Kompany promoted with Burnley and after signing up to the Premier League: “What Vincent did is something very special”

Burnley quickly progressed at Middlesbrough, seeded fourth in the English Second Division. Ashley Barnes opened the scoring in the 12th minute, his 50th goal for the Clarets. Burnley were the better team, but they covered their nose shortly after the break. The ball was deflected into the penalty spot after a penalty kick by Josh Cullen and Tshuba Akpom (ex-STVV) hit the equalizer into the net.

However, in the 66th minute, Connor Roberts put 1-2 on the board, which immediately turned out to be the score and therefore the goal of the promotion.

Vincent Kompany took over last summer at Burnley, who had just been relegated from the English Premier League. Kompany made the switch from Anderlecht. With a limited transfer budget, he removed players such as Josh Cullen (Anderlecht), Samuel Bastien (Standard), Manuel Benson (Antwerp), Anas Zarouri (Charleroi) and Vitinho (Cercle Brugge) from the Jupiler Pro League. Lyle Foster (Westerlo) and Ameen Al Dakhil (STVV) have been added this winter. The latter was allowed to complete 90 minutes in the Champions League.

The Clarets have only lost two league games this season, with a record of 25 wins and 12 draws. They have gone unbeaten all season at their home ground Turf Moor. So it is already counting 87 points after 39 match days. Good for recording the fastest ever promotion, Kompany and his team-mates perform one game better than Leicester (2014) and Reading (2006).

“It’s not Easter yet and we’re already there,” the former Red Devils and Manchester City captain told Sky Sports. “There are still seven games left and we’re already celebrating. We didn’t expect it. It takes time to build cohesion in the squad. But the pressure of every game helps to progress quickly. We can now go forward and that’s the goal.”

What Vincent did is very special.

“What Vincent has done is something very special,” said Burnley chairman Alan Pace. “It’s a complete surprise because it wasn’t our plan. Vincent and I talked about it over the summer, we gave ourselves two or three years, that was our plan. I think you’ve seen a lot of magic happen. This team is so good you hear Vincent say that every week. They surprise us.” All together, every day. It’s a phenomenon.”

Kompany’s contribution is greatly appreciated at Burnley. “He freed us because he believes in us, he thinks we’re good players and we can win games,” said quarterback Josh Brownhill. “The guys who are still here were devastated by relegation last season. We just wanted to come back and I’m really glad we did.”