Sunderland promoted to Premier League with DRAMATIC late win

Substitute Tom Watson fired Sunderland in to the Premier League with a dramatic winner in the FIFTH MINUTE of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 turnaround win against Sheffield United in Saturday's Championship playoff final at Wembley. 

Watson, who is set to join Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, picked up Kieffer Moore's loose ball before placing his shot perfectly beyond Michael Cooper's reach.

Tyrese Campbell had fired Sheff Utd ahead in the first half and the Blades looked to be en route to ending their playoff hoodoo of losing all four of their previous finals as the match entered the final quarter.

But Eliezer Mayenda levelled on 76 minutes before Watson - whose name was not even in the matchday programme - turned the game on its head to book Sunderland's place in the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

Sunderland, who secured their passage to Wembley with a stoppage-time goal against Coventry City, became the first team since Leicester City in 1995/96 to trail at half-time in the second-tier playoff final and go on to win.

How the match unfolded

Both Sheff Utd and Sunderland made two changes to their  starting XIs that got them through their semi-finals against Bristol City and Coventry, respectively. 

The Blades brought in attacking duo Campbell and Rhian Brewster, while Sunderland named Romaine Mundle and 17-year-old Chris Rigg, the latter being the youngest player to feature in a playoff final.

Saturday's Wembley showpiece started at 15:01 BST to highlight the British Heart Foundation's Every Minute Matters campaign, which aims to inspire people to learn life-saving CPR skills in the event someone has a cardiac arrest.

Once under way, Sheff Utd, who finished 14 points ahead of Sunderland in the regular Championship season, were denied an opener after 17 seconds when goalkeeper Anthony Patterson brilliantly clawed Moore's downward header off his line.

Sunderland's Luke O'Nien suffered a dislocated shoulder trying to get his head to the ball in that attack, forcing them into a change following a lengthy stoppage.

The Black Cats fell behind from their own corner on 25 minutes. Gus Hamer sprinted clear from deep in his own half and played a sublime ball with the outside of his boot into the path of Campbell, who coolly chipped a finish over Patterson.

Sheff Utd thought they had doubled their lead when Harrison Burrows bobbled a 20-yard volley through a sea of players, only for the goal to be ruled-out after a VAR intervention for offside.

Sunderland started the second half in determined fashion, but Sheff Utd's defence stood firm, with former Leicester City defender Hamza Choudhury - a playoff winner with the Foxes last season - outstanding at the back.

Chris Wilder's side soaked up the pressure and could have added a second goal with another swift counter-attack, but Brewster's shot was blocked before Patterson came to the rescue again, making a fine save with his feet to deny Andre Brooks.

Sunderland equalised with 14 minutes left when Mayenda's thumping finish into the roof of the net from substitute Patrick Roberts' brilliant defence-splitting pass set up a grandstand finish.

With both teams pressing for the winner, Black Cats' substitute Watson intercepted Moore's pass in the fifth minute of stoppage time and picked his spot perfectly to settle this match in the most dramatic way.

What the managers said

Regis Le Bris (Sunderland): "It was a weird game, we didn't start well I think, maybe a bit nervous. We knew before that they could be clinical and they were.

"After that I think this game represents the way that we play this season - with resilience, with discipline to get back into the game and we have talented players so we can score.

"We needed to change something in the game so we were lucky because we have many options on the bench and we tried different options in the second half and finally we found the solution, the players found the solution because it's always like that."

Chris Wilder (Sheff Utd): "It's going to take quite a while to get over, for the players, the staff and most importantly the supporters.

"Congratulations to Sunderland, the manager and the players for the achievements this season and going into the Premier League. Everyone talks about stats, I think we had the biggest chances but stats doesn't win you the game. They found their moments and we haven't found our moments. They find themselves in the Premier League and we've got to go again."

Key facts

Prior to Saturday, Sheff Utd's last win at the national stadium was an FA Cup triumph in 1925, while Sunderland had won there just twice since their FA Cup win in 1973.

For the third successive Championship season, Sunderland have had the youngest average starting XI in the competition - this time it was 23 years, 316 days old.

Sunderland spent the most days inside the top six places of the Championship table this season (266), while 100 of those were spent in the top two automatic promotion spots – 12 more than Burnley (88), who eventually finished second. 

When will Sunderland become an official Premier League team?

Sunderland along with Leeds and Burnley, will be formally confirmed as Premier League teams at the Premier League's Annual General Meeting (AGM) this summer, when they are both issued with a share certificate.

Their supporters will find out who they will face first in the 2025/26 season, due to start on 16 August, when the fixtures are released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday 18 June. 

Source: premierleague.com