Fulham win confirms Saints’ relegation
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored on his return to action as Fulham won at St Mary’s and confirmed Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League.
Carlos Vinicius retained his place in the starting line-up despite Mitrovic being available again after an eight-match ban.
The Brazilian justified his selection by scoring three minutes into the second half.
Southampton failed to deal with Harrison Reed’s delivery, and Tim Ream’s sliding tackle on Lyanco sent the ball to Vinicius, who had a simple tap-in.
And Mitrovic doubled the lead seven minutes after coming on as a substitute, getting in front of Kyle Walter-Peters to head home Harry Wilson’s cross.
Vinicius’ opener – his third goal in four games – came shortly after Southampton thought they had gone ahead when Carlos Alcaraz fired into the net, but he was offside.
In the first half, Fulham appealed in vain for a penalty after an apparent handball by Lyanco, who then came to the hosts’ rescue by heading Willian’s volley off the line.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson, Palhinha (Lukic 77), Reed, Wilson (Kebano 78), Cairney (De Cordova-Reid), Willian (Solomon 78), Vinicius (Mitrovic 65).
Subs not used: Rodak, Duffy, Soares, Harris.
