Jamie Vardy scored twice as Arsenal's hopes of Champions League football suffered another serious setback as familiar failings saw the 10-man Gunners lose 3-0 at Leicester Sunday. It was the third time in seven days that the north London side, once renowned for an impregnable defense, had conceded three goals following 3-2 and 3-1 Premier League league defeats by Crystal Palace and Wolves respectively. Leicester's Youri Tielemans opened the scoring at the King Power Stadium in the second half and Vardy netted twice for the Foxes after the visitors had defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles dismissed for two bookable offences before half-time. The winning goals, however, owed little to that dismissal. Arsenal failed to stop James Maddison's cross or mark Tielemans as he stole in to head home the first, then were embarrassingly outwitted by a goal-kick from which Vardy poached the second with the help of a rebound off the crossbar. It left Unai Emery's men facing an uphill battle to force their way back into the top four, although victory in the Europa League could also secure a Champions League place. Three defeats in a row, however, have left Emery with a clear picture of the failings that linger from Arsene Wenger's reign. Sheff Utd's Premier League promotion confirmed Sheffield United's promotion to the Premier League was confirmed Sunday after Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa allowed Aston Villa to score in a remarkable 1-1 draw at Elland Road. Leeds fell five points behind The Blades with just one game remaining after the hosts stood aside to let Albert Adomah run from kick-off and equalize after Leeds took the lead through Mateusz Klich, while Villa's Jonathan Kodjia was down injured. Bielsa had been confronted by Villa assistant boss John Terry as players on the field and both benches clashed following Klich's controversial opener. Villa's Anwar El Ghazi was sent-off in the melee as the visitors' club record 10-game winning streak came to an end. The two sides could meet again in the playoff final if Villa overcomes West Brom over two legs, while Bielsa's men will have to rouse itself from the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion when it faces Derby, Middlesbrough or Bristol City. Norwich promoted Norwich City secured promotion to the English Premier League after a three-year absence with a 2-1 win at home to Blackburn Rovers Saturday. Victory left Championship leader Norwich nine points clear of third-placed Leeds with just six left to play for in the final two regular-season games and only the top two assured of a place in English football's lucrative top-flight. The Canaries kicked-off at Carrow Road knowing just a point would be enough to secure promotion. Norwich went ahead in the 13th minute through Marco Stiepermann thanks to the German midfielder's low shot from 20 yards. The East Anglian club moved closer to a place among the elite through an even more spectacular goal, Mario Vranic's strike from 25 yards flying into the top corner in the 21st minute. But two minutes later Blackburn threatened to spoil the party thanks to Lewis Travis's goal. That, however, was as good as it got for the visitors with Norwich seeing out the game to return to the Premier League for the first time since they were relegated in 2016. — Agencies
