Enugu Rangers, yesterday, survived Ikorodu City’s late surge to beat the Lagos-based team 2-1, a result that was good enough to make them the 2025/26 Nigerian Premier Football League champions.

Rangers needed the win to pick the crown, irrespective of what their closest rivals, Rivers United, played against Katsina United in Port Harcourt. And the Flying Antelopes seemed to be cruising to the title when they raced to a 2-0 lead midway through the game.

With only one goal separating them and Rivers United going into the final games of the season, Skipper Obinna Nwobodo sent the Flying Antelopes’ fans dancing with a clinical finish in the 17th minute.

Thereafter, the Enugu boys took control of the game in search of more goals, but they met a resilient Ikorodu City defence, which rebuffed all the visitors threw at them. The first half ended with the Rangers 1- 0 advantage.

The second half was barely 10 minutes when Rangers scored the second off a long-range effort by Nwobodo, which was spilt onto the path of the onrushing Flying Antelope attacker to make hay.

Just when fans thought the game was sealed, Ikorodu City raised the adrenaline of the visiting supporters with a goal out of nowhere. It was an innocuous floater from the ring wing, which Rangers’ goalkeeper Lucky Jimoh unexplicably dropped on the leg of an onrushing Ikorodu City striker; the score was 2-1.

Awakened by their good fortune, Ikorodu City took the fight to Rangers, but they could not get the goal they needed to keep their chase for the CAF Confederation Cup alive.

Rangers ended the season on 68 points to Rivers United’s 67.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers United defeated Katsina United 3-0 to finish with a CAF Champions League ticket, while Shooting Stars, which lost 0-1 to Niger Tornadoes, retained their CAF Confederation Cup ticket.

Enyimba of Aba escaped relegation with a 3-0 defeat of El Kanemi Warriors in Aba, but Remo Stars failed to survive the drop despite playing a 1-1 draw in Benin with Bendel Insurance.

At the end of the day, El Kanemi, Kun Khalifat escaped relegation while Bayelsa United, Wikki Tourists, and Remo Stars were relegated to the lower Nigerian National League.