Sunday 6 May 2018 00:01, UK
Stoke were relegated from the Premier League as they crashed to a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace at the bet365 Stadium.
The 19th-placed Potters went into the contest, their penultimate game of the season, desperate to boost their survival hopes with what would have been a first victory in 13 matches.
But after they took the lead through Xherdan Shaqiri's 43rd-minute free-kick, things then turned around in the second half, with James McArthur equalising in the 68th minute and Patrick van Aanholt netting the winner for Palace in the 86th.
Stoke fans had their head in their hands at the final whistle as it was confirmed the club's 10-year stay in the division was coming to an end, Paul Lambert having failed to rescue them after replacing the sacked Mark Hughes as manager in January.
The Potters are three points behind 17th-placed Swansea with one game remaining, but the Swans' midweek fixture against third-bottom Southampton means Lambert's side cannot escape the drop zone.
Palace, meanwhile, are now mathematically safe to complete the considerable upturn in their fortunes after Roy Hodgson succeeded Frank De Boer early in the campaign.
