Championship Round-Up: West Ham Win at Swansea, West Brom Come From Two Down and Burnley Lose at Home

West Ham climbed to second with one first-half goal from Divine Mukasa at Swansea, who stay top on 23 points but suffered a first home defeat since April. The Hammers are a point behind and have not lost in nine league games, a run that began after a home defeat by Charlton in mid-August.

It was also the opening shot of the match at either end. In the 34th minute Swansea's Marko Stamenic lost possession in his own half, Mohamadou Kante raced into the box and squared the ball, and Mukasa, the Manchester City loanee, guided it past Lawrence Vigouroux from 10 yards. Mukasa now has three goals from nine league appearances for West Ham. Until then the game had been tight and tense, with no sign of a chance.

The goal brought more purpose to Swansea's attacking. A drive from Ronald deflected just off target, and the captain Ben Cabango, picking up a loose ball from a Josh Tymon free-kick, hit the bar. West Ham should have extended their lead early in the second half, but Vigouroux stopped Jarrod Bowen twice and denied Pablo when the striker was through. Adam Idah hooked a shot off target and Cabango dragged a second set-piece chance wide midway through the half, and that was the last big opening Swansea had.

Swansea had 68.6 per cent of the ball and not one shot on target, while West Ham put four of their nine shots on target. West Ham have scored 30 league goals in 11 games, more than any other club across the top four tiers. Swansea's 23 points from their first ten games was their best start in 103 years, and the crowd of 20,973 was a record at the Swansea.com Stadium. Vitor Matos said the game was "decided in the boxes".

West Bromwich Albion were two goals behind inside 12 minutes and won in the 89th, beating a Blackburn side managed by their former boss Tony Mowbray. Andri Gudjohnsen scored both of Blackburn's goals, the first after six minutes and the second six minutes later, when Harry Pickering's corner rebounded off Jayson Molumby into his path and he drove it in from the edge of the area for his sixth of the season.

Barney Stewart pulled one back in the 19th minute, his first EFL goal since moving from Falkirk, after a run into the Blackburn box by Rabby Nzingoula. The second half was end to end. Stewart almost scored again, Isaac Price shot over the bar, and Gudjohnsen headed wide from a Jayden Fevrier cross when a hat-trick was there for him.

Albion levelled in the 72nd minute, when the referee gave a penalty for Sean McLoughlin's challenge on Jayson Molumby and Price dinked it in, Panenka-style. Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire the penalty was "a really poor decision" and that McLoughlin was adamant he had not pushed anyone. The winner was an all-Norwegian move: Aune Heggebo headed the ball back at the far post and Felix Horn Myhre headed it in, in the 89th minute.

West Brom had 25 shots to ten and 64 per cent of the ball, though only four were on target to Blackburn's two. James Morrison told BBC Radio WM that "it wasn't good for 20 minutes, we can't start games like that". Albion are fifth on 20 points and have won two in a row. Blackburn's four-game unbeaten run is over, and they are tenth on 15.

Burnley will have gone a full year without a home league win after this defeat, and both Wolves goals came from Burnley errors. Jamie Vardy put the hosts ahead in the 20th minute, his first for Burnley, with a low finish into the bottom corner after Jacob Bruun Larsen's pass. Wolves, with six changes and injuries to two strikers behind them, were under pressure for most of the first half.

Kyle Walker then lost the ball too easily, the Wolves teenager Sean Neave, on loan, fed Fer Lopez, and Lopez's low shot went in off the post in the 39th minute. Early in the second half Rafiki Said made Gregoire Coudert save well, and the winner came after Igor Julio gave the ball away in midfield. Tawanda Chirewa, on for less than a minute, finished calmly in the 72nd minute from Mateus Mane's pass.

Wolves had 20 shots to 15 and eight on target to four. Burnley have now won one of their last 23 league games and conceded 21 goals in their first 11, and Nicky Hayen has just two wins from his 13 games in charge. Hayen told Sky Sports that "you can't make these kind of individual mistakes because we got punished". Burnley are 22nd on eight points, in the bottom three, and have no home game until 31 October.

Wolves, who had lost their previous two league games, to Middlesbrough and Bolton, are without Raul Jimenez until January and missed Adam Armstrong with a back injury, and rise from tenth to eighth on 17 points. Chirewa told Sky Sports: "I've been waiting for my moment and today I've helped the team to win." They have a game in hand, at home to Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Will Lankshear, the Championship's top scorer, was left out of the starting line-up for the first time this season, came on at half-time and rescued a point for Middlesbrough after Cardiff had led by two goals. Jack Moylan, playing as a makeshift striker, scored the first in the 22nd minute, gliding past Aidan Morris once Cardiff had won the ball, and Ollie Tanner added a second in first-half stoppage time, cutting inside to curl a shot in from just outside the box.

Middlesbrough finished with 36 shots to Cardiff's seven, 12 on target to three, but trailed by two goals at the break. Moylan had a decent claim for a penalty soon after his goal, with Ash Phillips appearing to bring him down, and Cardiff's goalkeeper Nathan Trott was busy. Kim Hellberg's changes at the break, Lankshear for Kyle Joseph and Seb Berhalter for Luke Ayling, did the damage: Tommy Conway scored his first of the season in the 58th minute from Amario Cozier-Duberry and Callum Brittain, and Lankshear turned just outside the box and placed a left-foot shot beyond Trott in the 61st.

Gabriel Osho was sent off in the 83rd minute for a reckless lunge on Lankshear, and Cardiff survived the closing stages with ten. It was their first away point since August, after four away defeats in a row, and Middlesbrough's ninth game unbeaten. Lankshear has 11 goals this season in all competitions. Hellberg told BBC Tees that Middlesbrough "had to defend goals better", and Brian Barry-Murphy, speaking to BBC Sport Wales, said Cardiff were "disappointed not to win" given the half-time score.

Middlesbrough are third on 22 points, level with West Ham, and Cardiff are 19th on 11. Middlesbrough are at Bolton on Friday, and Cardiff host Birmingham on Saturday.

Lincoln were ahead after 25 seconds and again after 33 minutes and still did not win. Andrei Coubis hit a low shot from 18 yards for their first goal since 19 September, and Rob Street's shot went through the legs of the Millwall goalkeeper Filip Marschall for the second. Millwall had 69.4 per cent of the ball, 18 shots to nine and 12 corners to two, and drew level through Kyrell Lisbie in the 63rd minute and Jake Cooper in the 82nd.

The second Lincoln goal came under protest. Reeco Hackett appeared to handle the ball as he controlled it before crossing, and Alex Neil told BBC Radio London: "The whole stadium shouted for a handball." Marschall had clattered into a post before the goal and was replaced by Max Crocombe at half-time.

Lincoln should have been out of sight after the break. Freddie Draper's header came back off the post, and Dom Jefferies struck the same upright from the rebound with the goal open. Lisbie then scored on the rebound of his own blocked attempt for his first Millwall goal, Hackett failed to convert after Draper's shot was saved, and Cooper bundled in the equaliser from a corner that Lincoln failed to clear. Ayodeji Elerewe was sent off in the 84th minute, perhaps harshly, for blocking Zak Lovelace's run, and Lincoln held on through the four added minutes announced.

It ended Lincoln's run of three straight defeats, after the 6-0 loss at West Ham on Wednesday in which they played over an hour with nine men. Millwall are 12th on 15 points and Lincoln 18th on 12. Neil told the radio: "The only positive I'll take from it is we didn't lose." Millwall are at Portsmouth next Saturday, and Lincoln host Burnley.

Luca Kjerrumgaard and Jordan Zemura scored to stop a Watford losing streak of four Championship games, six defeats in seven, and Charlton's winless league run is now eight games, five of them draws. The Hornets had conceded nine goals in their two previous defeats, by Burnley and Cardiff, and the pressure on Alessio Dionisi had grown.

The first half was short on finishing. Krepin Diatta, starting for the first time for Watford, drew a flying save from Arthur Okonkwo, Myron Boadu, Iker Bravo and Kjerrumgaard each wasted good chances, and Miles Leaburn headed well wide for Charlton. In the second half Edo Kayembe drove forward from halfway, his deflected shot was parried by Okonkwo, and Kjerrumgaard volleyed in the rebound in the 58th minute.

Federico Ravaglia saved from Charlie Kelman from a couple of yards to keep the score at one, and Zemura lifted a shot over the goalkeeper from Rocco Vata's pass in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Watford had 22 shots to 14 and ten on target to three. Dionisi told BBC Three Counties Radio that after the opening goal "the mentality changed". Nathan Jones told BBC Radio London that Charlton had been "a mile off". Watford rise from 22nd to 20th on 11 points, and Charlton, on 14, fall from 13th to 17th.

Liam Millar, on loan from Hull City, scored in each half and Demarai Gray added a third in stoppage time as Birmingham beat Queens Park Rangers for a third straight win and a fifth game unbeaten. Millar's first came on a counter in the 27th minute, when he was put through alone with the goalkeeper, and his second four minutes after the restart, finishing another breakaway.

QPR had the first big chance, inside ten minutes, when Boy Kemper failed to connect from point-blank range with the ball flicked on from a long throw. After the hour Rangers had their first sustained spell, and James Beadle tipped Ronnie Edwards's effort round the post. Millar had the chance of a hat-trick but fired at Pierce Charles. Gray, who had replaced him, blasted the third into the roof of the net from close range, set up by Vazquez.

Birmingham had 11 shots to 12, five on target to four, and no corners to Rangers' four. Julien Stephan told BBC Radio London: "Today we concede three goals on transition, it's really unusual for us." Chris Davies told BBC Radio WM that "there was a real intensity about us today". Birmingham stay fourth on 20 points, and QPR, level with them on points before the game, slip from fifth to ninth on 17.

Oliver Arblaster scored after five minutes, his first goal since the summer of 2024, and it was enough for Sheffield United at Ashton Gate. A deep free-kick from the United goalkeeper Michael Cooper was the start of it, Gibson Yah's attempted header clear dropped to Arblaster, and he thumped it in from 20 yards.

United had the better of the remainder of the opening half, and Michael Skubala made a double change at the break, bringing on Elijah Adebayo and Jed Wallace. Bristol City improved without threatening much: Wallace had a shot blocked, Ballard headed over from close range, and Cooper never had a save of note to make in the nine added minutes announced. At the other end Sam Tickle saved well from Japhet Tanganga to stop a second.

United had 16 shots to seven, with two on target to one, and kept a fourth clean sheet of the season. They rise from 15th to 11th on 15 points with a second win in three, after playing the second half at Portsmouth on Wednesday with ten men. Bristol City have lost four times in six home league games and scored three goals in them, and fall from 12th to 16th on 14. Skubala told BBC Radio Bristol: "We lost too many duels in the first half, they looked too physical for us." City are at Stoke next Saturday and United host Derby.

Luke Graham's first goal for Stoke, a deflected header four minutes after half-time, won the game at Derby and kept the Potters in the play-off places. Ethan Galbraith's free-kick was met by the Scotland defender, signed from Dundee, and the ball struck Carlton Morris on the back and looped over Josh Vickers. It was Stoke's first win at Derby since 2007.

The first half had one moment of note, when Morris was about to break through, Bosun Lawal challenged him and he fell, to loud protests from John Eustace. Mark Robins sent on George Hirst at half-time, and after the goal Derby responded, Rhian Brewster's shot glancing off the outside of a post. George Hirst, Djibril Soumare and Justin Devenny each had chances to add a second for Stoke, and late on Viktor Johansson got down well to turn away David Ozoh's volley, which was heading for the bottom corner.

Derby had 17 shots to 12, though only three were on target to Stoke's four, and 53.4 per cent of the ball. They have no home win this season and no win in six league games, and are 23rd on six points. Stoke are sixth on 19 after a late defeat by Middlesbrough in midweek. Eustace told BBC Radio Derby that "I don't think we deserved to lose", and Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "We had to dig deep." Lewis Travis limped off in his first start since August.

Marezi's penalty in the 51st minute gave Portsmouth the win at Carrow Road and Norwich a fifth straight league defeat, their eighth in 11 league games. Oscar Schwartau lost possession just outside his own box, Jacob Wright fouled Abu Kamara, a former Norwich youngster, as Kamara ran away from goal, and Marezi, scoring his third goal since a summer move from Almeria, sent Daniel Grimshaw the wrong way.

Norwich had paid a tribute before kick-off to Michael Wynn-Jones, their former honorary life president, who died last month, with Darren Huckerby leading out former players and managers. The first half could not match it, the only shot on target a 25-yard strike from Ruairi McConville that Nicolas Schmid saved low down, which brought an ironic chant from the home end of "We've had a shot!". After the goal Anis Ben Slimane's shot was saved, and 12 minutes from time Pelle Mattsson struck the inside of the right post with Schmid beaten.

Each side had nine shots and two on target. Portsmouth are 13th on 14 points, up three places, and Norwich are 21st on nine, a point above the bottom three, and Philippe Clement and his players were booed at the end. Clement told BBC Radio Norfolk that "this young group needs to calm down when we have the ball". John Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent that "we defended extremely well". Portsmouth have a game in hand at Wolves on Tuesday.

Southampton had 62.5 per cent of the ball and a handball claim but could not score against Bolton at St Mary's. Each side had 14 shots, and Bolton had three on target to the home side's two. Leo Scienza's curling shot flew high over the bar inside three minutes, and later a cross from him to the back post found Cyle Larin diving without making contact. Larin collided with the Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, and left the field injured a few minutes afterwards.

Just before the hour Lewis Dobbin was played clean through by Kuryu Matsuki and shot wide of the post. In the second half a cross from Scienza, on the right, struck the raised arm of Ruben Rodrigues in the Bolton area, and the Southampton players and crowd called for a penalty, but the referee Matt Donohue waved it away. Josh Sheehan had a late effort for Bolton that went straight at Daniel Peretz, and with less than ten minutes left James Bree mistimed a shot with the goal open and sent it wide of the right-hand post.

Southampton stay seventh on 17 points, four fewer than their record would earn without the deduction, and Bolton are 15th on 14. Tonda Eckert told BBC Radio Solent that "the handball situation is very obvious", and Steven Schumacher told BBC Radio Manchester that "in the end we're pleased with a point". Bolton host Middlesbrough on Friday, and Southampton are at West Ham on Saturday.

Wrexham beat bottom club Preston with goals from Joe Worrall, Ben Whiteman, Sam Smith and Kieffer Moore, easing the pressure on Phil Parkinson after a home defeat by West Brom in midweek. Worrall headed in Danny Imray's cross after 31 minutes for his first goal for the club, and Alfie Devine equalised five minutes later after Wrexham failed to clear.

Whiteman, Preston's former captain, who left Deepdale in controversial circumstances in the summer, was booed by the visiting supporters and scored his first Wrexham goal in the 42nd minute, controlling the ball outside the penalty area and finding the bottom corner. Smith headed in Whiteman's corner for his first goal of the season in the 59th, and Moore side-footed a finish four minutes later.

Preston had started the better, Odel Offiah's effort cleared off the line by Worrall and Andrew Hughes heading wide, and Daniel Iversen had saved from Callum O'Hare and Smith before the first goal. Wrexham had 17 shots to 11 and six on target to one. They rise from 17th to 14th on 14 points, and Preston stay last on four, with one win, one draw and nine defeats. Parkinson said it was "an important win for us", and Graham Alexander told BBC Radio Lancashire that Preston "just haven't been good enough in both boxes". Wrexham are at Blackburn next Saturday, and Preston host West Brom.