Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Leeds United: FLW report as Whites win EFL Championship | OneFootball

FLW reports from the final day of the regular Championship season as Plymouth Argyle host Leeds United.

Leeds United won the Championship title on the final day of the 2024-25 season after coming from behind to beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 at Home Park.

After a bright start, Plymouth took the lead via a Sam Byram own goal. Some lovely play down the left flank from Mustapha Bundu saw him fire a shot across goal which clattered the post and was turned in by the Leeds defender.

The pendulum swung back in favour of the away side early in the second half. Wilfred Gnonto tapped home a low-driven cross to rejuvenate his side's title hopes.

Manor Solomon then slid home in second-half stoppage time to secure Leeds the Championship title in the most dramatic of fashion.

The contest got underway with an electric reception for both sides, as Home Park never fails to deliver a cracking atmosphere, even with relegation looming for the home side.

A nervy moment in the opening five minutes for the league leaders. Karl Darlow and Jayden Bogle with a mix-up which saw the keeper come to claim the ball from a deflected cross. The right-back got in his way and left the keeper in no man's land, but fortunately Muhamed Tijani couldn't capitalise.

Leeds pushed on after the early scare, as Joe Rodon's header from a soft free-kick was well saved by Conor Hazard. Then, Brendan Aaronson scuffed a poor shot well over the bar from inside the box.

'Champions again ole ole' was the chant from the travelling fans early on as Millwall took the lead at Turf Moor, which would've certainly calmed the nerves of the away end.

The lively Bundu gave United yet another scare as he excellently weaved his way past a stranded Bogle. However, his shot didn't match the excellent work that created the chance.

It didn't matter for long though, as Argyle took the lead just minutes later. A great bit of play from Bundu with a driving run forward, who once again weaved his way into the box. This time, the Sierra Leonean smashed a shot off the post, which was unfortunately turned into the Leeds net by Byram.

To add insult to injury for the Yorkshire club, Burnley had levelled against Millwall, meaning that the title would be heading to Turf Moor if the scores stayed the same.

The Whites had chances to level the game, but were struggling to even test Hazard in the Plymouth net. Only Aaronson forced the Northern Irishman into a smart save to deny his curling effort.

Half-time rolled around, and it was advantage Argyle in the fixture, but more importantly advantage Burnley in the title race. Leeds trailed 1-0 whilst the Clarets were drawing 1-1, meaning Scott Parker's side would lift the title if results remained as they were.

Second Half

Daniel Farke's men knew they had to come out firing on all cylinders in the second-half, and they looked slightly rejuvenated in possession when play resumed. The final ball just wasn't there for them.

Whatever the German said to his side at half-time worked, as Gnonto fired Leeds level in the 52nd-minute. Solomon's low ball across the face of goal wasn't dealt with, and the Italian tapped home from a few yards out.

Ao Tanaka had his name in the headlines as he received the ball in a wonderful position inside the Plymouth box. However, a rather comical slip stopped him finding the target.

A free header from Byram from a corner then followed for Leeds, which was directed into the path of the Japanese midfielder. But once again, Tanaka failed to convert the chance.

In the meantime, Jaiden Anthony had given Burnley the lead against Millwall, meaning that Leeds had to find another goal in the last 25 minutes, or the trophy would be heading to Lancashire.

They thought they'd done so when Joel Piroe tapped home Gnonto's cross with just over 15 minutes to go, only for the linesman to raise his flag against the scorer of United's first.

Farke had to make a late roll of the dice by bringing on an extra attacker in Patrick Bamford, along with Largie Ramazani, who scored a brace on Monday. Tanaka and Aaronson were withdrawn, who'd both been far below the standard they'd set themselves.

Ryan Hardie almost had a chance to give Leeds a mountain to climb. A lovely interchange from Miron Muslic's side saw Michael Baidoo feed the Scot, but his shot was high and wide from an awkward angle.

Then in stoppage time, the unthinkable happened. Solomon broke free in the box, slotted past Grimshaw and sent the away end into total and utter bedlam. Flairs, flags, limbs, it had it all.

Chaos ensued in the away end as Jeremy Simpson blew the whistle for full-time. Leeds supporters rejoyced as their side were crowned Championship winners.

Plymouth Argyle player ratings

C. Hazard - 6

J. Edwards - 6 (M. Sorinola 78'(6))

K. Szucs - 6 (N. Katic 78'(6))

M. Talovierov - 7

V. Palsson - 6

B. Mumba - 6

A. Randell - 6

C. Roberts - 5 (M. Boateng 67'(6))

M. Bundu - 8 (M. Baidoo 81'(6))

R. Hardie - 6

M. Tijani - 7 (C. Wright 67'(6))

Unused subs: D. Grimshaw, N. Ogbeta, J. Houghton, F. Issaka

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Leeds United player ratings

K. Darlow - 6

J. Bogle - 6 (M. Joseph 90+1'(6))

E. Ampadu - 6

J. Rodon - 6

S. Byram - 5 (M. Wober 69'(6))

A. Tanaka - 4 (P. Bamford 78'(6))

I. Gruev - 6

B. Aaronson - 5 (L. Ramazani 78'(6))

M. Solomon - 9

J. Piroe - 7

W. Gnonto - 7

Unused subs: I. Meslier, J. Rothwell, J. Guilavogui, I. Schmidt, H. Gray

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Final EFL Championship table

This is how the EFL Championship table looked for both sides as the curtain came down on the 2024/25 season. Next season, the teams that faced off today at Home Park will be two divisions apart, as Leeds won promotion to the Premier League, and Plymouth were relegated to League One.

After Solomon's dramatic late winner, the Whites clinched the title in the most nerve-wracking of circumstances. It wasn't the finest performance from Farke's side, but all that mattered was that they got the job done.

Argyle fans knew before today that whilst they weren't mathematically down, they had to overturn a huge swing of goals against the champions elect.

Sadly, it was confirmed that the Devon-based outfit will be playing League One football next season as they left it too little too late to find form.

Match attendance

It was a packed-out Home Park for the Championship finale, with 16,758 fans present, including 1,682 from Leeds.

Miron Muslic reacts as Plymouth Argyle are relegated to League One

Speaking to PlymouthLive, a dejected Muslic said: "We are relegated now for seven, eight days. Believe me, I'm empty. I don't have the power right now to think about the potential future because that takes a lot of focus, a lot of concentration, a lot of energy.

"I don't have this energy right now. I need to go back to my family to see them, to recharge, to breathe and then again we have enough time to think about the future.

"I will catch the train now, 6.30, towards London. I have my flight tomorrow at eight o'clock in the morning.

"I'm here for four months and in this four months I saw my family for five days. That's my priority right now, and for the rest, we have all the time in the world."

Daniel Farke reacts as Leeds United win the Championship

Speaking to LeedsLive after the match, an emotional Farke said: "It feels pretty good. I want to send my congrats to Burnley and Scott - unbelievable 100 points. Delighted, we can say we are champions. A really proud day and emotional day.

"For many of my lads they've won any title. Very happy for them and everyone connected with Leeds.

"We had a difficult first half, didn't have a good enough first half. Was like we celebrated a bit too much in recent weeks. We played today against a side who have won three of last four.

"It wouldnt have signed for another Championship club other than Leeds United. I know how much potential there is. We always have this badge that we never do it hen it's tight. I want to get rid of this at Leeds United.

"So we can sing Leeds are falling apart jokingly. Whenever the wind was in our face, we were the best this season. We showed great mentality. We wanted to turn the doubters in believers and I'm happy we did that."