To keep their hopes of securing a direct Premier League spot alive, Sheffield United had to win against Burnley. However, Hamza Chowdhury’s team lost 2-1 to Burnley in today’s English Championship match, ending their chance to achieve that goal. With this victory, Burnley, alongside Leeds United, has secured its place in the Premier League for the upcoming season.
Hamza’s side still has a chance to move up, but they’ll need to win two matches in the knockout playoffs. The opponents for these games have yet to be decided.
After 44 matches in the 46-match league season, Sheffield’s points now stand at 86. Had it not been for a 2-point deduction, they would still have had a mathematical chance of securing direct Premier League promotion. Burnley, who defeated Sheffield today, has 94 points from the same number of matches, as does Leeds. Leeds is at the top due to a better goal difference, with Burnley in second.
Sheffield has been struggling, losing four of their last five matches, and today, Hamza played from the start. Sheffield fell behind in the 28th minute when Josh Brownhill scored for Burnley. The goal came after Josh Cullen’s shot was saved by Sheffield’s goalkeeper Michael Cooper, and Brownhill capitalized on the rebound.
Nine minutes later, Tom Cannon scored a powerful shot to bring Sheffield back into the game. However, in the 44th minute, Brownhill converted a penalty to give Burnley the lead once more. The penalty was awarded after Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri was fouled by Anel Ahmedhodzic in the box.
Hamza’s next match in the league is against Stoke City on April 26th.
