Luton Town have officially been relegated from the Premier League after losing 4-2 against Fulham at Kenilworth Road.
Rob Edwards's men entered their final fixture of the season sitting three points adrift of safety and with an enormous mountain to climb, as they required a 12-goal swing in goal difference to pull off the greatest of escapes.
The contest was filled with first-half chances, but it truly livened up towards the end, with Adama Traore's 43rd-minute opener, a brilliant long-range finish on the half-volley, followed by Carlton Morris's coolly-taken penalty in the first minute of stoppage time, which was awarded after Chiedozie Ogbene was bright down by Calvin Bassey.
Fulham restored their advantage almost straight from the kickoff, though, with Harry Wilson bursting in behind the Hatters' backline before setting up Raul Jimenez to drive a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
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Jimenez netted his second and Fulham's third just three minutes after the interval with a glancing header from a set-piece, before Alfie Doughty caught out Bernd Leno with a curling free kick low into the bottom corner to pull one back for the hosts.
The crossbar then denied Doughty from equalising with another curling strike, and Luton ultimately rued that chance along with a host of others in the first half, as Fulham restored their two-goal cushion on the 68-minute mark thanks to Traore's smart run and assist for Wilson to bend his shot into the top corner.
Defeat and relegation for Luton means that they will join Burnley and Sheffield United back in the Championship, with all three teams returning to the second tier a year on from securing promotion.
As for Fulham, victory on the final day helped them to climb up to 13th in the table, ending the campaign 21 points clear of the relegation zone and only two points behind the top 10.
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Luton's defiant PL contribution comes to an end
When the dust eventually settles, Luton can be immensely proud of what they have achieved in their debut Premier League season. Yes, they may have suffered an immediate demotion back to the second tier, but they put up a fight that few imagined at the start of the campaign.
With the smallest budget, smallest stadium and the least experience collectively of any team in the division, the majority had written off the Hatters' hopes of survival before a ball was even kicked this term, so they deserve credit for taking their relegation battle right till the very end.
There were plenty of highs for the Hatters, including their first-ever Premier League win at Everton (1-2) in September, holding Liverpool to a 1-1 draw on home soil as well as giving it a real go in defeats to title rivals Arsenal and Man City - game in which they were leading at one stage to the surprise of many.
Luton posed a regular threat in the final third and scored a total of 52 goals across their 38 games, only five fewer than Manchester United in eighth. However, defensive frailties ultimately cost them and they were not able to grind out enough positive results, particularly during the business end of the season, accumulating just six points from a possible 51 available since the beginning of February.
Following a period of rest and reflection, Edwards will shift his focus to building a squad, potentially with the bulk of players already at his disposal, that can challenge at the top end of the Championship next season.
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Another solid season for Silva's Fulham
Two years on from cruising to the Championship title, Marco Silva has morphed has Fulham side into a solid Premier League outfit who have never looked in any real danger of facing the drop, but inconsistencies at both ends of the pitch have ultimately prevented them from kicking on this term.
Replicating last season's top-10 finish was mathematically out of their reach heading into the final day, and they conclude 2023-24 sitting three places worse off and with six points fewer than the previous campaign.
Question were raised over whether Fulham were already on the beach heading into their final-day fixture, having won just one of their previous eight Premier League matches, scoring just four goals in their last seven games.
However, Silva's side ended on a high and showed the attacking threat they have missed in recent weeks, with former Wolves duo Traore and Jimenez starring in attack alongside Wilson.
A mid-table finish was always a realistic finish for Fulham, and while Silva can take some positives from their campaign, he will hope to be given the necessary resources in the summer transfer window to bolster his squad in a bid to make progress in 2024-25.
Oliver Thomas
