Aston Villa edged out Derby County in a thrilling playoff final, as goals from Anwar El Ghazi and John McGinn were enough to book their return to the Premier League, despite a late Jack Marriott-inspired revival.
As expected in a game with almost £200m and a place in the Premier League at stake, neither side was prepared to throw caution to the wind early on. Derby seemed prepared to relinquish possession and hit Villa on the break, relying on the pace of Tom Lawrence and Harry Wilson down the flanks, while Dean Smith's men saw a lot of the ball, but struggled to find Tammy Abraham with enough frequency to carry a consistent threat.