Marcelo Bielsa and his players celebrate at Elland Road after 4-0 victory over Charlton
Thursday 23 July 2020 06:20, UK
Leeds have been presented with the Sky Bet Championship trophy at Elland Road following their 4-0 win over Charlton.
Leeds ended their 16-year wait to return to the Premier League on Friday night after Huddersfield beat West Brom, meaning the Yorkshire club secured promotion without kicking a ball.
They secured top spot on Saturday after Brentford lost 1-0 to Stoke and were presented with the trophy on Wednesday evening after comprehensively beating Charlton.
Leeds have enjoyed an impressive campaign after bouncing back from last season's play-off heartache to clinch promotion, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2004.
The club has endured several near misses and spent three years in League One between 2007 and 2010.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supporters had to watch the trophy presentation live on Sky Sports with the Charlton game behind closed doors.
For the majority of last season, it looked as though Marcelo Bielsa had masterminded a return to the Premier League at the first attempt. At times they looked unstoppable, with seven straight wins from November into December keeping them top of the pile throughout Christmas.
But, to use the old cliche, their campaign truly was a game of two halves. Cracks began to appear with a 2-0 defeat to Hull on December 29 after which they started 2019 with three defeats from five games. Shortly afterwards they were toppled from the summit and though top-two hopes remained intact in the final few weeks, defeats to Wigan and Brentford across the Easter weekend resigned them to the play-offs.
Something of a rivalry with Derby was born in January 2019 when Leeds were accused of spying on the Rams' training sessions ahead of a meeting between the two. Leeds then went on to beat Frank Lampard's side 2-0 at Elland Road, but while it was written in the stars that they would be paired in the play-offs, Derby launched a stunning second-leg comeback to win 4-3 on aggregate.
They have learned from the mistakes of last year and certainly learned the hard way, but for Leeds fans this will taste all the sweeter.
Leeds United Football Club. Back to the promised land. They are a Premier League team for the first time in 16 years.
Marcelo Bielsa's boys secured promotion with two games still to play. Despite 17,000 cardboard cutouts blowing in the wind at Elland Road, thousands upon thousands of fans worldwide will be tearful, emotional, but relieved to see their team back in the top flight.
Analysis by Sky Sports' Simeon Gholam...
It has been a dramatic 16 years for Leeds United. From their heartbreaking relegation from the Premier League, to the lows of League One, the play-off near misses, the mid-table mediocrity, the madcap owners and the many managers.
From 2004 to 2020, we chart the fall and rise of Leeds United...
Last season ended in heartbreak for Leeds United. Despite spending most of the season in the top two they failed to make automatic promotion, then crashed out of the play-offs to Derby County despite being favourites to progress.
But Marcelo Bielsa signed on for another year, and they bounced back to go one better in 2019/20. Now, after 16 years of waiting, Leeds are back in the Premier League as champions.
