Fulham booked their place in next season’s Premier League after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday.
The Cottagers were the better side in a feisty first-half, and they took the lead on 23 minutes.
Tom Cairney was the scorer, calmly slotting past Villa goalkeeper Sam Johnstone after a superb through-ball from Ryan Sessegnon.
Fulham were then rather lucky not to have Ryan Fredericks dismissed after the full-back planted his studs on Jack Grealish’s leg.
Grealish was Villa’s brightest spark throughout the encounter, with the playmaker on the end of a number of meaty challenges.
In the second-half, Grealish was himself lucky not to see red after a wild lunging challenge on Cairney.
Grealish with quite a stupid challenge, could have been a red #AVFC #FFC #FFCvAVFC #PlayOffFinal pic.twitter.com/OCdGAzJCfl
— Jonah Takalua (@Destaquito2) May 26, 2018
Steve Bruce’s side were much improved in the second period, with Grealish heading over from close-range.
On 70 minutes, centre-half Denis Odoi received a second yellow after a reckless foul on Grealish, as Fulham looked to protect their slender lead.
However, the Villans couldn’t get that vital equaliser, with Slavisa Jokanovic’s charges holding on to secure their place in next season’s top-flight.
The win , worth a reported £160m, sees Fulham rewarded for their attractive style of play with Jokanovic enjoying his second promotion to the Premier League, after he guided Watford to the top-tier in 2015.
As for Villa boss Bruce, question marks remain over whether or net he’ll be with the club come next season, despite a decent showing this season.
John Terry’s future with the Villans is also yet to be decided, although unfortunately we won’t see him dodge those two Chelsea games as reported, at least not next season.