Leeds back in big time after smashing Stoke by six
Leeds United will return to the Premier League next season with Burnley after both sides won their respective matches in a full day of EFL Championship action to seal promotion back to the top flight.
Leeds thrashed Stoke City 6-0 thanks to a Joel Piroe masterclass, leaving the Championship leaders within touching distance of promotion early in the day.
Piroe plundered a hat-trick inside the opening 20 minutes at Elland Road, leaving the hosts in need of a Burnley victory over third-placed Sheffield United to ensure their promotion.
That result duly came in the last match of the round as Burnley triumphed 2-1 at Turf Moor to confirm their own return to the top flight while condemning the Blades to the lottery of the play-offs.
Piroe opened the scoring for Leeds in the sixth minute and then doubled up two minutes later.
He was on hand to tap in from a loose ball in the 20th minute to round off a stunning start, with Junior Firpo soon making it 4-0.
Piroe bundled home a fifth just before half-time, and Wilfried Gnonto then headed home from Manor Solomon's pinpoint cross midway through the second half.
Leeds skipper Ethan Ampadu said his side remains focused on winning the Championship title now that promotion has been guaranteed.
"Very proud. A lot of positives. The celebrations are amazing. We've worked all year for this," Ampadu said shortly after Leeds's promotion was confirmed by Burnley's 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
"Not to put a dampener on it, we've still got another target we want to achieve, so we're going to enjoy tonight, and then we're going to try and do the full thing."
Ampadu did not play down the significance of the win over Cardiff, with Leeds earning a rare Easter Monday win, having lost seven of its previous eight league games on that day heading into the contest.
"That was the biggest thing today. We didn't know what was going to happen in this game, so for us we were just so happy about our performance," Ampadu added.
"We've been building for a couple of weeks to get back to our levels and I think today showed that. We all came together and this is another little push. Another boost.
"Another two games, and we can finish off the job."
Leeds's final two games are against promotion-chasing Bristol City at Elland Road next week before taking on bottom side Plymouth Argyle on the final day of the campaign.
Burnley, meanwhile, faces Queens Park Rangers before concluding its season at Turf Moor against Millwall.
Meanwhile, Stoke's heavy defeat has left it at risk of getting dragged into the relegation picture.
It sits 17th on the table with 50 points, but there are only three points from there to the relegation places.
