Watford have secured promotion to the Premier League after a 1-0 win over Millwall on Saturday.
Watford were relegated to the Championship last season but have secured an immediate return, with Ismaila Sarr’s penalty kick enough to see off Millwall at Vicarage Road.
Xisco Munoz’s side have been in superb form in 2021, winning 16 of their 23 Championship matches this calendar year.
Bournemouth’s home defeat to Brentford on Saturday meant that Watford needed only a draw against Millwall to secure promotion to the Premier League.
They did better than that, with Sarr’s goal from the penalty spot — his thirteenth in the Championship this season — enough to earn Watford their ninth win in eleven games and a return to the top flight.
Vladimir Ivic was appointed in the summer to instil discipline and organisation but the football brought little job, despite Watford grinding out results. He was sacked after just four months in the role, having won nine of 20 Championship games, with Watford fifth in the table.
Enter Xisco. The Spaniard did not bring much managerial experience when he arrived from Dinamo Tbilisi, but he did bring energy and motivation. Watford won four of his first five matches in charge and have been in fine form ever since a goalless draw with Coventry in February marked three league games without a win.
Watford hammered Bristol City 6-0 at Vicarage Road in their very next match and haven’t looked back since.
Sarr, a target for numerous Premier League clubs last summer, has been superb — while Tom Cleverley has led by example with veteran captain Troy Deeney missing for long periods.