Burnley: the greatest defense the Championship has ever seen | OneFootball

Burnley have achieved promotion to the Premier League and their strength in one key area has been the key to unlocking this success.

Premier League promotion sealed

Burnley enjoyed the recent festivities of the Easter season with a win over Sheffield United on Monday, thus achieving promotion from the Championship. The visitors’ poor run of results has certainly been of assistance, with the Blades surprisingly losing four matches this month. Not so long ago they looked the side most likely to win the league, but must now settle for the play-offs.

However, Burnley have earned promotion through their own merit. With only two matches remaining, Scott Parker’s men have only suffered two league defeats all season. Now the title race is at its most intense, with Leeds United level on 94 points.

The contributions of players like Josh Brownhill have been of much value to Burnley. The midfielder has scored 16 league goals and registered five assists. But the greatest contributions have come from another area of the pitch.

Championship records broken

The area where Burnley have looked at their best is in defense. With a backline more secure than Area 51, the Clarets have been a task too tricky for the English second tier’s finest attackers.

Burnley already broke a Championship record this year by keeping 12 consecutive clean sheets. This started with a Boxing Day victory over Sheffield United and continued until March, when a Cardiff City goal slipped past the rock solid defense.

The side’s current total of 29 clean sheets has broken yet another record. Previously, Wigan Athletic held the most clean sheets achieved in one Championship, recording 27 in the 2017/18 season.

These achievements may well be recognised at the upcoming EFL awards. Burnley’s goalkeeper James Trafford has been shortlisted for the Championship Player of the Season award, while defender CJ Egan-Riley is up for Young Player of the Year.

Another broken record incoming

Burnley have bored spectators to death this season in the best way possible, by restoring the lost art of defending. Now, it looks like another record is going to be broken and this is the best one yet.

The Championship title chasers have only conceded 15 goals during the current campaign and are set to smash the current record of 30 held by Watford and Preston. Breaking it by such a margin is an accomplishment nothing short of remarkable.

Parker’s players may not have made it back to the Premier League in style, but winning is the only thing that matters. Also, they are the fifth highest scoring Championship team this season, so let’s cut them some slack!