Southampton suffer earliest relegation from Premier League after 3-1 loss at Spurs

Southampton suffered the earliest-ever relegation in Premier League history when they lost 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, confirming their demotion to the second tier despite having seven games left in the season.

Southampton had needed a victory to stay alive in their fight for survival after 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers moved up to 32 points with Saturday's comeback win at Ipswich Town.

But the south-coast club have only 10 points after 31 games to sit rock bottom and 22 points from the safety zone.

Spurs took the lead through Brennan Johnson after Saints had a shot blocked at the other end and the Welsh winger doubled their advantage just before halftime with a neatly taken goal.

Southampton did not threaten the Spurs goal until the 90th minute when Mateus Fernandes halved the deficit but any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when they conceded a penalty and Mathys Tel converted the spot kick to seal the three points.

The result moved Spurs to 13th in the standings on 37 points, level with Manchester United who host Manchester City later on Sunday.