2 min readApr 18, 2026 02:18 PM IST
With a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on Friday night in the Championship, Coventry City ended their 25-year absence from the Premier League.
Coached by Chelsea great Frank Lampard, Coventry needed one point to be mathematically certain and they got exactly that with Bobby Thomas’s equalizer. Blackburn had taken the lead shortly after the interval with a deflected shot by Ryoya Morishita.
The final whistle sparked wild celebrations and frenzy on the pitch with 7,000 travelling fans. Coventry top the table with 86 points from 43 games, 13 points ahead of third-placed Millwall who can no longer catch them. Ipswich Town, Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough are battling for the second automatic promotion spot.
A visibly ecstatic Lampard termed Coventry as a ‘serious’ football club. “This is a serious, serious football club. I grew up with them as a top-flight club, but I didn’t realise,” Lampard told Sky Sports. “Mark Robins had done an incredible job. To go and get promotion automatically as a non-parachute team with three games to go… These boys have managed to achieve something special and unique.”
Lampard took over Coventry City in 2024 but missed out on promotion last season due to a loss to Sunderland in the Championship play-off semi-final.
However, this term, they are in advantageous position to claim top spot in the league if they can hold off Ipswich Town, who have played two games fewer.
“Incredible moment. We weren’t at our fluid best, but the quality of the ball in and the power of the header… We had to see it out, and we didn’t know whether to attack. This is what it’s about. Coming here and getting a point at this stage isn’t easy. For doing this after 25 years… Wow. Wow,” said Frank Lampard.
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