Wayne Rooney bemoaned a “difficult” afternoon after watching from the stands as his Plymouth side was hammered 5-0 at Cardiff.
Michael Obafemi spurned a glorious chance for Plymouth early on, and it was all downhill for the visitors after that, with goals from Alex Robertson, Rubin Colwill, Anwar El Ghazi, Callum Robinson and Chris Willock. Ibrahim Cissoko was sent off five minutes before the break after reacting to an incident with Perry Ng.
Rooney – who was serving a one-game touchline ban – said it was “difficult to put into words … I thought we started the game OK, but beyond that we got really sloppy, we gave the ball away a lot, we didn’t win tackles or do the basics right. If you don’t do the basics right, you have difficult days like today.”
Cardiff have now claimed seven points from their last three games under interim manager Omer Riza.
Burnley climbed to the top of the table after goals from Jaidon Anthony and Josh Brownhill gave them a 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Anthony gave the Clarets a 37th-minute lead and Brownhill doubled the advantage five minutes after half-time. Victory extended Burnley’s unbeaten run to seven matches and moved them two points above Sunderland, who play on Sunday.
Oxford manager Des Buckingham praised Dane Scarlett’s patience after the striker earned his team a point with a late leveller against West Brom in a 1-1 draw at the Kassam Stadium. Scarlett headed home three minutes into second-half stoppage time after Elliott Moore nodded on Will Vaulks’s long throw-in, for his first Oxford goal. Karlan Ahearne-Grant had fired Albion ahead in the 29th minute. “It’s massive for Dane,” said Buckingham. “He’s been very patient. He’s had fewer minutes than he would have liked.”
Blackburn moved into the play-off places as Tyrhys Dolan’s early strike was enough to secure a 1-0 victory over Swansea. Swansea, in 13th, are now winless in four games, and are the lowest scorers in the Championship.
Manager Narcis Pelach earned a point against his former club as Stoke played out a 1-1 draw with Norwich at the bet365 Stadium. The Spaniard left his position as first-team coach at Carrow Road last month to take up the top job at Stoke. Ante Crnac opened his account for the Canaries after his summer move from Rakow Czestochowa before Million Manhoef pulled the Potters level in a chaotic six-minute period before half-time.
Luton ran out 3-0 winners against rivals Watford at Kenilworth Road. The Hatters led through Jordan Clark’s deflection in the 11th minute, with Carlton Morris netting moments after the interval and Jacob Brown then rubber-stamping the victory in stoppage time.
Bristol City produced a performance to make absent head coach Liam Manning proud as they won 2-0 at Middlesbrough. Manning is away from the club following the death of his baby son Theo, with assistant head coach Chris Hogg leading the team at the Riverside Stadium. First-half goals from Anis Mehmeti and Yu Hirakawa ensured City extended their unbeaten run to five matches. Boro fans showed their frustrations at the end of both halves.
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Mihailo Ivanovic’s first goal for Millwall rescued a 1-1 draw against Derby in what turned out to be a slow-burner at The Den. Ivanovic, the 19-year-old Serbian striker signed from Vojvodina on deadline day, took his late equaliser superbly after Jerry Yates’ untidy 78th-minute opener for the Rams.
Coventry manager Mark Robins was furious with the decision to rule out a late Haji Wright equaliser in his team’s 1-0 defeat to Preston. Emil Riis headed home a 72nd-minute winner after missing a string of good opportunities in the first half, making it just two wins in 10 league matches for the struggling Sky Blues. Controversy came in the 83rd minute when Wright’s well-taken goal was disallowed for handball when the ball looked like it had come off the substitute’s hip. “There was no handball, I’m being told … I’m disappointed. Really disappointed.”
Portsmouth came from behind to beat QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road to secure a first league win of the season and leave the west London side bottom of the table. Karamoko Dembélé’s first goal for Rangers gave them an early lead but Pompey hit back with Freddie Potts’ first goal since arriving on loan from West Ham. Callum Lang’s penalty 12 minutes into the second half gave Portsmouth their first victory in any competition since last season’s promotion from League One.
Rangers have now lost four matches in a row, have won just one of their 10 league matches this season and are still without a home win. The much-anticipated return of Ilias Chair did not bring the kind of improved performance they badly needed and boss Martí Cifuentes could come under pressure if they lose again on Tuesday at home to Coventry.
