Error code: %{errorCode}

Soccer

Harris has unhappy farewell as Sheffield United and Leeds start to motor - Championship winners and losers

DAZN News
Harris has unhappy farewell as Sheffield United and Leeds start to motor - Championship winners and losersGetty Images

Tuesday and Wednesday saw a full round of Championship fixtures played as Match Day 20 saw Sheffield United and Leeds United entrench their positions at the top of the table.

Let's take a look at how things unfolded as we pick our winners and losers for the week.

 

Winners                       
 

Sheffield United

A point clear at the top and four clear of third place Burnley, the Blades ground out a 1-0 win over Millwall. They were second best for large parts of the game, but the mark of a title winning team is the ability to make the key moments count. And that's exactly what they did as they rode their luck early before capitalizing on some sloppy defence to score the games’ only goal just ahead of the break - Rhian Brewster the beneficiary of Jack Robinson's vision and Gustavo Hamer's control as he scored his first goal for almost two years.

 

Leeds United

Daniel Farke is in his happy place when he's in the top two of the Championship. It's a place he knows intimately and where he's very good. Leeds showed their class with a 3-1 home win over Middlesbrough, a result that sees a degree of daylight beginning to appear between the top two and the chasing pack.  

 

West Brom

After a very strong start to the season things have tapered off in recent times for the Baggies. But Wednesday night saw them win 2-0 against Coventry to bring an end to a run of four draws. The three points also eased them back into the play-off places at the expense of Middlesbrough. West Brom have been riding their luck somewhat in recent games - on Wednesday their opener came from a wicked deflection as Alex Mowatt's shot hit Josh Eccles to leave Sky Blues keeper Brad Collins in one corner of the net and the ball in the other. At the weekend they scored a similar goal when Tom Fellows' cross deflected in via a defender.    

 

Preston North End

It has been a long-time coming, but Preston finally managed their first away win of the season with a 2-0 triumph over Cardiff. It wasn't just a first away win; it was also their first three-point haul in ten games as an own goal and a late strike from Montenegrin Milutin Osmajic saw them back to winning ways.

 

Losers

 

Neil Harris

The Millwall boss is leaving The Den, stepping down after the weekend visit to Middlesbrough. Wednesday's home game was his chance to sign off in front of the home fans with a win, but it wasn't to be. The Lions looked the better team for large parts of the game, and Harris would have hoped that the significance of the game might have been a rallying call for his side. But it wasn't to be and the man who turned out 374 times for Millwall as a player and who has managed them in two spells departed one last time on the back of defeat.

 

Burnley

The Championship is a punishing place to play football - there really is no room for slip ups. At home against Derby County, they would have expected to walk off with the spoils. But despite 68% of the possession and 14 shots at goal there was no way through the Rams defence and the game ended all square at 0-0. 

 

Bottom three

Between them none of Cardiff, Plymouth or Hull couldn't muster a win. Collectively they boast one victory from their last 18 outings. Hull, under new manager Ruben Selles, at least brought an end to a run of five consecutive losses with a respectable 1-1 draw over eighth placed Watford. The biggest joy for the sides in the relegation places is that those teams immediately above them, Portsmouth and Oxford failed to win as well.

  

Frank Lampard

The new Coventry boss lost his first game since joining the Sky Blues. Despite a solid performance from his side in a midlands’ derby against West Brom they ended up going down 2-0, bringing the new manager bounce to an abrupt end. Coventry may have won last time out, but it's their only win in the last six and they continue to flirt dangerously with relegation, just four points ahead of the drop zone.


Championship results 
 

Wednesday 12 December

  • Cardiff City 0-2 Preston North End 
  • Hull City 1-1 Watford 
  • Millwall 0-1 Sheffield United 
  • Queens Park Rangers 2-0 Oxford United 
  • West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Coventry City 

Tuesday 11 December  

  • Burnley 0-0 Derby County
  • Luton Town 2-1 Stoke City 
  • Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Swansea City 
  • Portsmouth 0-0 Norwich City 
  • Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
  • Sunderland 1-1 Bristol City 
  • Leeds United 3-1 Middlesbrough 

How to watch the Championship on DAZN in Canada 

Canadian subscribers can watch the EFL with their DAZN account. 

EFL Championship trophyRobbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

More Football