69 seconds is the fastest PL goal (vs Watford, 2019).
Southampton's sorry numbers in 2022-23
Southampton have shipped in the fourth-highest goal this season (66) after Leeds (71), Bournemouth (69), and Nottingham Forest (67). Southampton have also scored the second-fewest goals this season (31) after Wolves (30).
