West Brom down; Saints looking safe
LONDON: Southampton almost certainly secured its English Premier League survival after Manolo Gabbiadini’s secondhalf goal gave it a 10 win over Swansea City yesterday that left its relegation rival deep in the mire.
Substitute Gabbiadini bundled home a scrappy goal after 72 minutes to settle a tensionfilled encounter in South Wales that left Southampton’s players celebrating at the final whistle.
The result meant West Bromwich Albion was relegated to the Championship and left the Saints on 36 points, three clear of Swansea heading into the season’s final round of matches this weekend.
With Southampton’s goal difference better than Swansea’s by nine, it would take a remarkable swing against the southcoast club, which hosts champion Manchester City on Monday, for it to drop out of the top flight.
Swansea, on the other hand, needs to win its final game against already relegated Stoke City and hope Huddersfield Town lost at Chelsea this morning and loses at home to Arsenal on Monday.
While not mathematically safe, Southampton manager Mark Hughes, who was sacked by Stoke earlier in the season, was in party mood at fulltime, joining his players on the pitch as they saluted the visiting fans.
‘‘I thought we were immense today. We just weren’t going to be denied so I am really delighted for them, for the club,’’ Hughes told Sky Sports.
‘‘It’s not done mathematically yet, but we have put ourselves in a wonderful position.’’
Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal, however, knows his side is in a far more precarious situation.
‘‘Now we don’t have things in our hands,’’ he said. ‘‘We must do our part and win the [last] game and then wait.
West Brom’s relegation ends an eightyear stay in the Premier League.
The club has has been rejuvenated in recent weeks, winning three games in an unbeaten fivematch run.
Yet its impressive lateseason rally, spearheaded by the appointment of caretaker manager Darren Moore, came too late in the campaign.
Moore replaced Alan Pardew at the start of April, taking over with the club seven points adrift at the bottom of the table and 10 short of the safety zone with six matches to play.
He helped engineer an almost remarkable turnaround in its fortunes, guiding it to wins over Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, plus draws against Swansea and Liverpool.