Manuel Benson's goal midway through the second half was enough for Burnley to win the game and clinch the title.
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Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was over the moon after securing the Championship title in dramatic fashion over rivals Blackburn. The contest between these two clubs is known as the East Lancashire derby. This might not be a popular rivalry across the globe but in that region, it is a big deal. Both sides do not want to lose that game in any situation. Hence, to win a match of this magnitude and seal the Championship title along with it must feel extra special for Burnley and their supporters.
Manuel Benson’s goal midway through the second half was enough for Burnley to win the game and clinch the title. Manager Vincent Kompany was understandably ecstatic to win the coveted trophy in such fashion. “I’m really happy. I’m so proud of the guys,” he told sky sports. “For anyone who doesn’t know what happens in this part of the world, this is a massive game, so there couldn’t be a better, bigger game for us to win the league. It will be talked about for generations.
“I thought it was a template for us for things to come. This season, everybody’s made so much of the football we’ve played, but today we’ve shown how we can grind it out. We defended so well. The backline were so brave and they took out dangers so well. It’s a side of the game we love as well. We don’t have a problem with hunting, pressing. On the ball, it was difficult – they did well. But, for us, it wasn’t anything different than we’re used to, we just adapted and did really well.”
Burnley had secured their promotion to Premier League a while ago. They were expected to seal the Championship title soon after. However, a few indifferent results have seen the inevitable getting delayed. When asked why it has taken this long to wrap up the title, Kompany said, “I’m not going to call it stage-fright, but in the second half against QPR we froze, we stopped doing what we were doing because we were chasing the trophy.”
“Today we didn’t do it. We stayed calm, we accepted that sometimes the momentum wasn’t going to go our way, but all the little bits in between – what has made us so consistent this season – we did well. There’s not a team in this league so far this season that has managed to keep us out of a game for 90 minutes and when we had our moment, we were lethal.”
Burnley currently have 95 points from 44 games in the Championship table. If they win their final two matches, they could cross the 100-point mark – something not many have achieved. Speaking about it, he said, “We just want to keep winning, so any games will still have the same preparations and the same goal, but today they deserve to celebrate it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. You can’t get much better. You’ve got the win the games you play and that’s what we’ve done, but we know next season is going to be a tough, tough challenge.”
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