Latest Leeds United news with the Whites’ opponents for the Championship play-off final at Wembley confirmed as Southampton
On Sunday, May 26, Leeds United and Southampton will face off for a Premier League berth at Wembley Stadium. The two teams, who were both demoted from the league the previous season, will be aiming for an early return to the top division after defeating West Brom and Norwich City in the play-off semifinals, respectively.
The Whites’ decisive 4-0 victory over Norwich in the second leg guaranteed them a spot in the championship on Thursday night. Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe, and Georginio Rutter scored goals in the first half to give Leeds total control of the match; Crysencio Summerville added a goal in the second half.
Daniel Farke’s team won easily, swiftly forgetting the tense first leg at Carrow Road that ended goalless the previous Sunday. Following the match, Southampton’s main player Che Adams was noticeably absent due to injury, and both West Brom and Southampton failed to score in their semi-final first leg at the Hawthorns.
Unlike Leeds’ first half flurry, no goals were scored in the opening period of the second leg at St Mary’s Stadium but just four minutes after the restart, that changed. A mazy run from David Brooks saw him find Will Smallbone who then advanced forward and finished expertly past Alex Palmer at his near post. Darnell Furlong went close to equalising immediately for the visitors, but Southampton instead doubled their lead.
Adam Armstrong broke into the left-hand side of the box and fired a delightful strike into the opposite corner. In the late stages, Armstrong grabbed his second of the game from the penalty spot after substitute Ryan Manning was fouled by Tom Fellows. Cedric Kipre grabbed a goal deep into added time but it was merely a consolation. Following Southampton’s victory, a repeat of the regular season’s final clash between the two teams is set in stone. Saints won that game 2-1 at Elland Road with the reverse fixture earlier in the season also ending in defeat for Farke’s side. As such, if the Whites want to achieve promotion to the Premier League they must do something they were unable to do in this campaign.
As such, if the Whites want to achieve promotion to the Premier League they must do something they were unable to do in this campaign and that is beat Southampton.
