Aston Villa have been promoted to the Premier League after beating Derby 2-1 in the Championship play-off final.
Anwar El Ghazi headed home Ahmed Elmohamady’s inviting cross to give Villa the lead just before half-time and John McGinn capitalised on Kelle Roos’ poor goalkeeping to nod in a second for Dean Smith’s men in the 59th minute at Wembley.
Frank Lampard attempted to spark some life back into Derby by introducing semi-final hero Jack Marriott for the last half an hour and the striker found the corner of Jed Steer’s net to drag his side back into the match with nine minutes remaining.
However, Villa managed to hold on to their narrow lead to earn promotion – estimated to be worth £170 million – and will join Norwich and Sheffield United in the English top flight next season.
Villa were relegated from the Premier League back in 2015/16 and were denied promotion last term after losing 1-0 to Fulham in the Championship play-off final.
Derby, meanwhile, will be playing Championship football for a 12th consecutive year next season.
Villa captain Jack Grealish hailed goalscorer McGinn in the aftermath of the victory.
‘I’m speechless, I really am. It was such a hard game against a great team we knew it was going to go down to the wire,’ Grealish told Sky Sports.
‘Like I’ve said in my last ten interviews, when I look around me and I’ve got John McGinn, I’ve got Tammy [Abraham], I’ve got Anwar, I feel like we can beat anyone.
‘I can’t even explain to you how happy I am for this guy [McGinn]. Since he’s been here he’s been absolutely unbelievable.
‘He’s such a popular figure in the dressing room, off the pitch. He gets so much credit off the fans and we can all see why.’
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