Thousands of fans gathered in Burnley to toast the Championship winners on Tuesday night and striker Jay Rodriguez admitted he would have been among the crowds himself were he not on the open-top bus.
Burnley-born Rodriguez has risen from Turf Moor ball boy to a once-capped England striker and said earning promotion back to the Premier League this season ranked amongst the highlights of a professional career which began with the Clarets 16 years ago.
“For me, the impact it has on the town is the main thing,” the 33-year-old said before the players paraded their trophy from the town hall to Turf Moor.
“It’s a dream for me as a local lad, being a ball boy. Every time I go out to play on the turf it’s immense and to get promotion from the Championship, a really tough league, to the Premier League where I feel Burnley belong is surreal.”
A seven-year stint in the top flight came to an end for Burnley 12 months ago, but they have bounced straight back in Vincent Kompany’s first season in charge, piling up 101 points and clinching the title away to rivals Blackburn.
Rodriguez knows the challenge that awaits in the top flight, but the mood at Turf Moor is one of optimism.
“You don’t get carried away or too pessimistic, but I feel the sky’s the limit with what what we’ve learned this season,” he said. “We need to keep working, keep learning, keep listening to the manager, but if we keep doing that we can’t go wrong.
“Everyone is motivated. It’s the pinnacle to be in the Premier League, the best league in the world. We’ll be playing against the best, but we’re not finished yet.”
Kompany’s immediate success with Burnley saw him linked with Chelsea and Tottenham, but the former Manchester City captain last week signed a new five-year contract to reaffirm his commitment to the Clarets.
“It’s massive,” Rodriguez said. “As a player he was a legend for Manchester City, he’s a legend in football and as a manager I’ve learnt so much from him in what he brings to every single player.
“The work he puts in and his staff puts in, you can’t give less than 100 per cent because they give you more.”
While Rodriguez looks forward to the Premier League, Monday’s season-ending 3-0 win over Cardiff marked the end of an era for Ashley Barnes, who will leave the club after nine seasons during which the Clarets have been promoted three times.
Tuesday’s parade made for an emotional farewell for the 33-year-old.
“It’s been truly amazing,” he said. “To go outside and see all the fans in the street is really amazing and I was welling up there. It’s hard to take it all in.”
Barnes marked his final Burnley game with a goal on Monday, the ideal ending to what was sometimes a difficult season.
He failed to score in any of his first 14 games and was hauled off at half-time against Sunderland in October. But an injury to Rodriguez offered him a chance in the home derby against Blackburn and two goals brought his confidence back.
“I keep turning back to the Sunderland game,” he said. “I thought I was dead and buried. I thought I need to liven up here. But since Blackburn, that was the turning point. Unfortunately Jay got injured, but I got the chance and was lucky enough to score two goals. It really changed things.
“To score that goal on the final stage and on the final ending of my career here, it meant the world to have my family here.”
Al-Riyadh 0-1 Al-Nassr: Mane hands visitors bragging rights
Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.
He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.
Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.
Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.
The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.
Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr
After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points.
It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.
They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.
This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout.
Al-Hilal 3-1 Al-Ettifaq: Champions return to the summit with dominant win
Al-Hilal surged back to the Saudi Pro League summit with a convincing 3-1 triumph over 10-man Al-Ettifaq on Friday.
The defending champions are now one point clear of Al-Ittihad in the standings, with their latest victory piling more misery on Al-Ettifaq boss, Steven Gerrard.
Al-Hilal struggled in the early exchanges at the Kingdom Arena, registering their first effort on Marek Rodak's goal in the 38th minute courtesy of Marcos Leonardo.
But the hosts would take the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, with Mitrovic on hand to steer Renan Lodi's delivery into the net from close range.
Al-Hilal then doubled their advantage nine minutes from time when Malcolm collected the ball from Abdullah Al Hamddan, before rounding Rodak and finishing into an empty net.
However, hopes of a comeback from the visitors were revived in second-half stoppage time when Joao Cancelo gave away a penalty after a handball inside the box.
Vitinho stepped up and fired home the spot-kick, but Al-Hilal confirmed the win two minutes later through Mohammed Al Qahtani, with visiting forward Abdullah Radif shown a late red card for violent conduct.
Data Debrief: Happy Friday!
Al-Hilal continued their quest for a 20th Saudi Pro League crown with a dominant display against Al-Ettifaq, extending their unbeaten run against their opponents in the process.
They have now not lost their last 13 league encounters against Al-Ettifaq (W12 D1), surpassing their longest unbeaten streak against them in the competition (12 matches between 2008 and 2013 - W8 D4).
Al-Hilal have now lost only three matches when hosting teams on a Friday in the Pro League out of 55 matches (W46 D6 L3).
Lodi also took his goal contribution tally to eight this season in all competitions (three goals, five assists). During his European career with three different clubs, he only notched more goal involvements (nine) in the 2021-22 campaign with Atletico Madrid.
Kompany unbothered by modest scoreline as Bayern beat Benfica
Vincent Kompany was pleased with the way Bayern Munich attacked at home to Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, despite only winning 1-0.
The victory ended a run of back-to-back defeats for the German team in the competition, leaving them 17th in the league with six points from four matches.
"It's important for us to win a game this way. In the past, we always scored three, four or five goals, but today we stayed calm," Kompany told the official club website.
"We had 24 shots on goal and the opposition had one. Not every finish was dangerous, but we controlled the game. There are games in which the last pass just isn't as precise as necessary.
"We know we can decide matches within the first five minutes if we're on good form. That didn't happen today. But in the end, it's the Champions League. It was a good game and a good win."
Midfielder Jamal Musiala scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute, turning home Harry Kane's knockdown after Leroy Sane had played the ball across the box.
Sane is yet to start a game in any competition for Bayern this season, coming on in the 56th minute on Wednesday, but his contribution was not lost on Kompany.
"Obviously, I'm really happy to have the quality of Leroy Sane and Michael Olise in the same position - not to forget Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry. You can say Leroy turned this game around today," he said.
The goalscorer Musiala, meanwhile, was pleased after scoring his fifth goal in all competitions for the club this season.
“We had good moments, but the opposition played and defended well. Of course, there are still things we can improve, but it's important to have won the three points," he said.
"I don't know what's going on with me scoring headers at the moment. The ball dropped nicely for me a few times and I just keep trying to get into good positions I can score easy goals from.
"We all knew we had to win tonight and we did a good job. We had a tough time settling into the game, but we can't win by four or five goals every time. Sometimes a 1-0 win has to be enough.”
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