Aston Villa's season - A timeline to relegation

Aston Villa's relegation from the top flight for the first time since 1987 was confirmed by a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday.

Here's a look at the timeline of their dismal campaign so far, including the sale of key players and the club's worst home defeat for 81 years.

17 July: Fabian Delph performs a U-turn and moves to Manchester City for $15 million after previously rejecting a switch and declaring he would stay at Villa having signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract in January.

23 July: Christian Benteke joins Liverpool for $59 million after 49 goals in 101 games for Villa.

8 August: Rudy Gestede's debut goal gives Villa a 1-0 opening-day win at Bournemouth - they fail to win in the league again until January.

13 September: Villa blow a 2-0 lead at Leicester to conceded three times in the final 18 minutes and lose 3-2.

25 October: Tim Sherwood is sacked following a 2-1 defeat at home to Swansea, having lost 16 of his 28 games in charge.

2 November: Remi Garde is appointed Sherwood's successor on a three-and-a-half-year deal and watches his new side lose 3-1 at Tottenham to slip to the bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

26 November: Garde confirms he dropped Jack Grealish from the first team after the 20-year-old was pictured partying in a Manchester nightclub hours after a 4-0 defeat at Everton.

9 January: Villa squad and boss Garde are mercilessly abused while boarding the team bus following their 1-1 FA Cup draw at Sky Bet League Two Wycombe.

12 January: Garde secures his first win, and Villa's first league victory for 157 days, with a 1-0 triumph over Crystal Palace.

14 January: Steve Hollis, a former chairman of auditors KPMG, is appointed at the club's new chairman - replacing owner Randy Lerner.

1 February: The transfer window passes without Villa making a signing. Garde felt let down and disenchanted by the lack of backing - a key factor in his exit - after failing in moves for Seydou Doumbia, Wahbi Khazri and Mathieu Debuchy.

14 February: Villa's season reaches a new low when they are thumped 6-0 by Liverpool - their worst home defeat for 81 years.

17 March: Chief executive Tom Fox leaves the club just 48 hours after sporting director Hendrik Almstadt departs.

29 March: Garde's reign ends after less than five months. He won just three of his 23 games and Eric Black is left in caretaker charge.

14 April: Club captain Gabriel Agbonlahor is axed from the squad for two weeks for being unfit. It comes less than a month after he was investigated for his conduct on holiday in Dubai.

16 April: Villa are relegated from the Premier League after a Marcus Rashford goal condemns them to a 1-0 loss at Manchester United.