Crystal Palace 4-0 Hull City - BBC Sport
Hull City will play in the Championship next season after a thumping 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace sends them down.
Last updated on .From the section Football

Hull City were relegated from the Premier League with one game to go after a heavy defeat at Crystal Palace, a result which secures top-flight survival for Sam Allardyce's team.

Marco Silva's side went behind after a shocking error just two minutes and 11 seconds into a game they needed to win to give themselves a fighting chance of survival.

Italy defender Andrea Ranocchia missed a simple clearance, allowing Wilfried Zaha to run clear and slot beyond goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic.

Christian Benteke's header doubled Palace's lead while late goals from Luka Milivojevic, from the penalty spot, and substitute Patrick van Aanholt, completed Hull's misery.

The Tigers, who failed to register a shot on target on Sunday, will join Sunderland and Middlesbrough in the Championship next season.

This result also means Swansea City, who were bottom of the table and four points from safety at the start of 2017, stay up.
• None Reaction from Selhurst Park and the rest of Sunday's Premier League games

Where did it go wrong for Hull?

Hull are back in the second tier one year after winning promotion at Wembley by beating Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship play-off final.

Their plans following a Premier League return seemed to be in disarray when manger Steve Bruce left in July following a breakdown in his relationship with vice-chairman Ehab Allam.

Mike Phelan was appointed caretaker for the start of the campaign and the former Manchester United assistant steered the Tigers to back-to-back wins. He was named manager of the month for August.

However, the season quickly unravelled with Hull winning just one of the next 18 league games before Phelan was sacked on 3 January.

The Tigers were also rocked by the loss of £10m midfield summer signing Ryan Mason to a fractured skull after clashing heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill.

Then Robert Snodgrass, who remains the club's leading league scorer this season with seven goals, joined West Ham for £10.2m.

Silva took over with the club rooted to the foot of the table and despite six wins in eight home games, the Portuguese failed to mastermind an away win in nine attempts.

Palace turn on the style to confirm survival

Three straight defeats had left Palace's top-flight place up in the air, but there was never any doubt about the outcome of this game once Zaha pounced on Ranocchia's mistake to score Palace's quickest league goal for three years.

The on-loan defender from Inter Milan completely missed a straightforward clearance and Zaha kept his composure to net his seventh in the league this season.

Palace then built on their lead when Benteke rose inside the six-yard area to power Jason Puncheon's header into the net.

The visitors were denied a penalty when Puncheon appeared to handle inside his own penalty area before two late goals sealed Hull's fate.

But Referee Martin Atkinson did point to the spot when Michael Dawson marked his return by sending Jeffrey Schlupp sprawling inside the area which allowed Milivojevic to make it 3-0.

Hull, who have the league's worst defence, were completely overrun and it went from bad to worse for the visitors, with Van Aanholt finding the net after latching onto James McArthur's pass.

'We failed in our target' - manager reaction

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce: "It's always a relief. The nervous tension was around the building today.

"For us to apply ourselves as we did, almost perfectly, was excellent. It's four goals, a clean sheet and we were able to enjoy the last 15 minutes.

"It was a class performance. We completely nullified Hull's possession."

Hull City boss Marco Silva: "Today we came here to play one final and we started in a bad way. It gave Palace what they wanted for the match. They knew what was in it for them.

"We tried but conceded again and it finished the game. We tried to make changes at half-time for a small reaction. Possession is not enough. You have to take the right decisions. At this level it makes a difference.

"When the club came to me, we knew we were taking on a big risk. But we had one target, to stay in the Premier League. We did our best to improve the boys in the team and that was our job."

Hull City captain Michael Dawson: "It is very hard. The season has been a long, hard slog and it is a sad day.

"You work hard all year and then you get relegated, you have to pick yourselves up and we know what to do in the Championship.

"Marco Silva has done a fantastic job since he came in. He has done remarkably well to give us half a chance but we just came up short."
• None Hull will finish the season with a league-low six away points.
• None The Tigers are the 33rd side to be relegated from the Premier League the season after gaining promotion to the top flight.
• None Hull have conceded a league-high 14 goals from corners this season.
• None Tigers defender Curtis Davies is the 13th player to feature in four-plus Premier League relegation campaigns.
• None Hull have conceded 13 penalties this season, more than any other side in a single Premier League campaign.
• None This is Crystal Palace's joint-biggest winning margin in Premier League history (also 5-1 v Newcastle in November 2015).

Palace will be able to travel to Manchester United on the 21 May (15:00 BST) knowing they will be playing in the Premier League next season. At the same time, Hull bring the curtain down on a poor season at home to Tottenham.
• None Attempt missed. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
• None Sam Clucas (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Attempt missed. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Patrick van Aanholt.
• None Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
• None Goal! Crystal Palace 4, Hull City 0. Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by James McArthur with a through ball.
• None Offside, Crystal Palace. Wilfried Zaha tries a through ball, but Christian Benteke is caught offside.
• None Curtis Davies (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Goal! Crystal Palace 3, Hull City 0. Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
• None Michael Dawson (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page