Norwich promoted to Premier League after winning Championship play-off final

Norwich City is back in the Premier League!

Two goals in the space of three minutes secured Norwich's return to the Premier League on Monday, as Alex Neil's side defeated Middlesbrough F.C. 2-0 in the Championship play-off final - the single most valuable one-off contest in world sport, worth £120 million to the winners.

After taking the pitch in front of 85,636 supporters looking to witness their respective side return to the Promised Land, both Norwich and Middlesbrough wasted no time in their search for a goal, indicating - somewhat falsely - that the match would feature 90 minutes of attacking football.

Then, in the 10th minute, a sequence of ludicrous events unfolded.

First came a shot from Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson, who followed up a missed cross from the right by rattling Middlesbrough's crossbar. One minute later, Aitor Karanka's side returned the favour, as Jelle Vossen crashed a shot from distance off Norwich's crossbar.

The end-to-end didn't let up there. Cameron Jerome dispossessed Daniel Ayala on the right side of the penalty area, and after Ayala failed to recover properly, Jerome inched towards goal and casually slotted a diagonal effort past 'keeper Dimi Konstantopoulous.

Remarkably, while supporters were still celebrating Jerome's opener, Norwich went and scored another to take a 2-0 lead within the opening 15 minutes. On this occasion, Steven Whittaker picked out Nathan Redmond in the penalty area and Redmond only needed a yard of space to leave Middlesbrough on the ropes.

It's obviously not often that a team scores twice within the opening quarter-hour of a play-off final, but keep in mind that Norwich had the highest Expected Goals Ratio of any side in the Championship this season.

The dramatic sequence proved to be the climax of the entertaining fixture.

As the match wore on, Middlesbrough showed a distinct lack of urgency, allowing Norwich to settle into a comfort zone. Lee Tomlin, who notched eight goals and 10 assists this season, was unable to get involved in the game, while their midfield duo of Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter - instrumental in helping their side reach Wembley - were completely overrun.

When the final whistle came, euphoria consumed the Norwich supporters who had made the journey to England's capital, their club returning to the Premier League after only one season in the Championship.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, will be left to reflect on a season in which they fell short of their ultimate goal and will be forced to watch another campaign of the Premier League from the outside.