Queens Park Rangers vs Burnley. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance16,977.
Queens Park Rangers 0
Burnley 5
- J Cullen (9th minute)
- Z Flemming (20th minute, 28th minute)
- J Sarmiento (62nd minute, 92nd minute)
Queens Park Rangers 0-5 Burnley: Rout for promoted Clarets as they boost title hopes
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers and Burnley at Loftus Road on Saturday; Scott Parker's promoted Clarets cruise to victory and boost title hopes.
Saturday 26 April 2025 16:03, UK
Zian Flemming and Jeremy Sarmiento both scored twice as Burnley emphatically maintained their Championship title hopes by hammering QPR 5-0 in their penultimate match of the season.
Josh Cullen also netted in a one-sided game as the Clarets, already promoted along with Leeds, won with ease to move to the top of the table, three points ahead of the Yorkshire side.
However, Leeds, who are at home to Bristol City on Monday evening, have a superior goal difference and know winning their final two matches will almost certainly seal the title. Both teams could finish the campaign with 100 points.
Scott Parker's side are now unbeaten in 32 league games, have lost just twice this season and conceded just 15 goals.
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Scoring goals had been more of an issue for the Clarets but they had no issues finding the back of Paul Nardi's net at Loftus Road.
Cullen put the visitors ahead with a well-taken goal after nine minutes.
Jimmy Dunne attempted to head clear goalkeeper James Trafford's long kick but the ball dropped to Cullen, who played it in towards Flemming and continued into the box. Flemming held the ball up for Josh Brownhill, who threaded it through for Cullen to slot past keeper Nardi.
The lively Flemming doubled the lead 11 minutes later, following a sweeping move from one end of the pitch to the other.
Lucas Koleosho went past Kenneth Paal on the right and crossed low towards Connor Roberts. The Welshman was denied by Dunne's goal-line block but the ball was then nudged by Hannibal Mejbri to Flemming, who netted from close range.
Flemming helped himself to another goal - his 14th of the season - after 28 minutes, sneaking behind Dunne and Liam Morrison to head home Brownhill's cross from the right.
Edwards then cleared off the line to deny Flemming a hat-trick as Burnley threatened to run riot.
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes made a double substitution at half-time, sending on striker Michael Frey and playmaker Ilias Chair - both recently back from injury - in an attempt to stem the tide.
Rangers were better in the second half, but Burnley had total control.
Flemming was again denied a hat-trick, this time by Dunne's saving challenge, before Nardi kept out Brownhill's shot after R's forward Rayan Kolli had given the ball away.
Trafford was finally called into action when he gathered Harrison Ashby's shot, but that was a rare Rangers attack - and Sarmiento's 62nd-minute goal made it four shortly after he came on as a substitute.
Again there was nice link-up play involved, with Brownhill and Flemming exchanging passes before Sarmiento turned away from Morrison and then saw his shot deflected in by the Scottish defender.
And in stoppage time, Nathan Redmond found space on the right and sent in a low cross towards Sarmiento, who swept a first-time strike past Nardi.
The managers
QPR's Marti Cifuentes:
"I said before that as long as I'm wanted, I'm very happy. The way the fans have been supporting me, it makes me feel that I want to give them something back even more than the last two seasons.
"In any case I am very calm about the job I have done and the fact that we have achieved what were difficult targets.
"I'm an ambitious person in the sense that I always push myself. I always want to improve. I have a contract and I want to keep improving. I enjoy my job here, enjoy English football, and am ready for more.
"I've said that the support from the fans that I've got this season, in very difficult moments, is something that I have never seen before and will stay with me forever.
"That's why I'm very sad today. Today hurts. It doesn't define what this team has done this season and it's very sad to finish that way."
Burnley's Scott Parker:
"There was no doubt about that whatsoever. I consistently say about this group that they just keep coming.
"Obviously my job is to remind them at times, but it's got to the stage where that takes care of itself really.
"It's probably easy in these moments to maybe take your foot off a little bit, with part of it being done, but full focus on us trying to win this league now and I thought that performance showed that.
"We always had belief. There's always noise and people wanting to be critical, but I always had belief and the team always had belief. We've had rock-solid belief and knew we had quality.
"I'm always telling the lads that with determination, commitment and rock-solid belief you get to where you need to get to - and that's been proved over the course of this year."
