London (AFP) – Leeds stormed back to the top of the Championship on Saturday, leapfrogging local rivals Middlesbrough with a 3-0 victory against Norwich.
The Canaries have painted the away dressing room pink in the hope of lowering the testosterone levels of their opponents but the ploy failed to deter Marcelo Bielsa’s men as two first-half goals in six minutes swept them clear.
Mateusz Klich and Ezgjan Alioski pounced to reward Leeds’ early dominance before the outstanding Pablo Hernandez added a third in the 67th minute following some individual wizardry from the Spanish playmaker.
United were vulnerable in defence at times but were unstoppable in attack against an overwhelmed Norwich.
Bolton lost ground in the title race after slipping to their first defeat of the season as Sheffield United emerged 3-0 winners at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Mark Duffy, Kieron Freeman and John Fleck were on target in a victory as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.
Under-pressure QPR boss Steve McClaren was thrown a lifeline with a 1-0 victory over Wigan at Loftus Road.
Tomer Hemed’s first-half goal secured Rangers’ first points of the season following a run of four straight defeats that had rooted them to the foot of the table.
Sam Baldock salvaged a point against Aston Villa after his injury-time penalty secured an unexpected 1-1 draw for Reading.
Villa lost playmaker Jack Grealish to a first-half injury but that did not prevent them from opening the scoring through Ahmed Elmohamady and they looked comfortable until Baldock intervened.
Brentford dropped out of the play-off places after Kasey Palmer gave Blackburn a 1-0 victory at Ewood Park.
Derby surged up the table after strikes from Mason Mount and Richard Keogh completed a 2-0 win against struggling Preston.
Lucas Joao plundered the opener and winner as Sheffield Wednesday overcame Ipswich 2-1.
Stoke claimed their first win of the season after James McClean scored and Mame Biram Diouf’s effort looped into the bottom corner after deflecting off Tigers defender Jordy de Wijs for a 2-0 victory.
Andreas Weimann found the net after 31 seconds but that was the only goal as Bristol City prevailed 1-0 at Swansea.
