Southampton back in the EPL

LONDON (AP):

Southampton secured an immediate return to the English Premier League (EPL) yesterday by beating Leeds 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in the Championship playoff final, the richest one-off match in world football.

An uplift of PS140 million (US$180 million) in future earnings from broadcast revenue and prize money is guaranteed for the south-coast club thanks to Adam Armstrong's 24th-minute winner at England's national stadium.

Southampton are heading back up to the lucrative Premier League alongside Leicester and Ipswich, who took the automatic promotion spots in the championship.

As for Leeds, whose US ownership group contains major-winning golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, the club's playoff woes continued.

This was the sixth time Leeds have failed to go up via the post-season series. Making it even more painful is the fact that Leeds finished third in the regular season -- three points above fourth-place Southampton -- and missed out on automatic promotion after winning only one of their last six games.

Armstrong ran onto a through ball that pierced the Leeds defence and slotted a low finish into the far corner for his 24th league goal of the season for Southampton, who spent the entire game sitting back and playing on the counterattack.

Leeds had no answer, barely troubling Southampton's five-man defence in what proved to be a tame ending to the season for one of England's most celebrated clubs which -- like Southampton -- was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022-23 season.

"I think we probably didn't play our best game today, but we showed a different side," said Southampton defender Jack Stephens, who has been with the team since 2011. "A few people have doubted us this season -- can we defend, can we dig in? I think we showed we can."

The closest Leeds came was in the 84th minute when substitute Dan James smashed a dipping shot against the crossbar.

It was a third win against Leeds this season for Southampton, who won their meetings home, away and now at Wembley.

Southampton were in the Premier League from 2012-2023, a period notable for the club churning out a raft of talented academy players, following in the footsteps of the likes of Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott.