Villa win ‘richest game’ in football to seal Premier League return

AFP - An Aston Villa side managed by one lifelong fan in Dean Smith and captained by another in Jack Grealish ended their three-year exile from the Premier League on Monday with a 2-1 win over Derby County in the Championship playoff final at Wembley.

A year after losing to Fulham in the same fixture, Villa were celebrating a return to English football’s lucrative top-flight that will be worth at least 170 million ($216 million) and as much as 200 million ($253 million) to the Birmingham club.

Anwar El Ghazi put Villa ahead with a header on the stroke of halftime before John Mcginn capitalised on a goalkeeping error to score Villa’s second just shy of the hour mark.

Derby substitute Jack Marriott ensured a nervous finish for Villa with a goal nine minutes from time but it could not prevent County losing in the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.

For Smith, whose father is suffering from dementia, this was a poignant victory.

“I went to see my old man on Friday and I managed to get his eyes open for two minutes and I said to him ‘next time you see me I’m going to be a Premier League manager’,” Smith told Sky Sports.“he smiled and nodded, for me that’s enough.” Meanwhile an elated Grealish said: “I’m speechless. It was such a hard game, but when I look around and I’ve got John, Anwar, I believe. It means the world to go up, we know where this club belongs.“i’ve stayed here and we’re back there now. I’ve led my boyhood team to the Premier League.”