Fulham smash seven past Luton to win Championship title in style
Sports
Fulham sealed the second-tier Championship title with a 7-0 win over Luton Town on Monday.
LONDON (Reuters) - Fulham were in seventh heaven as they sealed the second-tier Championship title with a 7-0 win over Luton Town on Monday (May 2), giving them an unassailable lead at the top of the standings with a game to spare.
Fulham had already sealed promotion to the top flight Premier League last month after they were guaranteed a top-two finish.
The full-time whistle was followed by a pitch invasion at Craven Cottage as selfie-hunting fans mobbed the players before they were ushered off for the trophy presentation.
The London club also became the first team in two decades to score more than a 100 goals (106) in a single season in the second tier as six different players found the back of the net against Luton.
Fulham were led by a brace from Serbian striker and top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has now scored 43 goals in 43 games this season - a record for the division since the Premier League was founded in 1992.
"To do it at home in front of your fans, to be champions of the league - no matter whatever league, whatever standard - that lives forever," said Tom Cairney, who scored the opener which was also Fulham s 100th goal of the season.
"We create a hell of a lot of chances... It also tells you about a person (Mitrovic) who is a special talent - 43 Championship goals is astounding. He deserves all the plaudits, he s a top, top striker."
Fulham will finish their season with a trip to fifth-placed Sheffield United on Saturday. The result leaves Luton in sixth and final playoff spot, level with United on 72 points and two points above Middlesbrough.
Second-placed Bournemouth (82 points from 44 games), third-placed Nottingham Forest (79 points from 44 games) and fourth-placed Huddersfield Town (79 points from 45 games) are vying for the second automatic promotion spot.
Promotion is worth up to US$240 million, according to last year s Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance. Teams that finish third to sixth go into the playoffs to fight for the final promotion spot.
