Championship Round-Up: Burnley Win at Last, Southampton Beat Portsmouth and QPR's Goalkeeper Stops West Ham

West Ham were one penalty from the top of the Championship, and Pierce Charles took it away. Charles is twenty-one and on loan at Queens Park Rangers from Manchester City, and in the 91st minute, the BBC report says, he dived low to his left to push away Jarrod Bowen's spot-kick and then made a second stop from Arne Engels as the ball came back out. The penalty had been won when Pablo was brought down by Amadou Mbengue. A night of poor West Ham football was about to be rescued, and then it was not.

QPR had led since the 18th minute, from a penalty the BBC report calls controversial. Tomas Souček, playing his first game of the season after the injury he picked up at the World Cup, lost the ball to Paul Smyth in his own half and hurried back with a challenge that the report says appeared to win the ball and to be outside the area. Referee Ruebyn Ricardo pointed to the spot, Nicolas Madsen rolled the penalty in, and Souček was taken off at half-time. Nuno Espírito Santo said the images were clear and the decision a mistake that punished his side. Souček told Sky Sports the referee admitted afterwards that he had got it wrong.

West Ham had sixty-five per cent of the ball and twelve shots to seven, and did not have a shot on target until Bowen equalised in the 70th minute, cutting in from the right and scoring at the near post after his first attempt was blocked, his seventh goal of the season. Rayan Kolli's curling effort had been saved by Mads Hermansen just before the break, and Charles also stopped Joel Piroe and Bowen late on. QPR are unbeaten away from home this season, the report says. West Ham are third on sixteen points, down from second, and QPR sixth on fourteen. Nuno called his players rusty and imprecise after the international break, and Julien Stéphan said his side "needed to just survive".

Blackburn scored twice in ten minutes in the first half and held on after the break. Andri Guðjohnsen closed down Joel Bagan's clearance and fired in the first on 28 minutes, following up a Todd Cantwell chance. Ten minutes later a three-pass move left Cantwell unmarked and he tucked the ball past Nathan Trott, with R. Morishita credited with the assist in the BBC's key events.

Cardiff were better after the interval, and Callum Robinson pulled one back on 53 minutes when Jack Moylan squeezed between two Blackburn defenders and found him. His low, hard finish into the corner was his first of the season. Cardiff then pressed for an equaliser and were kept in the game by Bagan's goal-line clearance and a double save from Trott, but the second goal never came.

Cardiff's goal was their only shot on target. The BBC analysis says no team in the Championship had taken more shots in the first eight games, a hundred and fifty-two, and that they managed a single effort before the break here. Blackburn had seventeen shots to ten, eight on target to one, and eleven corners to six. Tony Mowbray called it a good day and said he would have liked another goal or two, and Brian Barry-Murphy said Cardiff were not good enough in the first half. Blackburn are thirteenth on twelve points and unbeaten in three games. Cardiff, with one win this season, are twenty-first on seven.

Stoke have not won at Bolton since October 1990, and they did it by playing more than seventy minutes a man short. Maksym Talovierov was dismissed after twenty minutes for a sliding tackle on Kyliane Dong that referee Tom Kirk ruled had denied a goalscoring opportunity, and Stoke answered by scoring twice, four minutes into first-half stoppage time and again on 62 minutes.

Lamine Cissé scored the first. Ethan Galbraith found him on the left, he cut inside and slid the ball into the far corner for his first goal of the campaign, and he was denied a second by the foot of the far post, with Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu touching Luca Bombino's follow-up wide. Ben Wilmot made it two, heading in Jack McGlynn's curling free-kick for his first goal since February. Bolton had thirty shots and 67.5 per cent of the ball, and Theo Bair's goal in the second minute of stoppage time came too late to matter.

Bolton had won their last two. Their manager, Schumacher, was back against the club that sacked him in September 2024, and said his side made key errors at bad times and that Stoke showed more experience and quality. Mark Robins, whose side were bottom at the start of September after losing their first three league games, called his players outstanding. They have taken sixteen of the last eighteen points available, and are fourth. Bolton are seventeenth on ten.

Charlton scored from their first attack. Karlan Grant controlled Tyreece Campbell's cross from the left on eight minutes and fired in left-footed for his second of the campaign. Bristol City, who had Luke McNally back after 608 days out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, took charge of the game from there, and in the 27th minute Dom Ballard was felled by Conor Coventry and Scott Twine slid in the penalty. Twine now has three Championship goals this season, every one of them away from home.

Arthur Okonkwo had a moment he was lucky to survive. The BBC report says Okonkwo got away with a challenge on Yu Hirakawa at the edge of his area, which might have meant a free-kick and perhaps a red card, after Josh Edwards had under-hit a header. Michael Skubala said he thought the laws of the game made it a red card when a goalkeeper brings a player down outside the box. Okonkwo later did well to touch away a Twine free-kick at his right-hand post, and in the final minute City goalkeeper Sam Tickle turned Harvey Knibbs' free-kick over the bar.

The second half was poor, the report says, although Campbell went close twice in quick succession. Charlton had twelve shots to thirteen, four on target to three, and the draw leaves them winless in six games, though unbeaten at home. Nathan Jones said he was disappointed with the goal and with Coventry's challenge, the second time he has done that. Charlton are twelfth on thirteen points, down from ninth, and Bristol City tenth on fourteen. Skubala called it a good point on the road, and the BBC report says City have taken thirteen points from their last twenty-one available.

Derby had the start they wanted and could not finish the job. Mo Fuseini found Sam Szmodics on a counter-attack in the ninth minute and Szmodics rifled the ball past Anthony Patterson from twenty yards, his fourth goal of the campaign. Wrexham lost Josh Windass, last season's top scorer, to injury early on, and Ollie Rathbone, celebrating his thirtieth birthday, had a goal from Ben Whiteman's cross disallowed for offside on the stroke of half-time. The BBC report calls the decision controversial.

Rathbone had the last word. In the 88th minute Kieffer Moore nodded Danny Imray's cross into his path and he converted from close range, his first goal of the season. Derby went into the game with the worst home record in the division, one point from twelve, and the BBC report says a defeat would have been a fourth in a row at Pride Park, which they have not suffered since Phillip Cocu was in charge in 2020. They still have not won in five league games at Pride Park, and John Eustace's side sit in the relegation zone.

Wrexham had fifty-five per cent of the ball, thirteen shots to ten, and nine corners to Derby's one. They were without Callum Doyle and Liberato Cacace, with Ben Sheaf and Matty James also left out, and gave a first senior squad place to academy product Samuel Chesworth, amid what the BBC report calls a mounting injury list. Phil Parkinson said the quality was not always there but that no one could fault the effort. Derby are twenty-third on six points. Wrexham are fifteenth on eleven, and it was their fifth league draw.

Will Lankshear's header in the 57th minute settled a meeting of third against fourth at a sold-out Riverside, on the afternoon Middlesbrough marked their 150th anniversary. Tommy Conway stood up a fine cross and Lankshear headed in at the back post for his seventh league goal of the season, level with Southampton's Cyle Larin at the top of the scoring charts, the BBC report says.

Boro were on the front foot from the start. They pinned Wolves in their own half, José Sá parried a Lankshear effort from a tight angle, and Seb Berhalter swept another wide after Conway's work down the left. Radek Vítek had to make a smart stop from Marshall Munetsi late in the half. After the goal César Peixoto made a host of changes, Adam Armstrong forced another save from Vítek, and substitute Kyle Joseph, who would have had his first league goal for the club but for the woodwork, hit the crossbar late on.

Middlesbrough had fourteen shots to twelve and six on target to two. The win is their fourth in five home games, and it takes them past West Ham into second, two points behind Swansea. Wolves slip from fourth to fifth on fourteen points, their second defeat of the season, and hold a game in hand over the sides around them. Kim Hellberg said it did not get much better than this and that Lankshear's header was one of the best he had seen, and Peixoto said a draw would have been the right result.

Graham Alexander took charge of Preston for the first time, at Deepdale, where he played, and lost to a goal eleven minutes from time. Alexander replaced Paul Heckingbottom, and his struggling side showed little improvement. Camiel Neghli stole in to rifle in substitute Luke Cundle's cross for his third goal in five games, and Millwall had a first win in four Championship games.

Neither side controlled it. Kyrell Lisbie hit the crossbar for Millwall early on after Lyndon Dykes' knockdown, and Preston showed more endeavour in the first half, with Callum Lang's shot from distance going narrowly wide and Jusef Erabi and Leo Leroy both going close. Filip Marschall stopped Erabi at close range just before the interval, after Harry Clarke set him up. After the restart Daniel Iversen denied Lisbie, and Alfie Devine blazed wide from Lang's pass.

Preston have now gone twenty-four league games without a clean sheet, the BBC report says, and Jenson Metcalfe might have doubled Millwall's lead late on but fired over. Millwall had fifty-four per cent of the ball and three shots on target to Preston's one. Millwall climb from eleventh to eighth on fourteen points. Preston, with one win this season, are last on four.

Sheffield United ended a three-game losing run with two goals from Patrick Bamford and a first for the club from Tahith Chong. Bamford scored in the 43rd minute, a clinical finish into the bottom corner from Sam McCallum's low cross, and early in the second half Chong, starting a Championship game for the first time this season, linked up with Joe Rothwell and beat George Wickens from a tight angle, the ball going in off the woodwork.

Lincoln could have landed a first-half blow. Freddie Draper headed wastefully over the crossbar from an inviting Rob Street cross, and the BBC report says the hosts had most of the ball but created little. Bamford's second was a volley in the 77th minute from Ben Brereton Diaz's deep cross, after he peeled away from his marker. Chris Cohen, Lincoln's joint head coach, told BBC Radio Lincolnshire the timing and quality of the goals were real sucker punches, and that for thirty-five minutes it was probably the game they wanted.

Sheffield United had fifty-six per cent of the ball, and Lincoln had more shots, twelve to ten, though United had five on target to three. Chris Wilder said the Blades needed the result after the noise of recent weeks and did not like being bashed up over their performances. They move from eighteenth to fourteenth on twelve points, the biggest climb of the round, and Lincoln fall from twelfth to sixteenth on eleven.

Swansea were behind at half-time and still finished the day top, the third time this season they have turned a losing position into three points, the BBC report says. Jacob Wright put Norwich in front on 28 minutes in his first Championship start of the campaign, finishing Oscar Schwartau's pass during a sloppy spell for the hosts. Norwich played without Mo Toure, their top scorer, and their captain Kenny McLean.

The second half belonged to the home side. Moussa Yeo levelled on 49 minutes, taking his time to slot home after Josh Tymon's delivery, and ten minutes later Adam Idah glanced in Melker Widell's cross against the club he left in 2024 after seven years. Joseph Opoku could have added a third, and Lawrence Vigouroux stopped a Sam Field shot, but Norwich offered little else. Philippe Clement said Swansea's fans had been getting nervous, that his players seemed to think too much about the result and that a draw would have been deserved after their last half hour.

Swansea have won six of nine and lead Middlesbrough by two points on twenty. John Toshack, who took them to the top of the old First Division forty-five years ago, watched as guest of honour. Swansea had fifty-seven per cent of the ball, with twelve shots each but eight on target to five. Norwich have now lost three league games in a row despite scoring first in all three, and are eighteenth on nine points. Vitor Matos said Swansea had lacked precision before the break and improved a lot after it. Swansea are at Millwall on Tuesday, and Norwich at home to Southampton on Wednesday.

Burnley won a league game at the ninth attempt, and did most of it in twenty-five minutes. Jacob Bruun Larsen put them ahead on 13 minutes with a finish across goal after Reo Hatate set him up. Zeki Amdouni bundled in a second after Federico Ravaglia saved Bruun Larsen's shot, and Hatate added a third with a curling finish on 25 minutes, after another quick break and more good work from Bruun Larsen, prompting boos around the stadium. That is how they climbed off the bottom of the table.

The second half had little rhythm, with Watford still shellshocked and Burnley unable to play with the same authority, and Gregoire Coudert had to be alert to deny Mamadou Doumbia. Marcus Edwards ended it on 87 minutes by volleying in his first goal of the season. Nicky Hayen said his side had been very good in the first half-hour, found the right spaces and could have scored more, and that they had to do it every week.

Alessio Dionisi was angry. He told BBC Three Counties Radio the match was finished after twenty minutes, that he had not seen the attitude shown against Southampton or West Ham, and that the first problem was attitude. It is Watford's third straight league defeat and their fifth in six, the BBC report says. Burnley had seventeen shots to fourteen, eight on target to six, though Watford had fifty-two per cent of the ball. Watford are twentieth on eight points. Burnley are twenty-second on seven, up from twenty-fourth.

August Priske's penalty in the 41st minute gave Birmingham a first-half lead and West Bromwich Albion their first home defeat of the season. Priske won the penalty himself, fouled by Nathaniel Phillips, and slotted the ball past Max O'Leary, who had been unbeatable until then, having denied Jay Stansfield early on from point-blank range. It was the Dane's third goal of the campaign.

Max O'Leary kept West Brom in it either side of the penalty. Aune Heggebø hit the right-hand post for West Brom, and after that both sides wasted chances, Jhon Solís failing to connect properly for Birmingham and Felix Myhre heading over from eight yards for West Brom with an almost empty net to aim at. O'Leary, who turned thirty on the day, also stopped Phil Neumann's close-range header soon after the penalty. After the break James Beadle denied Chris Mepham and tipped a Barney Stewart header over the bar, and referee Gavin Ward waved away a Patrick Roberts penalty appeal when Mepham appeared to lunge.

West Brom improved, with Ousmane Diakité flashing a shot just wide, and O'Leary had to be alert to keep Demarai Gray out at his near post late on, but Birmingham had seven shots on target to two and fifteen shots to fourteen. Chris Davies said his side deserved the win and could have scored more before they did, and James Morrison said he did not see enough aggression from his team. The win lifts Birmingham above West Brom on goal difference, both on fourteen points, Birmingham seventh and West Brom ninth.

Southampton beat Portsmouth in the league for the first time since 2004, and for the whole of the second half they did it with ten men. James Bree scored in the 20th minute. Finn Azaz found him running into the box, Bree took a touch with his right foot, finished into the bottom left corner with the instep of his left, and ran off to taunt the travelling Portsmouth fans. Cameron Bragg was sent off in the 44th minute, shown a second yellow card for pulling Ebou Adams to the ground.

Tonda Eckert had changed the shape, moving from the 4-2-3-1 Southampton have played all season to something closer to a 4-1-4-1 with Bree at times the most advanced player on the right, and the BBC report says the goal justified it. It was Eckert's first game since the FA fined him £28,000 and gave him a suspended six-week ban over the Spygate affair. After the red card Southampton sat deep and Portsmouth had most of the ball, though their chances came from cut-backs and shots from the edge of the area. Nicolas Schmid saved well from Léo Scienza early in the second half, Southampton wanted a handball penalty from the corner that followed, and a late effort from a Portsmouth substitute went into the side netting.

Portsmouth had sixteen shots to seven, three on target each, and have now waited thirty-eight years for a league win at Southampton. John Mousinho said he was absolutely gutted and could not see why Azaz was not sent off for a heavy challenge on Adams, which led to a melee. Southampton are eleventh on thirteen points, third on playing record if the four-point deduction is put back, and have won all five home games, scoring sixteen goals at St Mary's, according to the BBC live page. Portsmouth are nineteenth, one point clear of the relegation places, with a game in hand.