St Mary's Stadium Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after being beaten 2-0 at home by Fulham, bringing an end to their 11-year spell in the English top flight.
The defeat means Southampton, who needed a win to stave off relegation, can no longer reel in 17th-placed Everton.
The south-coast club earned a reputation as a leading developer of talent in a spell during which they finished in the top eight for four straight seasons, but they have gone from the brink of European football to being involved in relegation battles in recent years.
Southampton have finished 15th or lower in four of the last five campaigns, with their steady decline culminating in a dismal run this season, in which they have earned only six league wins, while racking up a club-record 24 defeats.
They are also under their third manager of the season in Ruben Selles, following the sackings of Nathan Jones and Ralph Hasenhuettl.
At the other end of the table Anthony Martial and Alejandro Garnacho struck as Manchester United notched a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers that moved them a step closer to a return to the Champions League.
With the top four qualifying directly for next season's group stage, United are fourth in the table on 66 points, four ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool with both sides having three games left. Wolves are 13th on 40 points.
Newcastle United suffered more jitters in their quest to finish in the top four as they drew 2-2 at relegation-threatened Leeds United.
Newcastle are third on 66 points, the same as United, while Leeds are 18th on 31 points.
Tottenham Hotspur's wretched away form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa that left their hopes of qualifying for Europe in the balance.
Spurs, who have lost seven successive away games, stay sixth, nine points out of the top four, while Villa are right behind them on the same points.
Relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest grabbed a precious point at Chelsea.
Forest are three points avove the relegation zone, while Chelsea are 11th on the table.
Crystal Palace beat Bournemouth 2-0.
-Reuters
