Aston Villa returned to the English Premier League for the first time since suffering relegation in 2016 after beating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship promotion play-off final.
Egyptian international wingback, Mohammed El Mohamady and Ghanaian winger Albert Adomah played key roles in the win but Ivorian striker Jonathan Kodjia was on the bench throughout.
El Mohamady was named to the Egyptian national team’s preliminary list for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, while Adomah was missing from the Black Stars squad. Kodjia will be hoping to be on the final list for Cote d’Ivoire.
Villa, beaten by Fulham in last season’s final, seemed to be cruising to victory when John McGinn added to Anwar El Ghazi’s first-half strike to put them 2-0 up with 30 minutes to go.
However, a deflected strike by Jack Marriott gave Derby hope of a possible comeback. However, despite 7 minutes of added time, the Rams could not find an equaliser.
Villa have secured a £170million windfall while Derby face a 12th successive season in the Championship.