Cardiff City will make an instant return to the Championship after their Premier League relegation was confirmed with a home defeat against an impressive Crystal Palace.
Needing to win this game to keep intact their faint hopes of staying up, Cardiff hit the post inside the first minute through Josh Murphy but then fell behind when their former loanee Wilfried Zaha fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
The Bluebirds equalised less than two minutes later as Martin Kelly turned a Leandro Bacuna cross into his own net, only for Palace to regain the lead as Michy Batshuayi applied an emphatic finish to a fluent passing move.
Cardiff rallied with a handful of second-half chances but Andros Townsend crushed any lingering hopes the hosts had of avoiding relegation when he cut inside from the right wing and struck with a low effort which went in off the post.
Bobby Reid scored in the 90th minute to reduce the Bluebirds’ deficit but they were ultimately well beaten by a confident Palace side, who climb up to 12th in the Premier League table.
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In a quirky twist of fate, the Eagles’ victory also secures top-flight survival for their bitter rivals Brighton.
Cardiff, meanwhile, are left to reflect on their second successive Premier League stint the that has ended after a single season.
Cardiff down but not disheartened
Even before kick-off, there was an air of resignation at the Cardiff City Stadium, where the home fans seemed to have reluctantly accepted their team’s likely fate.
With Cardiff needing to beat Palace and then win at Manchester United on the final weekend – while also hoping Brighton lost to Arsenal and Manchester City – the prospect of survival was remote.
The mood was not as gloomy as it might have been, though. The common refrain among most Cardiff supporters was that they couldn’t have asked for more effort from their side, who were written off at the start of the season and at least still had some sort of chance – however slim – of clawing their way to safety.
Having any kind of hope gave the players and fans reason to believe, and that was evident when Murphy’s deflected 25-yard strike hit the post to prompt a huge roar of encouragement from the crowd.
Reality kicked in, however, when Zaha’s low effort nestled into Cardiff’s net; the home fans silenced as the severity of their side’s predicament dawned on them.
Neither the players nor fans meekly accepted their fate, and Kelly’s own goal briefly renewed their hopes of a miraculous escape.
But although Warnock’s men grafted as they always have done, they were simply not up to the standard of their slick opponents.
Cardiff looked heavy-legged and perplexed as Palace’s attackers out-thought and outplayed them, and it was a small wonder that the hosts were not further than 2-1 behind at half-time.
That has been the story of their season: wholehearted in their commitment and endeavour but limited in terms of their ability, and vulnerable against genuine quality.
Down but not disheartened, the vast majority of the home fans stayed behind after the final whistle to pay tribute to their players and veteran manager, who they serenaded with loud cries of “There’s only one Neil Warnock”.
