Sheffield United continued their strong start to their 2017/18 Championship campaign on Saturday afternoon to remain in the play-off places as they beat newly-relegated Sunderland 2-1 at The Stadium of Light.
Chris Wilder managed to secure the services of Birmingham City striker Clayton Donaldson late on Deadline Day and he scored a brace on his debut. Jack Rodwell did manage to pull a goal back for the Black Cats in injury time but it was not enough to prevent the Blades from securing all three points.
This result means that Simon Grayson's side are still yet to record a home victory this season but will get another opportunity to put this right on Tuesday night as they host Nottingham Forest. As for United, if they are able to keep us this kind of form, they could be outsiders for the play-offs.
Cardiff City's winning streak ends with draw at Fulham
Cardiff City lost their impressive 100% record in a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage. However, Neil Warnock's side did have to come back from behind to secure a point. Ryan Sessegnon gave the Cottagers the lead with 15 minutes to play before Danny Ward headed home late on much to the delight of Cardiff's travelling support.
Meanwhile Leeds United continued their strong start to the season and moved second with a 5-0 win over Burton Albion at Elland Road. New signing Pierre Michel-Lasogga scored twice on his debut whilst Kalvin Phillips, Pablo Hernández and Kemar Roofe also got themselves on the scoresheet.
Elsewhere there were important home wins for Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who overcame Birmingham City, Ipswich Town and Millwall respectively.
Harry Redknapp made some impressive signings for Birmingham on Deadline Day but it was not enough to secure the Blues a result on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Norwich at Carrow Road. Nélson Oliveira gave the hosts the lead after four minutes and that was enough to secure the Canaries all three points.
Ipswich's impressive start to the season has now been halted by two consecutive defeats as Ian Holloway's QPR won 2-1 at Loftus Road. Jamie Mackie and Luke Freeman put the hosts two goals ahead before Bersant Celina pulled a goal back for the away side late on.
Diego Jota's superb strike after 10 minutes was enough to secure Wolves all three points against 10-man Millwall at Molineux. This sent Wolves up to third in the league having won four of their opening six Championship matches. They are now firmly among the favourites to get promoted from the division this season.
Assombalonga steps up in convincing Boro win
Middlesbrough ended their 13-month winless streak on the road as they convincingly beat early strugglers Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at the Macron Stadium. Britt Assombalonga scored a brace to take his tally for the season to four whilst Marvin Johnson also got on the scoresheet. However, it was Adama Traoré who took most of the credit with a sublime performance.
Derby County striker Matej Vydra continued his impressive start to the season as he scored a brace in a 5-0 win over newly-relegated Hull City on Friday night. Rams midfielder Bradley Johnson also scored a brace whilst Curtis Davies also found the back of the net against his former club. It was a shocking performance from Leonid Slutksy's side who apologised to the club's supporters following the match.
Mark Warburton saw his side condemned to their second consecutive defeat as Nottingham Forest lost 3-1 to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Gary Hooper gave the hosts the lead as he took advantage of a Jordan Smith error before Ben Osborn equalised for Forest before half-time. However, Wednesday stepped up in the second-half and goals from Steven Fletcher and Kieran Lee secured the three points.
Bristol City stun Reading at the Madejski
Lee Johnson's Bristol City sealed an impressive 1-0 win against Reading at the Madejski Stadium courtesy of a late goal from defender Aden Flint. This result leaves Jaap Stam's side 16th in the table after losing three of their opening six matches. Many expected the Royals to be challenging for automatic promotion following their play-off defeat against Huddersfield Town at Wembley in May.
Elsewhere, both Aston Villa and Preston North End were held to a draw at home by Brentford and Barnsley respectively. A goalless draw at Villa Park left Steve Bruce frustrated as his Villa side continue to struggle in the second tier whilst Brad Potts equalised for Barnsley at Deepdale to secure the Reds a share of the points.
