Championship roundup: Norwich open gap at top with win over Bristol City
Daniel Farke claimed Norwich’s 2-0 win over Bristol City was his side’s “best performance of the season so far” as they moved seven points clear at the top of the Championship.
The Canaries’ win was as comfortable as they come, with the visitors failing to register an effort on target all evening. A goal in either half from Jordan Hugill sealed a comfortable victory, and boss Farke said: “It is always difficult to compare games but I would say this was our best performance of the season so far. The lads were fantastic and I can’t praise them enough.
“We dominated the game from start to finish, had nine shots on goal while denying them a single effort on our goal, had two thirds of the possession and the only complaint I could make was that we didn’t take more of the many chances we created.”Bristol City manager Dean Holden admitted his team had been second best all evening. “We were beaten by a top team tonight, undoubtedly the best team in the league,” he said. “We knew all about their qualities, how well they keep the ball and how expansive they are but were hoping to take advantage when we got the ball from them. But we never really did that and didn’t create nearly enough.”
Brentford kept up the pressure on the top two with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Luton that stretched their unbeaten league run to 17 games.
Saman Ghoddos’s 15th-minute header was the difference between the sides in a game of two halves as he headed home Ivan Toney’s pinpoint right-wing cross from close range.
The game ended in controversy, with Hatters defender Tom Lockyer getting a straight red and Brentford’s top scorer Toney picking up a second yellow for an off-the-ball clash.
Millwall defender Scott Malone returned to Huddersfield to condemn his former club to a fourth consecutive defeat. The 29-year-old wing-back failed to net in 28 outings for the Terriers during a year-long spell that came to an end in 2018, but his fourth-minute strike proved enough to earn Millwall a 1-0 win - only their second Championship triumph in 16 contests.
Chris Willock’s first QPR goal secured a 1-0 win for his team and made it six straight defeats for Cardiff, with Bluebirds manager Neil Harris now a man under serious pressure.
Nottingham Forest’s seven-match unbeaten run was brought to a grinding halt as their former striker Britt Assombalonga helped Middlesbrough to a 2-1 win at the City Ground.
The Birmingham manager, Aitor Karanka, dismissed any relegation fears despite Preston condemning the Blues to a sixth straight home defeat. Scott Sinclair’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 win for the visitors at St Andrew’s. “I’ve never been concerned, even when we lost 4-0 to Derby [in December},” said Karanka.