Maatsen seals Premier League promotion with Burnley
09 APR 2023
Ian Maatsen helped Burnley secure their promotion back to the Premier League with seven games to spare as their incredible Championship campaign continues.
Burnley have been the league leaders in the Championship for much of this season, with on-loan Ian Maatsen a key part of their side throughout, featuring from the start again as they secured their promotion to the Premier League with a 2-1 victory away at Middlesbrough.
The attacking full-back has been a near ever-present in Vincent Kompany’s new-look Clarets team, who have now gone without defeat in the Championship since the start of November and with their latest victory pulled out an insurmountable 19-point lead over third-placed Luton Town, having played a game less, ensuring they will finish in at least second place and return to the top flight at the first attempt, following last season’s relegation.
They had to work hard to seal their top-two finish on Friday, though, against a Middlesbrough side going into the game third in the table with promotion ambitions of their own, in the first of a double-header of fixtures in the Football League over the four-day Easter holiday weekend.
All seemed to be going to plan when Ashley Barnes nudged Burnley into an early lead but Maatsen was powerless to prevent Middlesbrough equalising from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time. However, from the moment Connor Roberts sent Nathan Tella’s cross into the back of the net and restored their lead, the result and the Clarets’ promotion seemed inevitable as they saw out the win in comfort to get the celebrations under way.
Maatsen, Kompany and Co aren’t finished for the season yet, though, as they shift their focus to the 11 points needed from their last seven games to guarantee they go up as champions, while an additional two would make them the first side to amass 100 points in the English second division since Leicester City in 2013/14.
Burnley have already written their names into the history books, as with seven games remaining it is the earliest that any team has secured promotion since the Championship was created in its current form in 2004.
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Loan highlight: First league goal as duo help Dons fight
10 APR 2023
With a full programme of fixtures in the EFL on Easter Monday, Chelsea loan players were called into action and two who are currently team-mates are selected as our highlight from the bank holiday football.
Goalkeeper Jamie Cumming and right wing-back Henry Lawrence helped MK Dons come from behind at Derby to take a point which keeps them above the League One relegation places, and while Cumming produced a series of saves, it was Lawrence who scored in the 1-1 draw and registered the first senior league goal of his career.
The 21-year-old came into the side due to injury and made the 21st start of his loan spell there, while Cumming is the first-choice goalkeeper and after he saw Derby hit the woodwork very early on, he kept the home side out with a one-on-one save.
The play-off-chasing Rams did take the lead through former Ireland international David McGoldrick but Cumming saved superbly and then followed it up with another stop to keep the scoreline down to 1-0 by half-time.
The home team continued to dominate and had a penalty shout turned down but MK Dons levelled midway through the second half. Lawrence struck a first-time shot from 10 yards out firmly into the net.
Cumming was called upon to make one further save as the Milton Keynes side, which also contained former Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran, held on for a result that moves them four points clear of the bottom four although with one more game played than the sides immediately below them. They are unbeaten in six.
Lawrence, who has also been on loan at AFC Wimbledon, has one earlier goal to his name, at Walsall in the EFL Trophy back in October.
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