2 min readApr 18, 2026 02:18 PM ISTThe final whistle sparked wild celebrations and frenzy on the pitch with 7,000 travelling Coventry fans. (Reuters Photo)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. © IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Premier leagueAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...Live BlogUS Iran War News Live Updates: Tehran reimposes restrictions on Hormuz, accusing US of violating deal3 minutes agoIPL 2026 RCB vs DC Live Score, Playing 11 Updates: Royal Challengers Bengaluru chase repeat this season6 minutes agoBhoot Bangla Box Office Collection Day 1 LIVE Updates: Akshay Kumar-starrer earns Rs 23.9 cr, makes twice of Sky Force10 minutes agoDhurandhar 2 Worldwide Box Office Collection Day 30 Live Updates: Ranveer Singh-starrer drops to Rs 2.7 cr on 5th Friday, earns Rs 1,741.73 cr worldwide47 minutes agoAssembly Elections 2026 Live Updates: Fadnavis targets Mamata over migration, denies attacks on Bengali migrants2 hours ago