Sharp-shooting puts the Blades back on top
Sheffield United returned to the top of the Championship after beating Wigan 4-2 at Bramall Lane. Billy Sharp was the hero with a hat-trick as they snatched the lead back from Middlesbrough.
The Blades had gone ahead through a Cheyenne Dunkley own-goal midway through the first half, but Wigan pulled level five minutes before the break through Kal Naismith – moments after coming off the bench. Sharp nicked one before half-time and added two more in the 53rd and 63rd minutes to make it a convincing win, before Joe Garner (69) grabbed a consolation.
Leeds United missed the chance to leapfrog Sheffield United in the late game as they were held 1-1 by Nottingham Forest at Elland Road.
Jack Robinson had put Aitor Karanka’s Forest in front after 11 minutes, but Leeds battled back for a point with a late goal from Kemar Roofe, which was good enough to send the hosts up to second spot.
Harrison Reed’s 71st-minute equaliser denied West Brom a win and the chance to close the gap on the top, as they were frustrated in a 1-1 draw after Craig Dawson’s header had given them a 40th-minute lead.
Tom Barkhuizen and Michael Smith were on target as Preston North End and Rotherham United shared the points at Deepdale, while Darren Fletcher’s 33rd-minute effort gave Stoke a 1-0 victory at Bristol City.
Frazier Campbell won an important three points for Hull City in their bid to escape the bottom three, scoring in the seventh minute to seal a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers.
Lukas Jutkiewicz maintained his fine form, notching his eighth of the season in a 3-1 win for Birmingham City against Sheffield Wednesday.
Steven Fletcher gave the Owls the lead, but Connor Mahoney equalised and Jutkiewicz and Che Adams won it in the last 10 minutes.
Norwich City picked up three points against Brentford, whose struggles go on with a 1-0 defeat on the road. The Bees started the season in fine fettle, but are now without a win in eight league games after Emi Buendia scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute – and it would have been worse but for a missed penalty from Jordan Rhodes.
New manager Paul Lambert was in the stands to watch as Ipswich Town suffered another defeat, two goals from Lee Gregory and one from Ryan Leonard giving Millwall a 3-0 win over the bottom club.
Paul Clement’s job came under increased scrutiny at Reading after his side suffered a miserable 2-0 defeat at former club Swansea City, with Oli McBurnie scoring either side of half-time – the first of which was a penalty.