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• Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return

  Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.

  The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.

  Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.

  The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.

  "The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.

  "Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."

  Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.

  Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.

  Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.

  "The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.

  "As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."

  Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.

  The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.

  After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.

  However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

• Enzo Maresca delighted as ‘fantastic’ Leicester move to brink of promotion

  Enzo Maresca praised his Leicester players for the 5-0 thrashing of Southampton that put the Foxes a win away from clinching automatic promotion.

  Ghana winger Abdul Fatawu scored three of them, with Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy also on target.

  Leicester need only to win at Preston on Monday, or at home to Blackburn on the final day, to make sure they will finish ahead of at least one of Leeds or Ipswich. Indeed, if Leeds lose at QPR on Friday Leicester will be up before they take to the field again.

  Maresca, in his first season as City manager, said: “I don’t think that was the best performance of the season but the performance was fantastic, very good on and off the ball.

  “We could have been better on the ball but we are all very happy because the opposition are a fantastic team.

  “The good thing about tonight is that now we know that with one win we get promoted.

  “It was a good feeling at the end, the fans have been fantastic.”

  Fatawu, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall played him through. The 20-year-old might have been offside but the flag stayed down. Southampton manager Russell Martin was also aggrieved that a challenge on Saints striker Che Adams by City defender Wout Faes was not given as a foul by referee Robert Madley.

  The second half belonged to Leicester though, with Ndidi charging in to head home a cross from Stephy Mavididi to double the lead.

  Fatawu struck again in the 75th minute when he accepted a pass from substitute Hamza Choudhury before smashing past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

  Fatawu set up Vardy for a well-taken fourth and completed the rout with an emphatic finish after the former England striker returned the favour.

  Maresca, however, joked: “I just said ‘next game you will be on the bench’ because with Abdul and young players especially, after three goals he is already thinking he is a top player.”

  Saints – famously beaten 9-0 by Leicester in the Premier League in 2019 – must now pick themselves up for the play-offs barring an extraordinary combination of results and scorelines.

  Martin made it clear he would not be doing that for them though, so disappointed was he with their capitulation.

  “The players need to show a bit of love for each other and pick each other up, I’m fed up of doing that,” he said.

  “They need to feel some pain – the same pain that I’m feeling right now.

  “Rolling over like that, it’s actually pathetic, losing 5-0. They have to rally round as a group and show some care for each other.

  “I did not like what I saw from my team one bit at 2-0 down. Self-preservation, our body language and people throwing their hands up in the air.

  “It surprised me actually. What can you do? I told them I didn’t like it.

  “I told them Che Adams is out of contract this summer and the one person who has the excuse if he didn’t really want to be all in and not work hard for his team, but he did that more than anyone. So it was inexcusable for anyone else not to do that.

  “The fans were amazing, they were still clapping at the end and deserved better than that.”

• Five-star Leicester close on promotion as Southampton left facing play-offs

  Leicester are a win from clinching automatic promotion after a hat-trick from Abdul Fatawu plus goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy in a 5-0 home thrashing of Southampton, whose top-two hopes were effectively ended.

  The Foxes, relegated last season, can confirm an instant Premier League return by winning at Preston on Monday or, failing that, at home to Blackburn on the final day.

  Elevation could even come quicker than that if second-placed Leeds lose at QPR on Friday.

  Leicester are now four points clear of Leeds with both sides having two games remaining. They are also five points in front of Ipswich, who have three games still to play.

  Saints remain six points behind Leeds – their final-day opponents – but only the most optimistic of fans are expecting anything other than play-off qualification, particularly with their goal difference now inferior by 19.

  Fatawu broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. Wout Faes challenged Saints striker Che Adams near the halfway line and as both men fell to the ground referee Robert Madley waved for play to continue, allowing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to send Fatawu goalwards.

  The winger might have been offside but no flag was raised and he evaded Kyle Walker-Peters to slot beyond McCarthy and celebrate with an acrobatic flip. Saints manager Russell Martin was unhappy, complaining to the fourth official that Adams had been fouled.

  Martin’s mood did not improve when Joe Rothwell had to go off five minutes before the break, with Will Smallbone replacing him.

  Saints appealed in vain for a penalty early in the second half when David Brooks went down as James Justin challenged but the visitors were already looking more dangerous.

  Fatawu was off target with a speculative effort but Leicester doubled their lead in the 62nd minute through Ndidi. Stephy Mavididi supplied the cross from the edge of the box on the left and the midfielder came charging in to head past Alex McCarthy from close range.

  Victory was confirmed in the 75th minute when man-of-the-match Fatawu conjured up the best goal of the night. The winger accepted a pass from substitute Hamza Choudhury, cut in at pace from the right and unleashed an unstoppable shot across and beyond McCarthy.

  Saints subsided and Vardy competed the rout in the 79th minute, clipping first-time past McCarthy with Fatawu this time the supplier.

  Fatawu claimed the match ball in the 81st minute when a slick passing move saw Vardy tee him up for another shot beyond McCarthy.