Burnley relegated from English Premier League
The Clarets battle to a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Hull but it's not enough; Sunderland eye another great escape after beating Everton
Burnley were relegated from the English Premier League despite beating Hull City 1-0 last night, results elsewhere sending them back to the Championship after one season in the top flight.
Burnley needed to win their last three games to have any hope of avoiding the drop, but they were sent down after Sunderland, Leicester City and Aston Villa all won and Newcastle United drew.
Danny Ings scored Burnley's first goal in over 10 hours, but it proved in vain as Sean Dyche's side have 29 points from 36 matches with two games left.
I believe we're in decent shape to bounce straight back. There will be definite growth in the players. I can imagine we will be competitive in the Championship next season
Ings said: "The lads showed unbelievable fight and spirit. I thought we were phenomenal and were on top from start to finish - but it has come a little too late.
"The lads have fought until the end and I'm extremely proud of them. Now we are going to play the last two games with pride and hope to finish strongly."
Dyche told BBC Sport: "Statistically we knew it would be tough to stay up, but mentally the players have been terrific.
"I believe we're in decent shape to bounce straight back. There will be definite growth in the players. I can imagine we will be competitive in the Championship next season."
Hull now occupy the final relegation spot with 34 points, and Queens Park Rangers, who are bottom, will also be relegated if they lose to second-placed Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium today.
Newcastle's northeast rivals Sunderland claimed a gritty 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park to climb out of the bottom three and up to 16th with 36 points from 35 games.
Leicester have now won six of their last seven league matches and remained on course to avoid the drop after a comfortable 2-0 victory over Southampton moved them up to 15th.
FA Cup finalists Aston Villa surged to 14th after a 1-0 win over West Ham United at Villa Park.
Sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur hold a point advantage over Southampton in the battle for Europa League qualification despite a 3-0 defeat by Stoke City.
Everton pushed for an equaliser, but Sunderland made sure of the three points when Jermain Defoe turned in Adam Johnson's deflected shot with five minutes remaining.
"I'll take that. It's been a long time after a frustrating couple of years at the football club," said Graham. "The pressure is back on everyone else and we have done our job now."
Sunderland were deep in relegation trouble a year ago until they put together a run of four successive league wins to steer clear of danger.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town drew 1-1 against Norwich City in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final. The eventual winners will play Brentford or Middlesbrough, who lead 2-1 from their first leg, in the final at Wembley for a lucrative place in the Premier League.
