Julius OkorieThere appears to be no hope for relegation hunted premier league sides, Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City.
Less than 24 hours after Leicester City were hammered 4-0 by Brentford, Ipswich and Southampton have received their own baptism of fire, losing 4-1 and 4-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton respectively.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIpswich have drifted five points from safety, following the loss to Tottenham, who made it three wins on the spin in the Premier League.
It could have been so different for Ipswich had they scored one of three big chances inside the first five minutes, but Liam Delap’s luck was out and Spurs grabbed the all-important opener through Brennan Johnson after a neat assist from Heung-Min Son.
The same duo were at it again in 26 minutes, ruthlessly punishing Town, who were questionable in their defending
Half-time substitute Luke Woolfenden thought he had levelled after 61 minutes when he headed home Hutchinson’s cross, but the defender had strayed offside.
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Djed Spence restored the two-goal cushion for Ange Postecoglou’s team and Dejan Kulusevski wrapped up the points with a classy finish despite Ipswich’s Jacob Greaves being down with a head injury.
With Wolves winning at Bournemouth, Ipswich are now cut adrift at the bottom and it looks increasingly likely that the three promoted clubs will be heading straight back to the Championship.
Southampton on their part were soft nut for Brighton to crack, thanks to goals from Joao Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood.
The Seagulls dominated from the outset, with Pedro’s delicate chip over Aaron Ramsdale, setting them on their way midway through the first half.
Saints rallied before the break, but the game was beyond the bottom-of-the-table hosts, once Rutter finished from close range after 56 minutes.
Japan international, Mitoma, scored his fifth goal in seven games before defender, Hinshelwood, put the finishing touch on Southampton’s 21st Premier League defeat of the season.
The margin of defeat would have been even wider for Southampton, had Ramsdale not denied Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh, with some last-ditch saves in the closing minutes as Saints threatened to fall apart completely.
When Southampton on their part appointed Ivan Juric two months ago, they had expressed optimism that he would provide the ‘grit’ required to avoid relegation, unfortunately it doesn’t look like it as he has managed just two wins since December.
They are eight points adrift of Leicester City, who sit one place ahead of them in the relegation zone, and 13 points behind Wolves in the last safe position.
Three weeks have passed since Brighton lost 7-0 at Nottingham Forest, and three wins have followed.
With their next three games against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Fulham, a tilt at a second European campaign may not be beyond them.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
