Conor Chaplin’s goal gave Ipswich a 1-0 victory at QPR and maintained their 100 per cent Sky Bet Championship record this season.
Ipswich, promoted from League One last season and now unbeaten in 22 league games, rode their luck at Loftus Road before scoring against the run of play with 15 minutes remaining.
Nathan Broadhead found Chaplin in the box and, after his first shot was blocked by Jack Colback, the striker fired the loose ball beyond keeper Asmir Begovic.
QPR had created several chances – and were desperately unfortunate not to be ahead at half-time.
They could not have gone closer to scoring when Sinclair Armstrong’s strike from near the left-hand edge of the penalty area struck the inside of the far post and then the inside of the opposite post.
The pace and directness of 20-year-old striker Armstrong continued to cause Ipswich major problems after that near miss.
Armstrong chased a long ball from Paul Smyth and forced a mistake from the worried Luke Woolfenden before unleashing a shot which keeper Vaclav Hladky did well to save.
Hladky also pushed over Morgan Fox’s looping header from a free-kick swung in by Ilias Chair, who sent one shot narrowly over and another wide of the near post from a tight angle as QPR kept up the pressure.
Ipswich did also threaten before the break. Wes Burns missed a great chance when he was unable to find the target when free at the far post, and George Hirst later fired over from just inside the box.
The visitors were on the back foot again early in the second half – again largely because of the relentless Armstrong.
The young Irishman darted with the ball between Woolfenden and Harry Clarke on the left flank and charged towards the box, where Hladky managed to deny him.
Then an astonishing miss let Ipswich off the hook again.
In trying to add a decisive touch after good work from Chair, Armstrong inadvertently diverted the ball away from the target towards Rangers defender Osman Kakay, who contrived to blast wide of an open goal.
Armstrong, playing in the absence of the injured Lyndon Dykes, is hugely exciting but has shown a lack of stamina so far during his fledgling career.
And when he went off midway through the second half, Rangers inevitably faded and boss Gareth Ainsworth’s limited options were underlined.
Ipswich took advantage and looked comfortable after going ahead, although Chair almost scored a sensational late equaliser when his audacious attempt from near the halfway line was tipped over by the scrambling Hladky.
New hero Andre Vidigal scored his fourth goal of the season as Stoke beat Watford 1-0.
The Portuguese winger – who turned 25 in midweek – marked his birthday with a late celebration as he notched a 53rd-minute winner.
It is now four goals in as many games in all competitions for the summer signing from Maritimo, who continues to impress on English soil.
Meanwhile, Watford’s unbeaten league start under new boss Valerien Ismael comes to an end with a disappointing display.
Following successive clean sheets in their opening two league games, the travelling Hornets began resolutely in a cagey opening to the fixture.
Twenty minutes passed until either side had a sight at goal with Watford the first to threaten.
A drilled James Morris shot flashed across the face of goal and only marginally alluded the outstretched Vakoun Bayo.
Stoke gradually grew into the fixture and, unsurprisingly, it was lively new recruit Vidigal who inspired the hosts.
The stylish forward twice came close in quick succession, first forcing a stop from Daniel Bachmann before then being thwarted by heroic Hornets defending.
Despite an uneventful opening period, the tie burst into life after the restart with Ismael’s outfit appearing the likelier to break the deadlock.
A cute piece of trickery from Ken Sema was followed by an inviting cutback, but substitute Yaser Asprilla could not direct his header on target.
Fellow attacker Matheus Martins also tried his luck and his venomous strike from range was destined for the bottom corner, if not for the intervention of Mark Travers.
However, the visitors’ bright start to the half was not rewarded as Alex Neil’s Potters snatched the advantage thanks to a moment of brilliance.
A deep Ki-Jana Hoever delivery found Vidigal, who chested down and rifled in an emphatic half-volley on the swivel into the top corner.
Buoyed by their breakthrough, Stoke quickly asserted their dominance as they looked to tighten their grip on the tie.
And the hosts came close to doubling their lead when Jordan Thompson collected in a dangerous position, but his strike was just over the target.
Watford rallied in their pursuit of a leveller and their best opportunity of the game fell to Asprilla.
The 19-year-old Colombia international advanced dangerously into the area, cut inside and unleashed a fierce strike, but Travers saved well.
A lively Sema then saw an audacious long-range effort whistle agonisingly wide of goal as The Potters held onto their slender advantage.
Forward Ryan Mmaee came close to opening his account for the hosts following a summer switch from Ferencvaros, but he dragged his strike wide late on.
Brentford claimed west London bragging rights over 10-man Fulham with a deserved 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.
Yoane Wissa’s first-half strike coupled with a Bryan Mbeumo double was enough for Thomas Frank’s men, who extended their unbeaten record in London derbies to 11.
The Bees continue to adjust to life without Ivan Toney but did not look back after an impressive display from their frontmen who sealed a deserved three points away from home.
Both sets of supporters set the tone as Fulham’s new striker Raul Jimenez enjoyed defending Mathias Jensen’s attacking throw-ins before the Mexican nearly caught goalkeeper Mark Flekken napping with the ball at feet.
Marco Silva had discussed the striker’s plethora of attributes on Friday and his compliments seemed justified as the £5.5million man had multiple touches of the ball in dangerous areas as the hosts pushed to capitalise on a chaotic start from both sides.
Frank’s change of shape from a back five during their 2-2 draw to Spurs to a back four here failed to resolve his side’s possession problems in the first half but a loose ball in midfield saw the pacey Wissa test Bernd Leno after 25 minutes.
After Ethan Pinnock directed a Fulham corner onto his own crossbar, Mbeumo delivered a golden opportunity to Wissa after 38 minutes but the Congo attacker scuffed his effort wide from a position you would back the suspended Toney to convert from.
But just before half-time Wissa did not have to be asked again as he gave his side the lead.
Kenny Tete’s back pass to Issa Diop saw the Frenchman fumble his touch before the Brentford attacker pounced on the loose ball and run through on goal where he dispatched his effort calmy past a helpless Leno.
Fulham responded well after the break as Tete marauded forward before his cut back found Bobby De Cordova-Reid, whose first-time effort cannoned off the crossbar as the Jamaican was denied his second of the season after his winner at Goodison Park last week.
Typical of a derby, Brentford immediately went down the other end in numbers and Jensen’s 54th-minute half-volley was hit into the ground and forced Leno to make an acrobatic save.
But in the 64th minute Wissa wreaked further havoc on the Fulham backline and forced a clumsy challenge from skipper Tim Ream, who gave away a penalty and was shown a second yellow by referee Darren Bond.
Mbeumo scored a penalty for the second week in a row after his composed effort rooted Leno to the spot as the ball clipped the inside of the left post and nestled in the bottom corner to give Brentford a 2-0 advantage.
Fulham hunted for a way back during nine minutes of added time through cameos from Willian and new signing Adama Traore but the extra man paid dividends for the visitors and Kristoffer Ajer’s well-timed cross found the potent Mbeumo who rounded off victory for Brentford.
Substitutes Fejiri Okenabirhie and Sullay Kaikai scored late to give Cambridge their third win in four League One games by beating Bristol Rovers 2-0 at the Abbey Stadium.
Okenabirhie’s curling finish in the 78th minute opened the scoring before Kaikai wrapped up the points in stoppage time to consign Rovers to a first defeat of the season.
The visitors had the best chance of the first half when a poor back header from Liam Bennett in the 22nd minute was intercepted by John Marquis, who rounded Jack Stevens but clipped the ball across the goal where it was cleared to safety.
Rovers then wasted a golden chance after the break when Aaron Collins raced clear in the 68th minute but could only fire straight at Stevens.
Joey Barton’s side were punished late on when Kaikai worked the ball to Okenabirhie, who curled a shot from the left side of the box into the far corner.
As Rovers pushed for an equaliser in injury time, a Cambridge break in the 96th minute, led by Okenabirhie and George Thomas, left Kaikai with a simple finish.
Kaoru Mitoma’s superb solo effort and Solly March’s second-half double helped lift Brighton top of the Premier League table after an impressive 4-1 win at Wolves.
Japan midfielder Mitoma’s mesmeric run and finish gave Brighton a slender half-time lead before Roberto De Zerbi’s side put Wolves to the sword with three goals in nine minutes at the start of the second half.
Pervis Estupinan doubled Brighton’s lead within 60 seconds of the restart and two carbon-copy goals from March, both assisted by teenage forward Julio Enciso, sealed the Seagulls’ second-straight win.
Wolves responded through substitute Hwang Hee-chan’s header just after the hour mark, but it was mere consolation for Gary O’Neil’s side, who were emphatically punished for missed first-half chances and lost Matheus Nunes to a late red card.
Mitoma gave Brighton a 15th-minute lead with a brilliant effort, cutting inside 40 yards from goal and beating three Wolves defenders before sliding the ball beyond goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Brighton deserved their lead, but Wolves spent the rest of an end-to-end first half chasing an equaliser.
Fabio Silva was brilliantly denied by Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele’s out-stretched boot in the 28th minute after the Portuguese forward had ghosted on to Joao Gomes’ deft through-ball.
The home side went close again when Nunes curled a shot off-target following impressive Brazilian Matheus Cunha’s powerful run and Pedro Neto flashed an angled drive just wide.
Brighton continued to threaten on the counter – Mitoma and Paraguayan Enciso were a constant menace – but Wolves passed up another chance just before the break.
Rayan Ait-Nouri found himself clear in front of goal after exchanging passes with Silva, but the Algeria defender blazed over shortly before half-time.
Wolves were made to pay inside 60 seconds of the restart as Brighton extended their lead and then put the game to bed with two more strikes, all within the space of nine minutes.
Estupinan tucked home the visitors’ second, stepping on to Mitoma’s cut-back after Danny Welbeck’s fierce drive had been parried by Sa.
March then slammed home his first as he charged on to Enciso’s lovely weighted ball inside the penalty area to make it 3-0 in the 51st minute and that became 4-0, just four minutes later.
Enciso this time found himself free on the opposite edge of the area and his ball in was turned home again by March to leave Molineux stunned.
Wolves responded just after the hour-mark as Hwang headed home fellow substitute Pablo Sarabia’s corner and they drove gamely forward in a bid to mitigate the damage.
Efforts from Sarabia and Pedro Neto were held by Steele and rebounded off Evan Ferguson respectively, while March was twice denied his hat-trick with goal-bound shots blocked by Toti Gomes and Steele.
Wolves’ misery was complete in stoppage-time when Nunes was sent off for his second yellow card after pushing Estupinan to the ground.
Hundreds of Tottenham supporters staged a protest ahead of the club’s home match against Manchester United over the decision to increase matchday ticket prices for this season.
It was first revealed in July that Spurs planned to raise the price of matchday tickets for the 2023-24 campaign, a decision heavily criticised by Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust.
THST unveiled plans on August 1 to demonstrate against the increase ahead of Manchester United’s visit and a large group of fans gathered outside the stadium at 3.45pm with banners held up urging the club to reverse its decision.
Spurs announced in April that season-ticket prices would be frozen for the second year in a row, but THST confirmed in July that the club planned to raise matchday ticket prices.
It was also revealed there would now be six Category A fixtures, the most expensive ticket, with Newcastle bumped up from Category B.
A Tottenham spokesperson told the PA news agency at the time: “We are fully aware of the current rising cost of living – and as such are one of only three Premier League clubs to freeze Season Ticket prices for the coming season.
“Our match ticket prices are comparable to other London clubs, with a wide range of price points available for fans to choose from.”
After THST described the club’s decision to increase matchday tickets as “excessive”, earlier this month the Supporters’ Trust produced a ‘Call to Action’ plan alongside a number of key facts around the price rise.
The highest matchday ticket is now £103 and THST state the club’s decision to increase prices “will generate approximately £2.5million”, which they allege contributes to only 0.6 of the club’s total income.
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Upon revealing plans to hold a peaceful protest, THST urged the club to reverse its decision, guarantee there would be no price increase for next season and for a full commitment to consult the Supporters’ Trust and the Fan Advisory Board on a “fair and sustainable” ticking strategy.
“I hope the club listen and do retract the matchday ticket price increase,” THST chair Martin Buhagiar told PA earlier in August.
“People can’t afford their mortgage, can’t afford their shopping, can’t afford their utility bills, so now is not the time to price loyal fans out of football.
“My concern is the stadium will always sell out because of day-trippers or people on holiday coming to games, but fundamentally you will end up with a passionless stadium if you price out the passionate fans.”
After plenty of promotion on social media alongside the hashtags #StopExploitingLoyalty and #StopTicketPriceRises during recent weeks, a large number of fans turned up for Saturday’s demonstration.
Around 300 supporters stood on the High Road outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and held up banners with one reading: “Greed is a choice. No to ticket price hike” and another stating: “Stop Exploiting Fans.”
While some of the chanting briefly turned to calling for chairman Daniel Levy to leave Spurs, the majority of the singing was repeatedly calling for the club to reverse its decision before supporters moved on after half an hour.
Martyn Waghorn scored for the second time in four days to give Derby a 1-0 win over Fleetwood that ended a run of three home defeats.
Derby swarmed all over Fleetwood from the start and got the goal their dominance deserved in the 23rd minute.
Conor Washington’s shot was deflected to Waghorn, who swivelled to send a low shot inside Jay Lynch’s left post.
Danny Mayor fired over as Fleetwood responded and Derby survived a scare in the 45th minute when Jayden Stockley headed against Joe Wildsmith’s right post.
It was a reminder that Derby needed a second and they went close several times at the start of the second half through Liam Thompson and substitute James Collins.
But Fleetwood almost equalised in the 72nd minute when Promise Omochere’s header was tipped against the bar by Wildsmith, who pushed away a Junior Quitirna shot six minutes later.
Quitirna flashed a ball across the six-yard box in stoppage time but Derby held on for their second win of the season.
Jobe Bellingham scored a brace to help Sunderland come from behind and secure their first points of the Championship campaign with a 2-1 win over Rotherham.
Hakeem Odoffin had given Rotherham a shock lead 20 minutes into the contest but Bellingham’s close-range header drew his side level almost immediately, and his smart finish early in the second half secured three deserved points for Tony Mowbray’s side.
The 17-year-old came close to scoring a remarkable hat-trick, but instead had to settle for a match-winning brace and the adulation of 40,000 supporters when brought off with 10 minutes to play.
Sunderland had been left to rue the lack of a senior striker in the opening weeks of the campaign, struggling to turn their good play into points. Twenty minutes into this game it felt a familiar tale, the home side enjoying almost 70 per cent of the ball but yet to produce a shot.
When the first effort of the game was registered shortly after, it was the visitors who took the lead.
It was a lovely move to work the ball into the box, where Odoffin was surprised to find himself free. The forward took one touch and rifled a low effort past Anthony Patterson.
There was relief in the Stadium of Light when it took just a minute for Mowbray’s side to respond, the ever-dangerous Jack Clarke cutting inside and standing up a cross to the back post. Dan Neil was there to meet it and Bellingham was able to convert his first senior goal from a matter of yards out.
Sunderland continued to enjoy the better of the contest and took the lead in the second half when Bellingham again was found free in the box, this time curling an effort past Viktor Johansson.
The midfielder came close to landing a remarkable hat-trick when he was found with a cross just moments later, but a strong block allowed Rotherham to stay in the game.
The visitors continued to threaten from set plays even if it was the hosts who were enjoying the better of the play, and substitute Tolaji Bola in particular will feel he could have done better when meeting a delivery into the box.
The scoreline meant the hosts were never comfortable even as substitute Luis Hemir went close with a powerful long-range effort late on, but the Black Cats were ultimately able to see out five minutes of stoppage time to secure a welcome victory.
Swansea summer signing Jerry Yates bagged his second goal of the campaign to earn his new side a 1-1 draw with Coventry in the Championship.
The visiting Sky Blues were wasteful in the first half but took the lead through what was one of their only two shots on target in the game as Matty Godden netted in the 39th minute.
But Yates, who arrived from Blackpool for a reported £2.5million this summer, equalised two minutes later with his second goal in as many home appearances for the Swans.
Having been lacklustre for the majority of their 3-2 defeat at West Brom a week earlier, Swansea boss Michael Duff urged his side to play with more zip against Coventry.
The hosts certainly took his words on board and started on the front foot as Jay Fulton drilled just wide after neat play from Joel Piroe.
Coventry soon settled and created openings of their own as club-record £7.7m signing Haji Wright was off target with three efforts in the space of seven minutes, the last of which fizzed inches wide of Carl Rushworth’s goal.
Mark Robins will undoubtedly have been pleased with the control his side had on the game as Coventry’s sharpness continued to pose problems.
But Swansea registered the game’s first effort on target just before the half-hour mark. A corner from Charlie Patino – on his first start since joining on loan from Arsenal – found Harry Darling who headed straight at Ben Wilson.
Coventry took the lead six minutes before half-time as the lively Tatsuhiro Sakamoto squared to Wright who teed up Godden to rifle home his third goal of the season.
It sparked wild scenes of celebration in the away end, but the Sky Blues were pegged back within two minutes.
Harrison Ashby latched on to Darling’s ball over the top on the right flank before crossing to Yates who nodded over Wilson to ensure the score was level at the break.
The second half proved to be a slow burner until Coventry duo Bobby Thomas and Kyle McFadzean headed over from corners in quick succession.
Piroe and Yates then combined on the right to send Fulton into the visitors’ box, but the midfielder could only drill straight at Wilson from an acute angle.
Duff sent on Liam Cullen, Joe Allen, Azeem Abdulai and Josh Ginnelly late on while Wright was replaced by Ellis Simms as the contest remained finely poised.
But Coventry were unable to trouble goalkeeper Rushworth following a barrage of set-plays as they remained without a win at Swansea since 1981.
Ryan Trevitt and Demitri Mitchell netted as Exeter beat Carlisle 2-0 at Brunton Park.
Exeter found the breakthrough when Trevitt struck 20 minutes from time for his first professional goal.
Mitchell stroked home with eight minutes left to make the points safe, but Carlisle may have felt aggrieved he was not sent off in the first half after a possible second bookable offence.
United started well and Sean Maguire pulled a first-minute shot narrowly wide of the Exeter goal, before Fin Back’s volley whistled close as the home side dominated the early moments.
Maguire again created an opening for Carlisle, heading a decent chance into Viljami Sinisalo’s grateful grasp. The City keeper was called into action again when Maguire fired low on 53 minutes.
Despite the Carlisle pressure, Trevitt fired home from the edge of the box to give the Grecians the lead on 70 minutes.
On 82 minutes, Mitchell got on the end of a Jack Aitchison cross and picked out the bottom corner to seal the game for Exeter.
Mitch Pinnock scored a remarkable goal in the final minute of normal time as Northampton picked up their first win of the Sky Bet League One season by beating local rivals Peterborough 1-0 at Sixfields.
Pinnock’s volley from 40 yards out, carried over the line by goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic, gave the Cobblers their first win in this fixture since 2006 and ended Posh’s 100 per cent start to the season.
A shaky start from Northampton allowed Peterborough to take control and two early chances went begging for Will Randall, who blazed over and then glanced a header wide of the far post.
Bilokapic saved from Kieron Bowie at the other end but Posh continued to carry the greater threat in the first half and Kwame Poku was particularly dangerous as he went close with a couple of efforts.
The visitors continued to edge things in the second half as Ephron Mason-Clark had a goal ruled out for offside.
Northampton grew stronger though and finished well, and they snatched victory in the 90th minute when Pinnock’s volley from the right was carried over the line by Bilokapic.
Goals from substitutes Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz gave Birmingham a 2-0 Championship away win against a Bristol City side who finished with 10 men.
The visitors took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Keshi Anderson’s corner was not cleared and Miyoshi, just introduced for the injured Ethan Laird, found the roof of the net with a sweet right-footed volley.
The home side’s task became more difficult when centre-back Rob Dickie was shown a second yellow card on 75 minutes for blocking a run by substitute Jordan James, having already been booked for dissent in the first half.
And any hope the home side had of a recovery was snuffed out six minutes from time when Jutkiewicz, introduced on 73 minutes as a replacement for Anderson, converted a low right-wing cross from close range.
Birmingham were good value for a win that maintained their promising start to the season, while inflicting a first defeat on their hosts.
Robins boss Nigel Pearson gave a first start of the season to winger Anis Mehmeti, while Birmingham were unchanged from their 1-0 home victory over Leeds.
Blues made a bright start and their first attack saw Scott Hogan head over from Juninho Bacuna’s left-wing cross.
Defences dominated for much of the first half and chances were at a premium. Siriki Dembele fired over from distance for Birmingham on 21 minutes.
Four minutes later the hosts’ first meaningful goal attempt saw Sam Bell’s shot blocked. Dickie headed over from the resulting corner.
Birmingham looked more dangerous and Max O’Leary had to save a Bacuna shot on 35 minutes. Then came the injury to Laird that saw Miyoshi sent on as a 40th-minute replacement.
The Japanese substitute made an immediate impact, forcing a good save from O’Leary before breaking the deadlock deep into three minutes of injury time.
Both managers made changes at the break, Pearson sending on Haydon Roberts and Mark Sykes for Cameron Pring and Harry Cornick while Blues boss John Eustace introduced James for Dembele.
Bristol City began the second half on the front foot, Zak Vyner failing to make contact with a Mehmeti corner and a Sykes run halted by a foul that earned Lee Buchanan a booking.
But Birmingham soon responded and Bacuna grazed a post with a left-footed shot before Miyoshi sent another effort wide.
Both sides were fully committed but still it was Blues creating more openings as a James shot brought a diving O’Leary save.
Dickie’s dismissal only seemed to fire up the home side and substitute Nahki Wells should have equalised on 82 minutes when shooting wide from Bell’s low cross.
It proved an expensive miss as Jutkiewicz quickly settled the outcome.
Liverpool overcame a torrid start and a red card for Alexis Mac Allister to beat Bournemouth 3-1 for their first win of the Premier League campaign.
Antoine Semenyo gave the visitors a stunning third-minute lead but Luis Diaz levelled with a neat finish and before half-time Mo Salah tucked in the rebound from his own missed penalty, his 187th Liverpool goal moving him ahead of Steven Gerrard and into fifth in the club’s scoring charts.
Liverpool could have been rocked when Mac Allister was harshly shown a straight red for catching Christie on the foot just before the hour mark, but instead they scored a third moments later as Diogo Jota rifled in a rebound to settle it.
The hosts were fortunate they had not dug themselves an even deeper hole in a chaotic opening few minutes which illustrated the work still ahead as Jurgen Klopp reshapes his side.
With new signing Wataru Endo watching on from the bench after receiving international clearance, the need for such a defensive midfielder was clear as Liverpool repeatedly played themselves into trouble and were made to pay a price by Bournemouth’s energetic press.
The visitors, who have never won a league match at Anfield and who lost here 9-0 12 months ago, thought they had an opener inside 60 seconds as Alisson and Ibrahima Konate both went to try to intercept a long ball down Bournemouth’s left channel, but Jaidon Anthony was offside before tucking the ball in.
No matter, as the opener came two minutes later. Virgil van Dijk played a routine pass to Trent Alexander-Arnold but the England man showed his deficiencies in an inverted role, with a loose touch allowing Philip Billing to prod the ball through for Dominic Solanke.
Andy Robertson prevented the ex-Liverpool man from getting a shot away but the ball fell for Semenyo to thump home.
Van Dijk then headed against the crossbar from Robertson’s corner, briefly lifting the mood inside Anfield before Alisson provided another moment of panic.
The Brazil goalkeeper mis-placed a pass and then felled Anthony just outside the area as he threatened to race through on goal, his punishment limited to a booking with Konate covering.
The brittle nature of Liverpool’s midfield was seen again in the 25th minute when Marcos Senesi strode out of the Bournemouth defence and simply kept going all the way to the final third, slipping in Solanke who was sandwiched by Robertson and Van Dijk but made no great appeal for a penalty.
Moments later, Liverpool were level. Jota’s ball from the right was slightly behind Diaz after Senesi got a touch, but the Colombian adjusted well to control and then fire home from close range.
The penalty came eight minutes later as Dominik Szoboszlai made the most of a dangling leg left by Joe Rothwell and went down in the corner of the box. Neto saved a relatively tame effort from Salah but the Egyptian was there to finish at the second opportunity, his ninth goal in nine against Bournemouth.
Liverpool looked much more settled in a strong start to the second half as Jota and Salah threatened.
It might have all changed when Mac Allister’s home debut was cut short just before the hour, but if anything a sense of injustice fired Liverpool up.
Endo was waiting to come on for his debut in a midfield reshuffle when Neto could only parry a deflected shot from Szoboszlai and Jota tucked in the rebound.
Endo slotted in well as Liverpool adopted a more conservative approach to see the game out, although Alisson still needed to make a fine late saves from Solanke and Hamed Traore to prevent a more nervous finish to the afternoon.
Livingston booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Viaplay Cup with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Ayr United.
The Scottish Premiership hosts avoided a potential banana skin, with goals in each half from Joel Nouble and Cristian Montano seeing off their Championship visitors.
Livingston, defeated 3-0 by Inverness in last season’s Scottish Cup, looked in no mood to allow lightning to strike twice against second-tier opposition.
It took them just 12 minutes to take the lead, with a second goal of the season for Nouble.
Jason Holt lifted a diagonal pass to the edge of the box, where Kurtis Guthrie won the aerial duel to flick the ball into the path of the overlapping Montano.
The wing-back burst to the by-line and his cutback was hammered into the net by the lurking Nouble.
It was just the start needed to settle any nerves as they dealt with the expectations of facing lower-league opponents.
Ayr, who defeated St Johnstone in an unbeaten group stage campaign, recovered quickly from going behind, however, and pushed forward in search of the equaliser.
Aiden McGeady, making his first start since joining in the summer, found space on the left side of the box in the 18th minute and cut back onto his right-hand side with enough room for a curling shot but Livi goalkeeper Shamal George held on.
The match was getting bogged down in a fierce midfield battle with few clear-cut opportunities at either end.
Stephen Kelly did have a chance with a set-piece in the 29th minute but his curling free-kick was saved by Ayr number one Robbie Mutch.
Kelly was also to the fore at the start of the second period as Livi sought a killer second.
In the 51st minute, Nouble could not quite find the room for a shot in a crowded box and laid the ball off to Kelly but the midfielder skied his effort over the bar from 18 yards.
Moments later, the former Rangers youngster threaded a superb pass through for the breaking Montano but Sean McGinty and George Stanger got back to crowd out the Livi man.
However, there was to be no stopping Montano in the 64th minute as the home side doubled their advantage.
The wing-back powered forward on the left side of the area to latch onto a through ball and when his initial shot was saved by Mutch, it rebound back off him and into the unguarded net.
Montano was denied a second with 14 minutes remaining when his low drive from a Bruce Anderson cutback was turned round the post by Mutch.
When Ayr substitute Fraser Bryden failed to get enough on a Logan Chalmers cross nine minutes from time, allowing George to smother from close range, the visitors’ hopes of staging a late comeback slipped away.
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