Leeds handed Championship trophy as Brentford cave

Marcelo Bielsa will lift his fifth trophy in a long and storied career as Leeds United clinched the Championship title following Stoke’s win over Brentford, that sees the Bees lose the brief control they had over their chances of automatic promotion.

Following West Brom’s shock 2-1 loss to Huddersfield yesterday that ensured a first Premier League return in 16 years for Leeds, the Championship’s form side, Brentford, followed up with a surprising defeat against Stoke today that means Leeds are now confirmed as champions of the division.

Brentford had been given a similarly big gift, as Huddersfield’s win over West Brom meant their chances of a top two finish, and automatic promotion, were in their hands going into today’s game with Stoke, needing just a point and a win from their last two games.

Instead, Brentford failed to score against the Michael O’Neill’s side who managed to snag an unlikely three points through Lee Gregory’s lone goal, meaning Stoke have secured their Championship survival and West Brom are once again favourites for automatic promotion with the league’s final matchday on Wednesday.

Brentford will face Barnsley a point behind West Brom who take on QPR, and while Slaven Bilic’s side can return to the Premier League with a win, Brentford’s superior goal difference could mean promotion for the Bees should they draw and West Brom lose.

🗓️Most Championship goals scored since Michael O'Neill's first Stoke game (9/11/2019):

61⚽️: Brentford
51⚽️: Leeds
47⚽️: West Brom
45⚽️: 🔴⚪️STOKE⚪️🔴
43⚽️: Wigan
41⚽️: Blackburn#SCFC @stokecity pic.twitter.com/UL44iAelfe

— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) July 18, 2020