Leeds United eased into the Championship playoff final after defeating Norwich City 4-0 in the semi-finals.

Leeds United went one step closer to returning to the Premier League after defeating Norwich City 4-0 on aggregate following a 4-0 victory at Elland Road in the second leg of their Championship playoff semi-final.

Following a goalless first leg at Carrow Road, Leeds, who were relegated to the Championship in 2023, took the lead in the seventh minute when Ilia Gruev scored his first goal for the club with a brilliant free kick.

On 20 minutes, Joel Piroe headed in Wilfried Gnonto’s cross, doubling the hosts’ lead.

Georginio Rutter added a third before halftime, and Crysencio Summerville capped the scoring with a close-range shot on 68 minutes.

They will now play the winner of Friday’s match between Southampton and West Bromwich Albion in the playoff final on Sunday, May 26 at Wembley Stadium.

Leicester City and Ipswich Town secured automatic promotion to the Premier League in 2024/25 by finishing first and second in the Championship, respectively.

Leeds defeated Norwich with brutality

It was a long road back for Norwich, who were forced to replace Sargent at halftime due to injury, and despite Gunn’s shaky first half, the Canaries could have been further behind if not for the Scotsman’s early second-half performance.

Less than a minute after the restart, Gunn produced a great stop to deny Piroe’s thunderous effort from roughly 10 yards out, before extending his limbs to keep out the Dutchman again from close range.

However, Gunn may have done better with Leeds’ fourth goal, which came in the 67th minute. He could only parry Gnonto’s shot right into the path of Junior Firpo on the left, who then rolled an easy ball into a central position for Summerville to score his 20th league goal of the season.

Norwich provided little moving forward in the final stages; throughout the game, they were sliced open every time Leeds charged forward, and they were eventually blown away by the superior team.

Leeds have just over a week to prepare for their journey to Wembley Stadium, where they will face the winner of Friday’s second semi-final between Southampton and West Brom, who drew 0-0 in the first leg.