2018 EFL Championship play-off final

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2018 EFL Championship play-off final
Wembley-Stadion 2013.jpg
The match was played at Wembley Stadium.
Event 2017–18 EFL Championship
Date26 May 2018
Venue Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match Tom Cairney (Fulham)
Referee Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Attendance85,243
WeatherWarm
2017
2019

The 2018 EFL Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2018 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Aston Villa and Fulham. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2017–18 EFL Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2018–19 season in the Premier League; Fulham ended the season in third place while Aston Villa finished fourth. Winning the game was estimated to be worth £160 million to the successful team.

Contents

The 2018 final, refereed by Anthony Taylor, was watched by a crowd of more than 85,000 people in very warm conditions. Fulham won 1–0, the only goal of the game being scored by the man of the match Tom Cairney in the 23rd minute. It was their first game at Wembley for 43 years since losing the 1975 FA Cup Final and marked their return to the Premier League for the first time since their relegation in the 2013–14 season.

Fulham ended the next season in 19th place and were relegated back to the Championship, despite finishing ten points ahead of bottom club Huddersfield Town. Aston Villa finished fifth in the 2018–19 EFL Championship and secured a 2–1 victory in the play-off final which saw them promoted to the Premier League for the 2019–20 season.

Route to the final

Football League Championship final table, leading positions [1]
PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4630978239+4399
2 Cardiff City 46279106939+3090
3 Fulham 46251387946+3388
4 Aston Villa 462411117242+3083
5 Middlesbrough 462210146745+2276
6 Derby County 462015117048+2275

Fulham finished the regular 2017–18 season in third place in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Aston Villa. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Fulham finished two points behind Cardiff City (who were promoted in second place) and eleven behind league winners Wolverhampton Wanderers, despite only having lost one game more than the champions. Aston Villa ended the season five points behind Fulham and seven points ahead of fifth-placed Middlesbrough. [1]

Despite dominating possession in the first leg of their semi-final against Derby County, Fulham lost the match with Cameron Jerome scoring the only goal. [2] The second leg once again saw Fulham in control, and with second-half goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Denis Odoi, an aggregate 2–1 victory ensured the London club qualify for the playoff final. [3]

Aston Villa won the first of their semi-final matches against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium with a score of 1–0. A first-half header from Mile Jedinak secured the victory in a game of few chances. [4] A goalless draw in the return leg at the Villa Park meant Villa won the play-off semi-finals 1–0 on aggregate to qualify for the final. Tony Pulis, the Middlesbrough manager, was disappointed that Villa goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was not sent off for handling the ball outside the box with two minutes of the match remaining. Middlesbrough were also denied a last-minute goal which would have taken the tie into extra time when Stewart Downing's direct free kick struck the bar. [5]

Aston VillaRoundFulham
OpponentResultLegs Semi-finals OpponentResultLegs
Middlesbrough 1–01–0 away; 0–0 home Derby County 2–10–1 away; 2–0 home

Match

Background

Ryan Sessegnon (pictured in 2020) was Fulham's top scorer and appeared in every league match during the 2017-18 Championship season. 2020-03-10 Fussball, Manner, UEFA Champions League Achtelfinale, RB Leipzig - Tottenham Hotspur 1DX 3696 by Stepro.jpg
Ryan Sessegnon (pictured in 2020) was Fulham's top scorer and appeared in every league match during the 2017–18 Championship season.

This was Aston Villa's first play-off final, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2015–16 season, and finishing the following season in 13th position. [6] [7] Villa's last visit to Wembley ended in defeat a 4–0 defeat to Arsenal in the 2015 FA Cup Final. Fulham had failed to win seven consecutive play-off semi-final matches, most recently losing out to Reading in the 2017 play-offs. Qualification for the final marked Fulham's first visit to Wembley since their defeat against West Ham United in the 1975 FA Cup Final. [3] During the regular season, Fulham had lost to Villa at Villa Park 2–1 in October 2017, despite dominating possession, but won the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage in February 2018. [8] [9] Ryan Sessegnon was ever-present and top scorer for Fulham with 16 goals, while Albert Adomah had scored the most during Aston Villa's regular season, with 14 goals from 41 appearances. [9]

The game was considered a "classic clash of styles" by the Bleacher Report, pitching an "experienced and pragmatic" Villa against a Fulham team "featuring ample young talent". [10] Villa's starting line-up had all played in a Wembley final before, and included 37-year-old former England international defender John Terry. Only two of the Fulham team had played at England's national stadium, Matt Targett, for Southampton and Stefan Johansen, for Norway. [11] The Fulham starting line-up was unchanged from their semi-final aggregate win. Ahmed Elmohamady returned to the Aston Villa starting eleven having missed out on the second leg of the semi-finals with a hamstring injury picked up at the end of the first leg, replacing James Bree who sat on the bench. [12]

The final was refereed by Anthony Taylor from the Cheshire Football Association, with assistant referees Gary Beswick and Dan Cook, and Kevin Friend acted as the fourth official. [13] It was widely reported that the game was worth at least £160 million over three years to the winners through sponsorship and television deals. [11] [14] [15] [16] Before kick-off, both teams were introduced to former Fulham player Alan Mullery. [15] Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, an Aston Villa fan, was supporting from the stands. [11] Fulham were considered favourites to win the match, [9] [15] which was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and on ESPN+ in the United States. [10] [17]

First half

Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrović kicked off at 5 p.m. in front of a crowd of 85,243 people, in warm conditions. [15] Neither team dominated the early stages, and in the 8th minute, Villa's James Chester was booked for a foul on Mitrović. [11] After 15 minutes, the pitchside temperature was measured at 90 °F (32 °C). Fulham continued to pass the ball around and on 20 minutes, Aboubakar Kamara's looping shot landed on the roof of the Villa net. Soon after, Chester was forced to make a clearance as Fulham began to take control of the match. In the 23rd minute, they made their superiority count and took the lead through a Tom Cairney strike. [18] Sessegnon evaded a challenge from Hourihane 30 yards (27 m) from the Villa goal, and advanced, playing an accurately weighted pass to Cairney who passed the ball into the net past Sam Johnstone. Half an hour in, Villa claims for a red card were denied by the referee Anthony Taylor for Ryan Fredericks who appeared to deliberately stamp on Grealish. Although Villa briefly dominated the game, Fulham were soon back on top although another foul on Grealish, this time from Denis Odoi, earned the London club their second yellow card of the afternoon. With five minutes of the half remaining, Robert Snodgrass' chipped a pass to Grealish who controlled the ball, only to strike it over the Fulham bar. In the 42nd minute, a mix-up between Chester and Johnstone allowed Mitrović in on an empty goal, only for Chester to redeem himself with a clearance. Two minutes of additional time were played before the half ended 1–0 to Fulham. [15]

Second half

Aston Villa kicked off the second half and quickly both Grealish and Lewis Grabban pressed higher up the pitch, putting pressure on Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. [19] In the 50th minute, a cross from Adomah was met by Snodgrass, but his header was high over the bar. Three minutes later, Grealish's header from another Adomah cross was charged down by Bettinelli. Midway through the second half, a snaking run from Grealish saw him pass three Fulham defenders but his shot was saved. [15] He was then shown a yellow card for a poor challenge on Cairney. [11] Kevin McDonald's shot on 67 minutes was deflected out but the subsequent corner was headed wide. [15] In the 70th minute, Odoi was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for kicking Grealish in the chest, leaving Fulham to defend their lead with ten men for the remaining 20 minutes of the match. [19] Fulham's struggling midfielder Johansen was substituted off in the 72nd minute, to be replaced by Oliver Norwood. Soon after Mitrović missed an opportunity to double Fulham's advantage, shooting high and wide of the Villa goal. Jedinak was then booked for a foul on Mitrović before Kamara also received a yellow card after time-wasting as he was substituted for Tomáš Kalas. A minute later, Steve Bruce made two attacking substitutions for Villa, bringing on Jonathan Kodjia for Elmohamady and Josh Onomah for Jedinak. Scott Hogan was then brought on for Hourihane who was struggling with injury, and Fredericks was replaced by Cyrus Christie for Fulham. [19] With less than five minutes of the match remaining, Alan Hutton was booked for a bad challenge on Mitrović. A late free kick for Snodgrass which he struck wide was followed by the announcement of five minutes of additional time. Hogan missed a chance for Villa before a possible Grealish penalty was waved away by the referee. A Sessegnon free kick was cleared and Villa attacked but with no end product, and the match ended in a 1–0 victory for Fulham. [15]

Details

Aston Villa 0–1 Fulham
Report Cairney Soccerball shade.svg23'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 85,243
Referee: Anthony Taylor
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Kit socks long.svg
Aston Villa
Kit left arm fulham1718h.png
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Kit body fulham1718h.png
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Kit right arm fulham1718h.png
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Fulham
GK1 Flag of England.svg Sam Johnstone
RB27 Flag of Egypt.svg Ahmed Elmohamady Sub off.svg 77'
CB5 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg James Chester Yellow card.svg 8'
CB26 Flag of England.svg John Terry (c)
LB21 Flag of Scotland.svg Alan Hutton Yellow card.svg 86'
DM15 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mile Jedinak Yellow card.svg 76'Sub off.svg 77'
CM10 Flag of England.svg Jack Grealish Yellow card.svg 63'
CM14 Flag of Ireland.svg Conor Hourihane Sub off.svg 82'
RW7 Flag of Scotland.svg Robert Snodgrass
LW37 Flag of Ghana.svg Albert Adomah
CF45 Flag of England.svg Lewis Grabban
Substitutes:
GK31 Flag of England.svg Mark Bunn
DF16 Flag of England.svg James Bree
MF6 Flag of Ireland.svg Glenn Whelan
MF18 Flag of England.svg Josh Onomah Sub on.svg 77'
MF20 Flag of Iceland.svg Birkir Bjarnason
FW9 Flag of Ireland.svg Scott Hogan Sub on.svg 82'
FW22 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Jonathan Kodjia Sub on.svg 77'
Manager:
Flag of England.svg Steve Bruce
GK1 Flag of England.svg Marcus Bettinelli
RB2 Flag of England.svg Ryan Fredericks Sub off.svg 83'
CB4 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Denis Odoi Yellow card.svg 38' Yellow-red card.svg 70'
CB13 Flag of the United States.svg Tim Ream
LB21 Flag of England.svg Matt Targett
CM6 Flag of Scotland.svg Kevin McDonald
CM8 Flag of Norway.svg Stefan Johansen Sub off.svg 72'
CM10 Flag of Scotland.svg Tom Cairney (c)
RW47 Flag of France.svg Aboubakar Kamara Yellow card.svg 77'Sub off.svg 77'
LW3 Flag of England.svg Ryan Sessegnon
CF32 Flag of Serbia.svg Aleksandar Mitrović
Substitutes:
GK27 Flag of England.svg David Button
DF22 Flag of Ireland.svg Cyrus Christie Sub on.svg 83'
DF26 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Kalas Sub on.svg 77'
MF11 Flag of Togo.svg Floyd Ayité
MF16 Ulster Banner.svg Oliver Norwood Sub on.svg 72'
FW9 Flag of Portugal.svg Rui Fonte
FW20 Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas Piazon
Manager:
Flag of Serbia.svg Slaviša Jokanović

Man of the Match:
Tom Cairney (Fulham)

Statistics [14]
Aston VillaFulham
Goals scored01
Shots on target23
Shots off target1012
Fouls committed1415
Corner kicks03
Yellow cards14
Red cards01

Post-match

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce was unhappy in particular that Fredericks had escaped any kind of punishment for his challenge on Grealish, stating: "First half we didn't do enough. But a big decision then went against us. The red card was very early and I know we don't want to see a game ruined early, but I was right in front of the incident – he stamps on him." [18] Slaviša Jokanović, the Fulham head coach, said "It was a really important victory for us and we deserved it. It's not easy to play with lots of pressure, with lots of young players, and on the other side lots of experience". [20] Tom Cairney was named the man of the match. [14]

Fulham ended the next season, their first in the Premier League since they were relegated in the 2013–14 campaign, in 19th place and were relegated back to the Championship. Despite finishing ten points ahead of bottom club Huddersfield Town, Fulham concluded the season ten points from safety having conceded 81 goals, the most in the league. [21] Aston Villa finished fifth in the 2018–19 EFL Championship and secured a 2–1 victory in the play-off final which saw them promoted to the Premier League for the 2019–20 season. [22]

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