Sunderland win to stay in the Premier League, doom Newcastle and Norwich to relegation
It wasn't too long ago that it looked like the Premier League's relegation race would come down to wire. But that was before Sunderland caught fire.
The Black Cats went unbeaten in five straight matches to secure their place in the Premier League for another season. Their clinching win came on Wednesday, with Sunderland thrashing Everton, 3-0, and moving four points clear of the drop zone ahead of Sunday's season finales.
Now, Newcastle and Norwich City have been doomed to relegation. The duo had been in a three-team race for the one remaining safety spot, but Sunderland have taken it to leave the Canaries and Magpies without any chance of getting out of the bottom three. They will join Aston Villa in the drop to the Championship.
Neither Newcastle nor Norwich is unfamiliar with the Championship. The Magpies were last relegated to the second division in 2008/09, but only spent a season in the Championship before being promoted back up to the Premier League. The same is true of the Canaries, who were relegated two years ago and immediately made the jump back up.
Aston Villa aren't nearly as used to being in the Championship, having been in the Premier League since the league was founded in 1992, but they have been bottom of the table since November and had clinched relegation weeks ago.
All the while, they are celebrating in Sunderland. The Black Cats' tremendous run down the stretch has saved them from the drop and Sam Allardyce is being hailed as a hero after the club's horror start.
The Black Cats were second from the bottom when Dick Advocaat was fired on October 4 and were in the drop zone as recently as two weeks ago. But despite taking over a flawed team, Allardyce has led Sunderland to safety with a week to spare.
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