Watford joined Norwich to get promoted back into England’s Premier League after being relegated last season to the second tier of English football – The EFL Championship.

The Hornets beat Milwall 1-0 thanks to an Ismailia Sarr winner that sees 2 of last season’s relegated teams securing their spots back up immediately with England’s top clubs.

AFC Bournemouth, last season’s third team to get relegated from the Premier League, are also very much in the hunt for promotion as they currently sit in 4th place and will likely feature in the playoffs.

Ismaila Sarr’s early penalty gave Watford the perfect start to the game but that led to them having to endure a nervy last few minutes as they tried to hold onto the 1-goal advantage. They got the job done and are now back amongst the league’s top boys.

 

 

Xisco Munoz’s men have avoided the trouble of the playoffs by securing automatic qualification alongside Championship leaders (and should be winners) – Norwich City FC.

The Canaries secured automatic qualification a couple of weeks back and have been the best team in the second division, by far.

Brentford beat Bournemouth to move into 3rd place, which also meant that Watford needed just 1 win to secure automatic qualification and Munoz’s men did just that.

Prior to Munoz’s appointment on 20th December 2020, automatic promotion for the Hornets looked unlikely but he has turned the club’s fortunes around after taking over from Vladimir Ivic. Watford has won 17 of their 24 games under the Spanish man, which has helped them sit 10 points clear of 3rd place in the Championship.

Ismailia Sarr

Ismailia Sarr was linked with a move to Manchester United last season. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Ismaila Sarr’s scored his 13th goal of the season just 11 minutes in from the penalty spot after the Senegal winger was brought down in the box by Billy Mitchell.

“Everyone has helped me. I have a big group behind me and it was an excellent run into the season”, said Watford manager, Munoz.

“It is an amazing moment, and it is the moment to say thank you to everyone who has helped me and the players.

“It was a very good performance and we are at a very good level.

“I will always say I have been very lucky with the players from the first day.

“Everyone worked with the same idea and passion, and it is very nice when you have a group where everyone has the same direction. Everyone at the training ground believed.

“Right now it is important to enjoy the situation and after we will prepare for next season.”

Milwall boss Gary Rowett was extremely disappointed with the result but please with the team’s performance saying, “We gave a silly penalty away. Billy has got to learn not to be so rash, but he is a terrific young player with a bright future.

“For about 15 minutes after that it looked as though we felt a bit sorry for ourselves, but we worked hard to try to get back into the game.

“After the first 20 minutes I thought we were excellent and we were probably the better side from thereon.

“Just that little bit of quality was missing. I don’t think we could have done much more than we did.

“Good luck to Watford – they have got Premier League quality players and deserve to go up.”