Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return

By Sports Desk April 27, 2024

Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.

The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.

Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.

The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.

"The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.

"Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."

Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.

Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.

"The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.

"As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."

Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.

The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.

After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.

However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Related items

  • Bayern Munich 3-0 Union Berlin: Kane nets twice in easy Bundesliga win Bayern Munich 3-0 Union Berlin: Kane nets twice in easy Bundesliga win

    Harry Kane scored twice to propel Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over Union Berlin on Saturday.

    Vincent Kompany's team moved, temporarily at least, to the top of the Bundesliga standings with the minimum of fuss at the Allianz Arena.

    The Bavarians, who host Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, opened the scoring with a 15th-minute penalty from England captain Kane before Kingsley Coman curled a shot past keeper Frederik Ronnow to make it 2-0 two minutes before the break.

    Union were constantly on the back foot and could do nothing to stop Kane from stabbing in his second goal from close range six minutes after the restart.

    Kane, who also scored a hat-trick against Stuttgart two weeks ago, now has 11 league goals this season.

    Undefeated in the league and eager to reclaim domestic dominance after last season's double by Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern have now scored 32 goals and conceded seven in nine Bundesliga games.

    Data Debrief: Goals, goals, goals

    Bayern just cannot stop scoring. While they may be struggling in the Champions League, they are flying domestically, and they have now netted 50 times under Kompany in all competitions this season.

    They are the first club from Europe's five major leagues to reach the 50-goal mark in this competitive season.

    Meanwhile, since detailed data collection in 2004-05, only one player has collected more direct goal contributions in the first nine matchdays of a Bundesliga season than Kane this season (16), and that was the former Tottenham captain himself last year. 

  • Simeone: It makes no sense to play after Spanish floods Simeone: It makes no sense to play after Spanish floods

    Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is unhappy that most LaLiga matches will go ahead this weekend after catastrophic floods swept the eastern region of Spain.

    The deadliest flash floods in Spain's modern history have killed over 200 people and dozens were still unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the region of Valencia.

    The tragedy is already Europe's worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

    Saturday's clash between Valencia and Real Madrid, as well as Villarreal against Rayo Vallecano, are among several games postponed over the weekend after the floods.

    "It doesn't make any sense," Simeone told reporters ahead of his side's home game against Las Palmas on Sunday.

    "What is happening is very hard; it is very moving to see the people who went out on the streets to help, who with a shovel and their tools are trying to collaborate and that speaks very well of the country, of the people, and we want to help wherever we can.

    "There are people having a very hard time, it's very sad and they tell us to continue and here we are, continuing."

    Last month, Las Palmas named former Espanyol boss Diego Martinez as their new coach, and while Simeone is not pleased that the game is going ahead, he is prepared for a tough encounter.

    "We have a tough game against a team that has improved a lot since the arrival of the coach," Simeone said.

    "They are more forceful and I imagine a dangerous game, with a lot of counter-attacking, fast people in attack and we will try to have a game with these situations under control and get it out with the help of our fans, which is always fundamental."

  • Arsenal deserved to lose against Newcastle, says Arteta Arsenal deserved to lose against Newcastle, says Arteta

    Mikel Arteta was left frustrated by Arsenal's performance in their 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle United on Saturday.

    The defeat left them third in the Premier League, though they could be up to eight points behind Manchester City by the end of the day.

    Arsenal had 63.9% possession and mustered more shots (10) and a higher expected goals total (1.11) than Newcastle, but could not find a leveller following Alexander Isak's early header.

    And Arteta was disappointed with how his side did the basics following what he thought was a good start.

    "We deserved to lose today. I thought we started really well and were really dominant. We didn't defend the box well enough," he told Premier League Productions.

    "Credit to them. They scored a great goal with a good ball.

    "Then the game changes and you start to play a different game. You have to adapt and we didn't do that well enough. I am very frustrated.

    "We got dragged into a game they are looking for constantly and we couldn't play the game that we wanted."

    Arsenal only managed one shot on target in the match, coming from a Mikel Merino effort that was cleared off the line in the first half. Declan Rice, meanwhile, put a close-range header wide in second-half stoppage time.

    "We had two big chances: Mikel had a big one, Declan had a big one. We lacked answers," said Arteta.

    Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, was delighted with the Magpies' performance as they sealed back-to-back victories following their win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

    "You have to be really strong mentality and know results will turn if you continue to do the right things," Howe told BBC Sport.

    "It has been a difficult week with the fixtures, but the players have done really well.

    "There was a better feeling in training after the Chelsea win, as if pressure lifted slightly.

    "Today's performance was built on hard work, desire and a lot of really good defending in the second half. I thought we looked good."

    Isak headed home from a pinpoint Anthony Gordon cross to tally up his third goal in three successive appearances in all competitions.

    "I wouldn't say it is a trademark goal for Alex but really pleased to see it. Anthony can give you that on his natural right-hand side and it was a great ball," said Howe.

    "It was always going to take a moment like that as it was a game of few chances."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.