Premier League: Wild day of results puts Southampton on brink of relegation

Southampton are dangerously close to seeing their stay in the Premier League come to an end following a dramatic round of results in the topflight.

The UK’s bank holiday weekend for the coronation of King Charles III saw some unbelievable games unfold in the context of the relegation battle. However, these matches did not work in Southampton’s favour.

The Saints suffered a 4-3 defeat to fellow relegation candidates Nottingham Forest in a thrilling encounter at the City Ground. Forest flew into a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Taiwo Awoniyi, before Carlos Alcaraz got the visitors back in the game.

A Morgan Gibbs-White penalty just before the interval meant Southampton still had to chase a two-goal deficit, though.

They reduced this to just one shortly after the break when Lyanco headed in a James Ward-Prowse corner. But the hosts hit back once more, with Danilo emphatically thumping home a fourth. Ward-Prowse’s injury-time penalty was thus just a small consolation in a brutal defeat for the Saints.

This result leaves Southampton anchored to the bottom of the Premier League. They are now eight points adrift of safety – with only three games (a maximum of nine points) left. The South Coast club, therefore, stand perilously close to ending their eleven-year stay in the top division.

Everton’s match earlier on did not help Southampton’s plight, either.

Brighton 1-5 Everton: Toffees win leaves Southampton close to Premier League relegation

Everton secured an unbelievable victory over Europe-chasing Brighton late on Monday afternoon.

The Merseyside club were in front almost immediately at the Amex Stadium. Within the first minute, Abdoulaye Doucoure had found the back of the net to put Everton 1-0 up. The midfielder then scored his second around the half-hour mark to double their advantage.

A Jason Steele own goal meant that Everton, unbelievably, led 3-0 at half-time.

Despite controlling possession and hitting the woodwork multiple times, Brighton could not make a breakthrough. Instead, Dwight McNeil added a fourth against the run of play.

Alexis Mac Allister’s fortuitous strike gave Brighton a lifeline, but Everton were not to be denied. McNeil even added a fifth to cap a memorable trip for Toffees fans.

This stunning result means that Everton move out of the relegation zone. They now have a two-point advantage over Leicester (18th) and Leeds (19th), as both Everton and Nottingham Forest leapfrog out of the bottom three.

Pressure mounts on Foxes after defeat

Leicester slid into the relegation spots following a wild 5-3 defeat at Fulham.

The Cottagers raced into a 3-0 lead before the break thanks to goals from Willian, Carlos Vinicius, and Tom Cairney. Cairney then added a fourth just after half-time which seemed to seal Leicester’s day.

However, Harvey Barnes’ finish on the hour gave the travelling Foxes a shred of hope. Jamie Vardy had a golden chance from the spot to cut Fulham’s advantage further, but Bernd Leno was equal to his penalty. Willian added a fifth for the hosts not long after this crucial miss.

This confirmed another defeat for Leicester, although James Maddison and Barnes did add a pair of goals late on. They drop into the bottom three, joining Leeds and Southampton, and putting their Premier League status under threat.

Bottom five’s remaining fixtures

16th – Nottingham Forest (33pts): Chelsea (A), Arsenal (H), Crystal Palace (A)
17th – Everton (32pts): Man City (H), Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H)
18th – Leicester (30pts): Liverpool (H), Newcastle, (A), West Ham (H)
19th – Leeds (30pts): Newcastle (H), West Ham (A), Spurs (H)
20th – Southampton (24pts): Fulham (H), Brighton (A), Liverpool (H)

Featured image credit: Getty

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