Burnley of coach Vincent Kompany has officially won an early promotion ticket after defeating Middlesbrough.
Burnley needs a win at Middlesbrough’s Riverside to win promotion to the Premier League. The Clarets took just 12 minutes to open the scoring thanks to an Ashley Barnes strike. But Middlesbrough equalized in the first half thanks to a Chuba Akpom penalty.
However, Connor Roberts scored the goal to make it 2-1 for Burnley in the second half. And coach Vincent Kompany’s army has officially returned to the Premier League.
When asked if he ever dreamed of a season like this, Kompany replied: “No. This is Easter. There are still seven games left to play and we’re already celebrating.”
Winning the Premier League promotion ticket 7 rounds early is a new record set in the English First Division.
Speaking after the game, both coach Kompany and chairman Alan Pace admitted that they did not expect Burnley to get promoted so quickly. They think that The Clarits need to wait at least 2 to 3 years before they can return to the Premier League.
“This is really a surprise. It was not in our plans,” Pace said. “Kompany and I talked over the summer and talked about this for a long time. We set a 2 or 3 year deadline for promotion, that’s our plan. What you’re seeing is a lot of magic coming together.”
Kompany added: “We didn’t expect this. We want to get promoted, but we have a different timeline. But sometimes earlier is better.”