Matheus Franca’s goal in stoppage time for Crystal Palace denied Southampton just their third Premier League victory of the season, leaving them close to achieving an undesirable record.
If Franca's late header had been scored, it would have secured a 1-1 draw for the Eagles instead of securing their safety, which implies that the Saints will face relegation over the weekend if they fail to win against Tottenham. Wolves beat Ipswich.
Should relegation be finalized this Sunday, Southampton would become the first squad to face demotion with as many as seven games remaining.
Even the 2007-08 Derby team, often considered the benchmark for underperforming Premier League sides, still had six matches remaining at this stage of the season. Similarly, both Huddersfield in 2019 and Sheffield United four years prior were also facing the last six fixtures at this point.
The Saints managed to reach double digits for their seasonal score, yet they remain just short of Derby's lowest-ever point total with only 11 points.
Palace came to St Mary’s riding a wave of confidence from their five consecutive victories and bolstered by securing a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals over the weekend. This impressive run has led to rumors linking manager Oliver Glasner with a potential move to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.
Seeking their seventh consecutive victory, they came close to scoring just 90 seconds into the match when Jean-Phillipe Mateta, whose ear was prominently bandaged due to the severe injury he sustained against Millwall last month, unleashed a powerful shot from 25 yards out that struck the bottom side of the crossbar.
The palace team hadn't allowed opponents to score a goal during their away games since Christmas, which made it quite surprising when Saint’s managed to take the lead at around the 20-minute mark.
Mateus Fernandes exchanged passes with Flynn Downes on the right before swinging in a cross for 6ft 7ins striker Paul Onuachu to bury his header.
“We are staying up,” came the chant from the home fans. “Say hello to Millwall” was the response from the Palace end.
Mateta looked certain to equalise in the 35th minute after spinning inside the area and sending a low shot goalwards, but Aaron Ramsdale got down to make a fine one-handed save.
Following the interruption, Ismaila Sarr charged ahead and set up the play. Eberechi Eze , however, the England forward’s diagonal shot struck the netting along the edge of the goal.
After Eze went down following being tackled by Downes, he took a free-kick which resulted in Eddie Nketiah having his attempt saved by Ramsdale. The ball then bounced off Nketiah and drifted out of play.
A moan rose from the crowd as the fourth official indicated eight additional minutes of stoppage time, and shortly after, Palace managed to level the score.
You could nearly imagine the applause from Derby as Jefferson Lerma’s cross was met by Franca’s header, which trickled past Ramsdale and his near post.
Palace nearly scored a winning goal, which would have been even more disappointing for Saints, but Nketiah’s close-range shot went just above the crossbar.
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