Championship final day: Farke proud of champions Leeds but Luton face ‘painful' relegation

Yahoo

27-05-2025

Daniel Farke described Leeds's Championship title triumph as 'a proud day and an emotionally moving day' after he saw his side clinch top spot in dramatic fashion thanks to Manor Solomon's injury-time winner against Plymouth at Home Park. The 2-1 win meant they held off Burnley, who beat Millwall 3-1, on goal difference to seal top spot with a century of points. At the other end of the table, Luton suffered a second successive relegation after a 5-3 loss at West Brom.
As the Leeds players and fans celebrated, Farke initially sat alone in the dugout. 'I was too tired to celebrate even at the final whistle because I was so focused on winning promotion,' he said. 'I really wanted to win this match and win the title for everyone at the club.
Related: Bristol City end Championship playoffs wait and Preston dodge the drop
'Of course, I'm happy that we won this game in the final stages and are officially allowed to label ourselves as champions and be the best team during the whole season. It's a proud day and an emotionally moving day because we have invested so much and wanted to crown ourselves with some silverware.'
It is the first time two sides have reached 100 points in the same Championship season but Solomon's goal pooped the nascent party at Turf Moor. Scott Parker, though, was determined to remain positive.
'I'm absolutely delighted,' said the Burnley manager. 'The main objective was to get three points and end the season on 100 points. Two defeats all season, 33 games unbeaten, 16 goals conceded, that's all I could ask for .
'If you'd said to us at any point that 100 points this year wouldn't get you the title we'd all be thinking, 'no chance'. To lose the title on goal difference is a little disappointing but I won't let that overshadow a remarkable season.'
Either side reaching three figures looked in doubt early in the day, with Mihailo Ivanovic giving Millwall an early lead and a Sam Byram own goal doing likewise for Argyle. But the division's two outstanding teams clawed their way back. Josh Brownhill soon equalised for Burnley and they seemed destined for a second Championship title in three seasons when Jaidon Anthony put them ahead, with Leeds having pulled the score back to 1-1 thanks to Wilfried Gnonto and time ticking away.
Bradford clinched automatic promotion to League One after a dramatic 1-0 home win over Fleetwood. The Yorkshire side looked set for the playoffs after Walsall had beaten Crewe thanks to George Hall's solitary strike.
But Antoni Sarcevic scored a deflected winner in the sixth minute of added time to spark two pitch invasions before the final whistle.
Rob Street ensured Doncaster were crowned League Two champions with both goals in a 2-1 win at Notts County. Port Vale's hopes of reeling in the leaders were dashed by Gillingham's Aaron Rowe, who scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Vale Park.
Chesterfield will meet Walsall in the play-offs after their 1-0 win at Accrington, secured by Will Grigg, saw them edge out Salford, who could only draw 2-2 at relegated Carlisle. Wimbledon, who won 1-0 at Grimsby thanks to Sam Hutchinson, will meet Notts County in the other semi-final. PA Media
But in the first minute of injury time Solomon swept home in front of the packed away end to spark delirium. Brownhill added a third for Burnley, but the atmosphere was largely punctured at Turf Moor.
At the bottom, Luton, who began the day in 21st, a point ahead of Hull in the final relegation place, drop down into League One after a wild 5-3 defeat at West Brom, while Hull held on for a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth to secure their Championship status. Plymouth's relegation was also confirmed.
Luton were plunged into the bottom three by Tom Fellows's early goal for West Brom, briefly out again thanks to Millenic Alli's equaliser two minutes later but back in when Matt Crooks gave Hull the lead at Fratton Park and there they stayed.
Down and down again
Luton join a small band of unhappy clubs who have suffered back to back relegations from the Premier League:
Swindon (1993-94 and 1994-95)
Wolves (2011-12 and 2012-13)
Sunderland (2016-17 and 2017-18)
Luton (2023-24 and 2024-25)
Daryl Dike, Fellows and a Callum Styles double put a previously out-of-sorts Albion into a 5-1 lead just after the hour mark, leaving Luton hoping for a Pompey comeback. Christian Saydee did equalise to leave Hull sweating, but the visitors held on and though Jordan Clark and Alli reduced the arrears at the Hawthorns there was to be no miracle.
'It was a particularly painful day for everyone involved at our club,' said the Luton manager, Matt Bloomfield, whose team had come into the game having won three on the bounce to give themselves hope of an unlikely escape. 'We apologise to our supporters because a second relegation in a row is particularly painful for them.
'We were poor and it was very disappointing. Over the previous couple of months we have dragged ourselves right back into it and the performances have been particularly good. But this club comes back fighting and we will do again.'
Derby and Stoke, who both began the day in relegation danger, played out a 0-0 draw at Pride Park.
A dramatic day in the playoff race ended with Coventry and Bristol City taking fifth and sixth spots respectively, with Blackburn, Millwall and Middlesbrough missing out.
Coventry's ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over Boro was enough to make their place safe and set up a two-legged semi-final against fourth-placed Sunderland, who lost at home to QPR, their fifth defeat on the bounce. 'It is human after five defeats to think now you are weak, but it is not the reality,' said the Sunderland manager, Regis Le Bris. 'We have to find the right rhythm to win again.'
Daniel Agyei scored twice as Leyton Orient claimed the final League One playoff place with a 4-1 win at Huddersfield.
Agyei's double came either side of a Jacob Chapman own goal and Josh Koroma's strike before Azeem Abdulai completed the job to hold off Reading.
The Royals' final-day charge never materialised as they went down 4-2 at home to Barnsley with Stephen Humphrys, Jon Russell and Davis Keillor-Dunn's double doing the damage despite Lewis Wing and Billy Bodin replying.
Orient will face Stockport in the semi-finals after they cemented third place with a 3-1 comeback win at Wycombe with Benony Andresson, Oliver Norwood and Will Collar finding the back of the net.
Charlton, who beat Burton 3-1 courtesy of Matt Godden's double and an Alex Mitchell header, will go head-to-head with Wycombe.
Champions Birmingham rounded off their season with a 2-1 victory at relegated Cambridge which took their tally to a record 111 points, Kelland Watts' own goal ultimately handing them three more, while goals from Elliot Lee and Ryan Longman eased already-promoted Wrexham to a 2-0 win at Lincoln. PA Media
The Robins, meanwhile, had to come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with struggling Preston at Ashton Gate and line up a semi-final with third-placed Sheffield United, who scuppered Blackburn's hopes with a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane, Anel Ahmedhodzic's second-half equaliser proving crucial in the final reckoning.
The interim Norwich manager, Jack Wilshere, came out on top in the battle between former Arsenal teammates at Carrow Road, with Aaron Ramsey's already relegated Cardiff on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline, having been reduced to 10 men by Calum Chambers's 16th-minute red card.
Wilshere said he was keen on taking on a long-term role. 'I feel like I am ready to make an impact at this level,' he said. 'I don't know what the process is [for appointing a new coach] but I guess over the next few days I will find out.'
Swansea and Oxford ended their seasons in entertaining fashion with a 3-3 draw in south Wales, while Sheffield Wednesday secured a first top-half Championship finish since 2019 with a 1-1 draw at Watford.
Pos
Team
P
GD
Pts
1
Leeds
46
65
100
2
Burnley
46
53
100
3
Sheff Utd
46
27
90
4
Sunderland
46
14
76
5
Coventry
46
6
69
6
Bristol City
46
4
68
7
Blackburn
46
5
66
8
Millwall
46
-2
66
9
West Brom
46
10
64
10
Middlesbrough
46
8
64
11
Swansea
46
-5
61
12
Sheff Wed
46
-9
58
13
Norwich
46
3
57
14
Watford
46
-8
57
15
QPR
46
-10
56
16
Portsmouth
46
-13
54
17
Oxford Utd
46
-16
53
18
Stoke
46
-17
51
19
Derby
46
-8
50
20
Preston North End
46
-11
50
21
Hull
46
-10
49
22
Luton
46
-24
49
23
Plymouth
46
-37
46
24
Cardiff
46
-25
44