Match of the week: Leeds United vs Southampton FC - The white wall of Wembley

Wembley is calling – and what a setting! 36,000 fans of Leeds United formed a white wall among the 85,962 spectators in the English football temple – the FA did not allow more for this game. It was all set on this May 26, 2024, for the playoff final Leeds United against FC Southampton, for the game to return directly to the Premier League. The last question that remained: Who booked the last ticket for the 2024/2025 Premier League season?

A Wembley Sunday like a painting. Bright sunshine, along with the shining white of the Leeds United supporters. Their anthem “Marchin' on together” resounded. And on the other side, you could repeatedly hear, sometimes softly, sometimes loudly, “Oh when the Saints go marchin' in”, the song of the "Saints" from FC Southampton.

First as a fan, then as a pro to Wembley

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I live for!” said DAZN commentator Ulli Hebel. And what can you say? He’s right! Wembley is a singular football experience. I have been fortunate to experience it myself as a football journalist. With two of the biggest teams in English football, with FC Chelsea and Manchester United, with Frank "Lamps" Lampard, John Terry, Michael Ballack, Wayne Rooney ("Over the Moon, we've got the Roon") and with a joke-telling winning coach Carlo Ancelotti. That was in 2009.

Wembley is something very special for players, fans, and journalists. It was probably an especially unique day for him: Will Smallbone. The FC Southampton pro was in the stands at Wembley as a fan in 2010, at the age of 10, when the team from the south coast won the EFL Trophy against Carlisle United (4:1).

Leeds had a longer journey to London with 320 kilometers compared to the "Saints," who had to cover about 100 kilometers to the British capital.

The "Saints" end went up in the 24th minute – 1:0 for Southampton through the 24th goal of the season by Adam Armstrong. The 15 million euro striker from Blackburn Rovers had also scored twice in the semi-final against West Bromwich Albion (3:1).

“Clinical finish”

“A good finish by Armstrong,” said ex-Leeds pro Jon Newsome on BBC Radio Leeds, “and suddenly the game is completely changed.”

Don Goodman, former player of Wolverhampton Wanderers, praised the Championship's top player with 37 goal involvements on Sky Sports UK: “A clinical finish from a man at the peak of his career.”

Leeds United had already lost three playoff games at Wembley – in 1987, 2006, and 2008.

Dan James (84') hit only the crossbar for Leeds – and in the final phase, you only had to look at the faces of the club officials sitting in the royal box. Pure tension.

This playoff final is about more than 160 million euros, with nearly 200 million euros in additional revenue guaranteed if they avoid relegation from the Premier League. Who wouldn't be nervous?

Nine minutes of added time were displayed, four minutes before the end the Southampton supporters once again sang “Oh, when the Saints”... and then it was over!

“That's football...”

1:0 (1:0) – FC Southampton returns to the Premier League after a year of absence – and completes the field of promoted teams with Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

The team of coach Russell Martin was the only Championship team in the mammoth league of English football (46 matchdays) to win three times against "The Whites" from Leeds and earned this success through defensive stability and nerve strength.

“Congratulations to Southampton,” said the German coach of Leeds United, Daniel Farke, afterwards on Sky Sports UK, “but that's football. We had more possession, more shots, more expected goals, but Southampton was a bit more effective in defense than us.”