Premier League Relegation 2018: Swansea Join West Brom, Stoke in Championship
Swansea City will join West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City in the Championship next season, with their relegation from the Premier League confirmed on Sunday.
The Swans went down after losing 2-1 to Stoke at the Liberty Stadium. Andy King opened the scoring for the hosts before Badou Ndiaye and Peter Crouch hit back for the Potters.
Losing at the half, along with Southampton drawing 0-0 at the time with champions Manchester City, meant Swansea were as good as relegated with 45 minutes to play. Even so, Mark Chapman of BBC Match of the Day 2 did his best to maintain the idea of suspense:
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Stoke could have ended any intrigue if Xherdan Shaqiri tucked away his penalty early in the second half. Instead, the mercurial winger found himself denied by a superb stop from former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Swansea couldn't claw back the deficit, though, and their seven-year stint in the Premier League came to an end. It meant a sad exit for midfielder Leon Britton, a quality club servant who finished his Swansea career on an unhappy note.
BBC Match of the Day still took stock of Britton's laudable contribution to the Welsh club:
While Swansea were left cursing yet more struggles at the back, Southampton were showing the resolve that kept them up. Saints frustrated the champions, coming within a whisker of holding City scoreless for the second time in three matches.
It took the Citizens until deep into stoppage time to net a winner through Gabriel Jesus.
Swansea and Stoke, two sides who conceded 124 goals between them this season, could only wish for such solidity at the back.
Keeping clean sheets hasn't been a problem for West Brom recently, not after blanking Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. The Baggies couldn't stand as firm at Crystal Palace, though, losing 2-0 after second-half goals from Wilfried Zaha and Patrick van Aanholt.
Even so, West Brom had their chances, but a season-long problem of finding the net continued to plague a team with just 31 goals to its credit—the second-worst mark in the division. The lack of goals doomed the Baggies, who left it too late to give the manager's job to Darren Moore.
Speaking of managers, Martin Spinks of the Sentinel thinks Stoke's win may save Paul Lambert's job. If so, the Scot will face a tough time guiding the Potters to a quick return from the Championship.
By contrast, Swansea are seemingly already moving on from Carlos Carvalhal, with the decision for the Portuguese to leave the club reported on Thursday by John Percy of the Daily Telegraph.
