Leeds United have moved a step closer to an instant Premier League return by advancing to next weekend’s Championship play-off final after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road
So much for Leeds’ play-off curse.
They smashed Norwich in front of an electric Elland Road to return to top form and book their place in the Championship play-off Final on Sunday week.
Neither Southampton nor West Brom will fancy them at Wembley after this high-octane display and Daniel Farke’s side were back to their very best.
After stuttering in the final weeks of the campaign to miss out on automatic promotion, Leeds blew Norwich away, scoring three goals in the first 40 minutes.
Leeds are back at Wembley for the first time since they lost the 2008 League One play-off Final to Doncaster and they have not won at the home of football since Eric Cantona scored a hat-trick in their 1992 Charity Shield victory over Liverpool.
They will take some stopping on this compelling evidence and they were unplayable.
Norwich, under David Wagner who won the 2017 Championship play-offs with Huddersfield, had no answer to Leeds.
It was a sweet moment for Farke after he was sacked by Norwich in 2021 despite winning the Championship twice with them, but the German has too much class to gloat.
Farke will be focused on completing the job of returning Leeds to the Premier League a year after they were relegated.
Elland Road turned up the volume like only they can and the ear-splitting noise lifted the Leeds players.
Leeds exploded from the starting blocks and after Crysencio Summerville shot over, they scored on just seven minutes from a clever Ilia Gruev free-kick.
Summerville split Norwich’s two-man wall with a dummy run and Gruev scored at the unguarded near post from 25 yards out to register his first Leeds goal.
Elland Road was rocking and on 20 minutes Leeds made it 2-0 when Wilfried Gnonto crossed from the right to the far post where Joel Piroe headed home his 14th goal for the club.
Norwich barely had a kick, but they were denied a goal when Illan Meslier brilliantly saved Josh Sargent’s shot one-handed after Ethan Ampadu slipped to let the Norwich striker through.
Leeds regained their iron grip on the game and after Joe Rodon headed wide, Georginio Rutter struck on 40 minutes with his eighth goal of the season.
Shane Duffy could only knock Piroe’s cross on to Rutter at the back post, as he tackled Summerville, and the Frenchman crashed the ball home off the underside of the bar.
Leeds kept pressing and Piroe was denied a second when Gunn blocked his left-foot shot.
Summerville did not have the goal his performance deserved and he went close as he headed over before Gunn saved his shot. His 21st goal came on 68 minutes when Gunn parried Gnonto’s shot and Junior Firpo squared the ball for him to score.
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