EFL: Southampton will return to the Premier League
Leeds United 0 - 1 Southampton
Southampton defeated Leeds in the Championship play-off final, ensuring a swift return to the Premier League and the £140 million prize that comes with it.
The Saints’ 11-year tenure in the top flight ended after a dismal campaign last season. Despite finishing one place and three points behind Leeds in fourth, it’s Southampton who join Leicester and Ipswich in promotion.
Adam Armstrong scored the decisive goal with a clinical finish after being set up by Will Smallbone.
Leeds substitute Dan James hit the crossbar late on as they pressed for an equaliser, but Russell Martin’s team held on through nearly 12 minutes of added time.
This defeat means Leeds face another season in the Championship and have now lost their past three finals at Wembley without scoring, remaining unsuccessful in all six of their play-off campaigns.
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Southampton’s promotion is part of a trend this year, with all three play-off finals being won by the team that finished lower in the league table, and the higher-placed teams failing to score in all three.
Both teams entered the final after impressive semi-final wins: Leeds crushed Norwich 4-0, while Southampton secured a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
The match was closely contested in the first quarter until Armstrong gave the Saints the lead with his 24th goal of a prolific season.
Chances were scarce afterwards, with Leeds’ Crysencio Summerville missing the target and Southampton’s Samuel Edozie squandering a great opportunity on the counterattack.
James nearly forced extra time twice, but Alex McCarthy made a superb save from his low 20-yard shot after the bar had denied him earlier.
Some of the best images from yesterday's playoff final.
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The victory marks Russell Martin’s first promotion as a manager. He took over at Southampton last summer after the club had a turbulent season, sacking both Ralph Hasenhuttl and Nathan Jones before finishing bottom under Ruben Selles.
Martin had built a solid reputation for playing attractive football at MK Dons and Swansea but had never finished in a play-off spot or won promotion before this season.
The season began shakily for Martin, especially after the sale of captain James Ward-Prowse following an opening-day win at Sheffield Wednesday. A run of four straight defeats in September, including a 5-0 thrashing at Sunderland, raised doubts about Martin’s tenure at St Mary’s.
However, a 3-1 win over Leeds on 30 September sparked a dramatic turnaround, with Southampton embarking on a 25-game unbeaten run that pushed them into automatic promotion contention.
Despite still being in the chase in April, three consecutive losses to Cardiff, Leicester, and Stoke dashed those hopes.
After a goalless draw at West Brom in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, they comfortably won the return leg. Though not at their best in the final, Southampton had enough to overcome Leeds.
German manager Daniel Farke, who returned to England specifically for the Leeds job after twice winning the Championship with Norwich, will reflect on a day where his team didn’t find their rhythm until it was too late.
Leeds became the first second-tier side to amass 90 points and not secure automatic promotion since Sunderland in 1997-98, who also lost that season’s play-off final.
Questions now loom over the futures of Championship Player of the Season Summerville, teenage star Archie Gray, and French forward Georginio Rutter.
You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below.
This footage above is from the official EFL YouTube account.
