Soccer

Return of the century for Leeds and Burnley as promoted sides join 100 club

Leeds beat Plymouth to secure the title Burnley triumphed over Millwall to hit the 100-point milestone.

Burnley, left, and Leeds each finished on 100 points
Burnley, left, and Leeds each finished on 100 points
By Tom White, PA Sport Data Journalist

Leeds and Burnley became the first teams to reach 100 points in the same English division after each winning their final game of the Sky Bet Championship season.

Leeds beat Plymouth to secure the title while Burnley’s win over Millwall made them the first team in English football history to hit a century without winning their league.

They joined League One champions Birmingham in the century club and here, the PA news agency looks at how they compare.

Triple triumph

– Before this season, only 16 teams had ever reached 100 points in an English league season.

– Birmingham became the 17th and have gone on to set an all-time record, reaching 108 with Wednesday’s win over Blackpool to pass Reading’s previous mark of 106 and then 111 with Saturday’s final-day victory at Cambridge.

– Leeds and Burnley both finished on exactly 100 in the Championship, with Leeds top on goal difference.

– Daniel Farke’s side won 29 games, drew 13 and lost four, scoring 95 goals with Joel Piroe’s 19 making him the Championship’s top scorer.

– Burnley’s success was built at the other end of the pitch, conceding only 16 goals and never more than one in a league game. Scott Parker’s side lost only twice, with 28 wins and 16 draws – 12 of them 0-0 and the remainder 1-1.

Century club

– Reading’s previous record came in the 2005-06 Championship as they won 31 games and lost only two to secure promotion to the Premier League, scoring 99 goals in the process.

– York were the first English league team ever to achieve a century with 101 points in the fourth tier in 1983-84, the third season under the system of three points for a win.

– Swindon followed two years later and it was not until 1998-99 that a team hit three figures in a higher division – Sunderland finishing on 105 in the second tier and Fulham 101 in the third.

– Manchester City in 2017-18 are the only team ever to reach 100 points in the top flight.

– For Burnley, it is a second century in three seasons after Vincent Kompany’s 2022-23 champions racked up 101 points. Fulham and Plymouth are the only other teams with two 100-point seasons.

– This is the first season ever with three EFL teams reaching 100 points, as well as the first time two in the same division have achieved the feat.

– Before Burnley, the highest-scoring runners-up were Ipswich with 98 points in League one in 2022-23, when Plymouth finished top on 101. Liverpool set the Premier League record with 97 in 2018-19, finishing a point behind Manchester City.

– Leeds are the 16th different club to record a 100-point season, a list completed by Wigan, Newcastle, Charlton, Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield United.