"We are deserving winners," said IF Elfsborg coach Jörgen Lennartsson after his side drew 1-1 with Åtvidabergs FF on the final day of the Swedish season to claim their sixth title.
Stefan Ishizaki (centre) scored Elfsborg's goal against Åtvidaberg
IF Elfsborg have claimed the Swedish title for the sixth time in their history after claiming a 1-1 draw against Åtvidabergs FF on the final day of the season.
That stalemate meant Malmö FF could have pipped Elfsborg to glory with a victory in their match at AIK, but instead they fell to a 2-0 loss, allowing BK Häcken to finish runners-up and claim their best ever final position. "We led the league for 23 rounds of 30, so I think we are deserving winners," commented jubilant Elfsborg coach Jörgen Lennartsson.
The last day of action looked set to provide a nail-biting conclusion to the league campaign, but in truth the suspense lasted little more than half an hour. Stefan Ishizaki put Elfsborg ahead against Åtvidaberg with 30 minutes gone in Boras, and shortly afterwards Mohamed Bangura gave AIK the lead against Malmö over in Solna.
The only team capable of catching Elfsborg, Malmö needed to beat AIK and hope Åtvidaberg could battle back against the leaders, but although Viktor Prodell cancelled out Elfsborg's lead with 14 minutes remaining, Viktor Lundberg doubled Malmö's deficit. As well as ending the title tension, Lundberg's effort was the last ever Allsvenskan strike at Råsunda Stadium, which is due to be replaced by a new national arena 800 metres away.
Meanwhile, Malmö's loss not only deprived them of the crown but also meant they finished third, with Häcken prevailing 2-1 at GIF Sundsvall to leap into second.
Elfsborg finished this season 18-5-7 with 48 goals for and 29 goals against.
