Are Sheffield United doomed following their Newcastle embarrassment? History suggests a heavy defeat is no guarantee of relegation from the Premier League
- Sheffield United’s 8-0 loss to Newcastle United was among biggest in PL history
- However, similar heavy defeats have been no guarantee of top flight relegation
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Sheffield United suffered one of the heaviest defeats in Premier League history when they were beaten 8-0 by Newcastle United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
Although the Blades are still yet to win since their return to the top flight, the nature of the defeat still came as a surprise given all four of their previous losses this term had been by just a single goal.
Many fans opted to head home long before Alexander Isak became the eighth different Newcastle player to find the net in the 87th minute, and others could no longer bear to watch.
But even though the result leaves Paul Heckingbottom’s side rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, history suggests that they might not be doomed to relegation.
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at how the teams who ended up on the wrong end of the 10 biggest Premier League defeats responded to high-profile matches to forget.
Sheffield United were beaten 8-0 by Newcastle United at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon
Eight different players found the net for Eddie Howe’s side as they put the Blades to the sword
The humiliating 8-0 defeat leaves Paul Heckingbottom’s struggling side at the bottom of the Premier League table, and it was also one of the heaviest in the history of the competition
Newcastle 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday – September 19, 1999
Sheffield Wednesday were put to the sword by Newcastle United in 1999, with record Premier League goal scorer Alan Shearer scoring five times in the eight-goal drubbing at St James’ Park
Newcastle matched their biggest-ever Premier League win at Bramall Lane, with their previous 8-0 win coming against Sheffield United’s city rivals.
Sheffield Wednesday were put to the sword at James’ Park, with Alan Shearer scoring five goals in what was Bobby Robson’s first home game as Newcastle manager.
Danny Wilson’s side conceded four times in both halves in the north-east, leaving them rock-bottom of the Premier League table having collected just one point from their first eight games.
Wilson was not relieved of his duties until March 2000 despite winning just five of the next 21 league matches.
Wednesday were not able to stave off relegation under caretaker boss Peter Shreeves, eventually finishing 19th in the league table.
Chelsea 8-0 Wigan Athletic – May 9, 2010
Wigan were brushed aside by Chelsea on the final day of the 2009-10 campaign as the Blues wrapped up the Premier League title in style. Ashley Cole is pictured netting the eighth goal
Chelsea wrapped up the Premier League title in style on the final day of the 2009-10 season, but it was a day to forget for Wigan Athletic.
Roberto Martinez’s side were already safe from the threat of relegation when they made the trip to Stamford Bridge, and they certainly took their foot off the gas as they conceded six goals in a disastrous second half.
Didier Drogba netted a hat-trick that secured him the Golden Boot award for top goalscorer as a Wigan defence that was hampered by a first-half red card for Gary Caldwell crumbled.
The Latics did improve their defensive resolve over the summer break, only going down 6-0 to Chelsea in the second game of the 2010-11 campaign.
Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa – December 23, 2012
Eden Hazard was among the scorers for Chelsea as they hammered Aston Villa back in 2012
Aston Villa are another side who have suffered at the hands of Chelsea in west London, with Paul Lambert’s side given an unfriendly festive welcome in 2012.
Villa had registered an impressive 3-1 win at Anfield against Liverpool the previous weekend, but they were blown away by the then Champions League holders.
They were even spared further humiliation when Chelsea’s Lucas Piazon missed a late penalty.
The Villains then endured a seven-match winless run, dropping into the relegation zone in the process.
Lambert was persisted with though, and eventually steered the club to a 16th-place finish in the Premier League.
Southampton 8-0 Sunderland – October 18, 2014
A heavy defeat at St Mary’s saw Sunderland’s players offer refunds for travelling supporters
Three different players scored own goals for Sunderland in this embarrassing defeat on the south coast.
The heavy loss was somewhat unexpected after Gus Poyet’s side had only lost one of their first seven games of the season, but five Southampton goals in the final half hour made for a miserable afternoon.
The Sunderland squad were so ashamed of their performance that they even offered to refund the tickets of travelling supporters.
Poyet won just three of his next 21 games in charge, and was eventually replaced by Dick Advocaat in March 2015.
The Sunderland fans had something to celebrate by the end of the season, as the Black Cats pulled off another ‘Great Escape’ and stayed in the Premier League.
Manchester City 8-0 Watford – September 21, 2019
Watford were beaten 8-0 at the Etihad (above) just a few months after being comprehensively beaten by Pep Guardiola’s dominant Manchester City side in the 2019 FA Cup final
A heavy defeat can often signal the end of a manager’s tenure, yet Watford’s hammering at the Etihad came in just the second game of Quique Sanchez Flores’ second spell with the Hornets.
City were five goals up within 20 minutes against a Watford side that unsurprisingly ended the afternoon bottom of the Premier League table, with a Bernardo Silva hat-trick emphasizing the gulf in quality between the teams.
To make matters worse for Hornets’ fans, City had beaten them 6-0 in the FA Cup final just a few months beforehand.
Sanchez Flores had picked up a promising 2-2 draw against Arsenal in his first game but only won two of the ten games that followed the defeat in Manchester before Watford unsurprisingly opted to make a change.
They picked up form under replacement Nigel Pearson before ultimately finishing 18th in the Premier League and suffering relegation in a season that was interrupted by the outbreak of Covid-19.
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan – November 22, 2009
Just a few months before the heavy defeat at Chelsea, Roberto Martinez’s Wigan suffered a second-half collapse at Tottenham. Aaron Lennon (right) is pictured netting the fifth goal
Not only is this the second time that Wigan have appeared on this list during Martinez’s time as manager, but this loss at Tottenham came in the same season as their bruising final day loss at Stamford Bridge.
Remarkably, the Latics were only 1-0 down at half-time before Spurs ran riot and Jermain Defoe became the first player to score five goals in one half of Premier League football.
This was Martinez’s seventh defeat from his first 13 games as Wigan boss, but his side bounced back straight away when they beat Sunderland the following weekend.
Despite losing 8-0 and 9-1 in the same season, Wigan never dropped into the relegation zone and secured a sixth-consecutive season of top flight football.
Martinez of course enjoyed FA Cup success with the Latics three seasons later when they were finally relegated from the Premier League in 2013
Man United 9-0 Ipswich – March 4, 1995
Andy Cole (holding the ball) bagged himself five goals against Ipswich in 1995 as the Tractor Boys suffered an embarrassment at Old Trafford on their way to getting relegated that season
Making the trip to Manchester United during Sir Alex Ferguson’s time as manager was never an easy task, but no one suffered quite like Ipswich Town in the 1994-95 season.
The Tractor Boys were mired in relegation trouble ahead of the game, sat 21st in the old 22-team Premier League table having replaced legendary manager John Lyall with former player George Burley in December 1994.
Burley only won four matches in what remained of the season and Ipswich finished bottom of the standings.
None of the 29 defeats they suffered were quite as painful as this one at Old Trafford though as Andy Cole scored five times.
Burley went on to turn things around after relegation, guiding Ipswich back to the Premier League in 2000 before eventually departing in October 2002.
Southampton 0-9 Leicester City – October 25, 2019
Southampton’s first heavy defeat under Ralph Hasenhuttl saw them taken apart by Leicester
Southampton’s first heavy defeat on this list comes against something of a surprise opponent given both the Saints and Leicester City both now find themselves in the Championship.
But at the time, Leicester were firmly in contention for Champions League qualification and capitalised on an early Ryan Bertrand red card in a victory that saw both Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez score hat-tricks in the driving rain at St.Mary’s.
The defeat saw Southampton drop into the relegation zone, yet they were only beaten 2-1 by eventual Premier League champions Man City in their next game.
The Saints board saw enough potential to stick with under pressure manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, and were rewarded with a run of seven wins in 11 matches that even included a 2-1 victory against Leicester in the reverse fixture.
Hasenhuttl eventually steered Southampton to a comfortable 12th-place finish in the Premier League and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.
Man United 9-0 Southampton – February 2, 2021
Their next 9-0 defeat under the Austrian boss came in the following season at Old Trafford
But less than 18 months later, Hasenhuttl oversaw another 9-0 shellacking, this time against United at Old Trafford.
The Southampton boss could again point to the impact of sendings off, with young midfielder Alexandre Jankewitz dismissed after just two minutes before Jan Bednarek followed suit once he had scored an own goal.
The Saints had been as high as fourth in the Premier League table in the closing weeks of 2020, but this loss that saw nine different scorers find the net caused them to drop to 13th.
Hasenhuttl won just four league games in what remained of the season, and although he still achieved a mid-table finish, the Austrian struggled on at Southampton before eventually being sacked in November 2022.
Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth – August 27, 2022
A record defeat at Anfield proved to be Scott Parker’s final act as Bournemouth boss in 2022
The most recent of the record defeats also came for a newly-promoted side that ended up staying in the Premier League, perhaps offering Sheffield United some hope for the season ahead.
Bournemouth made the always daunting journey to Anfield having already suffered convincing defeats to Manchester City and Arsenal, but Jurgen Klopp’s side inflicted a new level of humiliation.
Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz scored a brace a piece, with Cherries manager Scott Parker saying he felt sorry for his ‘underequipped’ squad as the final days of the summer transfer window loomed.
But rather than back Parker, the Bournemouth hierarchy opted to sack him and placed Gary O’Neil in temporary charge.
The caretaker boss steadied the ship and secured a 0-0 draw against Wolves just four days later before guiding the Cherries to a respectable 15th-place finish and Premier League survival.
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