World Sports News In Brief

Southampton relegated after 2-0 loss to Fulham

Southampton were relegated from the Premier League after being beaten 2-0 at home by Fulham on Saturday (May 13), bringing an end to their 11-year spell in the English top flight.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v Fulham - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, UK - May 13, 2023 Southampton's Jan Bednarek looks dejected after losing the match and being relegated from the Premier League. (Photo: Reuters)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Southampton v Fulham - St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, UK - May 13, 2023 Southampton's Jan Bednarek looks dejected after losing the match and being relegated from the Premier League. (Photo: Reuters)

The defeat means Southampton, who needed a win to stave off relegation, can no longer reel in 17th-placed Everton. Ruben Selles's side are bottom of the league on 24 points from 36 games, while Fulham's win moves them up to ninth.

* Defender Rasmus Kristensen scored a late equaliser on Saturday (May 13) to give Leeds United a share of the points in a thrilling Premier League 2-2 draw with Newcastle United that saw Leeds miss one spot-kick, concede two more, and have a man sent off in stoppage time.

* Relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest grabbed a precious point at Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday (May 13), thanks to two goals from Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi. The result kept Forest three points clear of the drop zone with two games of the season left.

* Tottenham Hotspur's wretched Premier League away form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa that left their hopes of qualifying for Europe in the balance on Saturday (May 13). Unai Emery's side moved up a place to seventh with 57 points - the same as sixth-placed Tottenham with both sides having two games left to play.

* Eberechi Eze scored twice as Crystal Palace beat a disappointing Bournemouth 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday. The win moved 12th-placed Palace on to 43 points, level with Chelsea in 11th.

* Borussia Dortmund scored four goals in a dazzling 32-minute first-half spell to ease past Borussia Moenchengladbach 5-2 on Saturday and stay in the title hunt with two matches left in the Bundesliga season. Dortmund are on 67 points in second place, one behind leaders Bayern Munich, 6-0 winners over Schalke 04 earlier on Saturday.

* Bayern Munich powered past struggling Schalke 04 6-0 on Saturday (May 13), with two goals from Serge Gnabry, to open up a four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga and close in on their 11th straight league crown with two games remaining.

* Paris St Germain edged closer to a record 11th French title when they beat AC Ajaccio 5-0 at home on Saturday, sending the Corsican side into Ligue 2 as Lionel Messi faced the wrath of the Parc des Princes. Ajaccio are 18th on 23 points, 11 points from 16th-placed AJ Auxerre. The last four clubs in the 20-team Ligue 1 will go down at the end of the season.

* South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns held out for a goalless away draw against holders Wydad Casablanca in Saturday’s first leg of their African Champions League semi-final despite playing most of the match down to 10 men and finishing with nine.

* Two goals by striker Romelu Lukaku helped Inter Milan to a 4-2 win over mid-table Sassuolo in Serie A on Saturday, lifting them up to third with three games remaining in the season.

* Two second-half goals secured lowly Spezia a shock 2-0 home win over AC Milan in Serie A on Saturday, condemning Stefano Pioli's side to their first league loss in two months and denting their top-four hopes. Defender Przemyslaw Wisniewski and midfielder Salvatore Esposito helped Spezia earn their first win in nine games and move them closer to safety.

* Marco Asensio's late goal earned Real Madrid a 1-0 victory over lowly Getafe in LaLiga on Saturday as they rested key players ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City. The win lifted Real on to 71 points, two ahead of local rivals Atletico who play at bottom side Elche on Sunday.

* Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing produced a flawless performance to hold off Brad Binder and win his first sprint race at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on Saturday (May 13). Martin took the chequered flag 1.840 seconds ahead of Red Bull KTM rider Binder, denying the South African a third sprint win of the season.

* Carlos Alcaraz guaranteed a return to the world number one spot on Saturday (May 13) when he took to court to play fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round of the Italian Open. The 20-year-old will overtake Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings and is now assured of the top seeding at the French Open later this month.

CNA/Reuters