Coventry City players celebrate promotion to the Premier League at Blackburn RoversPA Media

Coventry City have won their third promotion in nine seasons

David AndersonBBC Sport England at Ewood ParkandDan WheelerBBC Sport, West Midlands

Bobby Thomas equalised six minutes from time at Blackburn Rovers to secure Coventry City's return to the Premier League after 25 years and begin their promotion party.

Thomas wrote his name in Sky Blues history as he headed home in front of the away fans to send them wild at Ewood Park.

The Coventry fans sang the 25-year-old defender's name and after the club's journey all the way down to League Two, Frank Lampard has led them back to the top flight.

Thomas' goal was tough on Blackburn and they deservedly led through Ryoya Morishita before the Championship leaders hit back to earn the point they needed to seal promotion.

For Rovers, the draw lifted them five points clear of the relegation zone, but having played two more games than third-from-bottom Oxford United.

Following the final whistle, former England and Chelsea midfielder Lampard went onto the pitch to celebrate the Coventry's greatest moment since lifting the FA Cup in 1987 and the players ran to the away fans in the Darwen End, holding promotion banners.

The away fans had felt this moment was inevitable, but it was Rovers who threatened first when Carl Rushworth saved Yuki Ohashi's flying header from Ryan Alebiosu's cross.

Rovers went close again from the same combination and Ohashi headed against the bar from Alebiosu's ball, only for referee Lewis Smith to blow for a push by the Japanese forward, before Morishita saw a shot blocked.

Coventry were flat and all they could muster was a stabbed shot from Ephron Mason-Clark wide of the far post.

It came as no surprise when Blackburn scored on 54 minutes through Morishita. Alebiosu's cross was deflected to the feet of Morishita and the Japan international shot home off Thomas.

Coventry finally put Blackburn under some sustained pressure and Jack Rudoni glanced a header off the inside of the post, although the offside flag was then raised against Haji Wright.

But the Sky Blues kept going and got their reward in the 84th minute when Victor Torp swung in a free-kick from the right for Thomas to head home from close range.

Barnstorming start banished any play-off hangover

Coventry sent the message out early on that they meant business this season and that their last-kick-of-extra-time play-off heartbreak against Sunderland in May was not going to cast a shadow.

Beating Derby County 5-3 at Pride Park in game two was backed up by a 7-1 humiliation of Queens Park Rangers as the Sky Blues went goal crazy.

By the end of October, Coventry had scored 24 more in 10 games, won six (in a row), and lost just once - at Wrexham.

That proved a mere wrinkle as Lampard's freewheeling funsters quickly reeled off five more victories on the spin.

At the start of December, they had seen off nearest challengers Middlesbrough 4-2 at The Riverside, were 10 points clear at the top and the first team in 50 years to score 50 goals after 18 games in a second-tier season.

Forwards Brandon Thomas-Asante, Wright and Ellis Simms scored half of those while on-loan Brighton goalkeeper Rushworth's seven clean sheets, including a club-record 613 goalless minutes, tested the mantra of 'never fall in love with a loan player' to its max.

Freed up by Lampard's desire for his players to express themselves, Coventry were irresistible.

But, of course, the relentlessness of the Championship is the ultimate test and the Sky Blues were always going to be tested at some stage.

The question was how would they deal with it?

Bobby Thomas celebrates with his team-mates after heading home the equaliser to secure Coventry City's promotion back to the Premier League after 25 years.Shutterstock

Bobby Thomas celebrates scoring his equaliser for Coventry City to secure promotion back to the Premier League after 25 years

Bit of a blip - but soon back to bulldozing best

Defeat at Ipswich and a 1-1 draw at Preston North End in early December did not cause undue alarm for Coventry, especially with back-to-back home wins against Bristol City and Swansea City to follow.

But another loss to the Tractor Boys - their first at home of the season and first without a home goal since the opening day - hinted at trouble.

With Thomas-Asante out injured, the goals dried up and so did the clean sheets as the Sky Blues lost their way, particularly away from the sanctuary of the CBS Arena.

Seven games without a win on the road followed as fans became fractious, worried sides had finally worked them out.

But it takes more than just a loss of form to turn a blip into a slide. You need a rival to step up and crank up the pressure.

Step forward Middlesbrough, who turned the heat up on Coventry to boiling point with a superb run of six wins in a row at the start of 2026 as the Sky Blues' double-digit lead was wiped out.

By the time the two promotion rivals met on 16 February, Boro were two points clear at the top - and Coventry had lost four of their previous eight games.

In the Championship's statement fixture, the Sky Blues' 3-0 win - with Wright bagging a hat-trick - made theirs loud and clear.

Their swagger and confidence restored, Coventry's relentlessness returned and this time they never looked back.

Five more victories followed on the spin as they cruised into the Easter programme nine points clear at the top again with Premier League vibes well and truly back.

Inspired January loan signing Frank Onyeka grabbed his first goal, and Rudoni his fifth in four games, in a thrilling 3-2 Good Friday win over Derby and another point at Hull put the top flight at their fingertips going into Saturday's lunchtime meeting with Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite a frustrating goalless stalemate, other results meant only a mathematical miracle could stop City's Premier League party starting.

At Ewood Park, it was officially launched.

'A special night for the club' - reaction

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard said: "This is a special night for the football club, which is bigger than all of us.

"That could not be more clear than when you saw the fans at the end of the game. This club has suffered for 25 years since we've been out of the Premier League and that journey going down, playing at different stadiums.

"Credit to everyone involved in those tough years. Mark Robins, of course, he has to have a massive shout-out, and it's just such a massive achievement from everyone involved.

"I'm more emotional than I thought I would be and the final whistle just caught me. It just dawned on me then what this achievement means to our fans.

"Winning the Champions League with Chelsea was the best night of my life, but this comes very, very close.

"The players have got to enjoy tonight and we're off tomorrow. They don't drink as much as we do, but Tuesday and Portsmouth will come very quickly and I don't want any anti-climax. These boys deserve to win this league."

Lampard following promotion

Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"The lads gave me everything and have given me everything since I came through the door. I didn't expect anything less.

"It's gutting to lose a goal so late having led but the performance was fantastic.

"I thought we were the better team in the first half and played some good football, we just should have been more clinical.

"We got what we needed out of the game, it was just a shame we didn't get the three points."

O'Neill: 'We got what we needed out of the game'

Player of the match

R. Morishita
7.53
25 R. Morishita
7.53
2 R. Alebiosu
7.39
38 T. Atcheson
7.25
15 S. McLoughlin
7.14
23 Y. Ohashi
7.09
31 K. Montgomery
7.00
4 Yuri Ribeiro
6.97
5 T. Gardner-Hickman
6.93
20 E. Cashin
6.91
24 M. Baradji
6.85
22 B. Tóth
6.82
19 R. Hedges
6.68
28 A. Forshaw
6.66
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