Super Eagles’ Joe Aribo Relegated From Premier League With Southampton

Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder, Joe Aribo and his team, Southampton, have suffered an early relegation from the Premier League with seven matches still remaining.

Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed after a tough match against Tottenham Hotspur, where Brennan Johnson delivered an impressive performance. The Wales forward scored the opening goal in the 13th minute, converting a well-placed cut-back from Djed Spence, and he added another just before halftime with a deft flicked header from James Maddison, putting Southampton under early pressure.

Although Mateus Fernandes managed to score a late consolation goal in the 90th minute, the match concluded with a significant moment as Mathys Tel netted his first league goal for Spurs from the penalty spot, sealing Southampton’s fate.

Note that Aribo played for the 64th minute before he was replaced by Will Smallbone when Southampton were losing 2-0. In his absence, Spurs scored once and his team scored a consolation goal to end the game 3-1 in favour of the home side.

Nigerian-born French footballer Lesley Ugochukwu and Super Eagles’ forward Paul Onuachu also played prominent roles in the game but couldn’t help Southampton avoid relegation.

Southampton’s early relegation in the 2024-2025 season marked a historic moment, as they became the first Premier League team to be relegated with seven games to play, surpassing the previous record held by Derby County, who were relegated with six games remaining in the 2007-08 season.

The atmosphere at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was subdued before the match due to a pre-match protest against chairman Daniel Levy, reflecting growing concerns about manager Ange Postecoglou amid a difficult spell for the team.

With only one victory in their last 10 home league matches, Spurs were in a precarious position, sitting fifth from the bottom of the table at the start of the day. But the win lifted them to the 14th spot with 37 points in 31 games.