Southampton 0-2 Fulham
SOUTHAMPTON SUFFERED PREMIER League relegation after Aleksandar Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang to help Fulham secure a 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Second-half finishes from Carlos Vinicius and substitute Mitrovic inflicted a club-record 24th defeat of the season on the division’s bottom club to leave them eight points from safety with just two fixtures remaining.
Vinicius broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, before Mitrovic, who was handed the lengthy suspension for grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh in his side’s FA Cup loss at Manchester United, condemned Saints to the Championship by heading home his 13th goal of the season.
Chelsea 2-2 Nottingham Forest
At Stamford Bridge, Raheem Sterling rediscovered his scoring touch as he netted both of Chelsea’s goals in a 2-2 draw that could prove vital for relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Home fans had booed their team off at the break, trailing to a Taiwo Awoniyi goal for Steve Cooper’s side and looking no nearer in the first half to finding a solution to the lack of firepower that has derailed their season.
Then, in the space of seven second-half minutes, Sterling transformed the match. First a deflected shot bounced up into the corner after he was set up by Trevoh Chalobah, then he let rip with a brilliant solo goal that evoked the England forward at his electric best.
Yet instead of pressing on, Chelsea folded. Non-existent marking left Awoniyi free to head home and extinguish the lead four minutes later.
It ensured Forest stayed three points clear in their bid to beat the drop, and meant Frank Lampard’s long wait for a victory at this ground on his return as boss will go to the season’s final game.
Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz ignited Aston Villa’s Europa League charge after a vital win over rivals Tottenham.
Unai Emery’s side moved level on points with sixth-placed Spurs with two games left in the race for Europe following a 2-1 victory.
They were superior in every way, with Emi Buendia hitting the bar, and remain in the hunt for a surprise European spot after recovering from successive defeats following strikes from Ramsey and Luiz – despite Harry Kane’s late penalty.
The hosts grabbed the lead after eight minutes. Ramsey spread play wide to Leon Bailey, and then motored into the box to meet Bailey’s low cross ahead of Pedro Porro and find the corner.
Any Spurs comeback hopes were snuffed out by Luiz with 18 minutes left. Cristian Romero clattered Ollie Watkins 25 yards out and all Fraser Forster – with his positioning in question – could do was help Luiz’s free-kick into the top corner.
There was still time for Kane to score a 90th-minute penalty after he was fouled by Emi Martinez – following a lengthy VAR check – but it was too late.
Crystal Palace 2-0 AFC Bournemouth
Eberechi Eze scored twice as Crystal Palace continued their revival under Roy Hodgson with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
– Additional reporting by AFP