2017 EFL Championship play-off Final

2017 EFL Championship play-off Final

The 2017 EFL Championship play-off Final was played on 29 May 2017 at Wembley Stadium, London. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from the second tier of English football to the Premier League. Huddersfield Town won the final 4–3 on penalties, and their midfielder Aaron Mooy was selected as the man of the match. The winning team was estimated to be worth £170 million through sponsorship and television deals to the successful team.

About 2017 EFL Championship play-off Final in brief

Summary 2017 EFL Championship play-off FinalThe 2017 EFL Championship play-off Final was played on 29 May 2017 at Wembley Stadium, London. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from the second tier of English football to the Premier League. Huddersfield Town won the final 4–3 on penalties, and their midfielder Aaron Mooy was selected as the man of the match. Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham were the losing semi-finalists. Reading finished the regular 2016–17 season in third place in the EFL Championship, two places ahead of Hudderfield Town. The game ended goalless in regular time and the deadlock was not broken by the end of extra time. A penalty shootout was required to determine the winner for the third time in the history of the second-tier play-offs. Reading’s last appearance in the final had been in 2011 when they lost 4–2 to Swansea City. The winning team was estimated to be worth £170 million through sponsorship and television deals to the successful team. The following season, Reading finished 20th in the Championship, three points above the relegation zone, and were promoted to the Premier League for the first time since 1972. The final place for the 2017–18 Premier League season was decided by the winners of the semi-finals between Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham.

The winners of these ties competed for the final place  for the 2017-18 season in the Premier League, with Fulham winning the tie 2–1 on aggregate. The winner of the final was determined by the teams placed from third to sixth in the table; Reading finished third place while Huddleersfield ended the season in fifth position. The top two teams of the 2016-17 Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teamsplaced from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-up semi finals;  Fulham won the tie 1–0 away at Craven Cottage. The second leg finished 1–1 after extra time, as Wednesday scored first through Steven Fletcher only for Tom Lees to score an own goal to equalise for Huddesfield Town in the second leg. The first leg was played at the Madejski Stadium, with a penalty scored by Yann Kermorgant after Fulham’s Tomáš Kalas had handled the ball. With ten minutes of the game remaining, Reading’s defender Paul McShane was shown a straight red for a foul on Kevin McDonald. The match ended 1-1, with goals from Jordan Obita for Reading and Tom Cairney for Fulham’s Tom Cairney. The result gave Reading a 2-1 aggregate victory and qualification for theplay-off final.