Ipswich swept back into second place in the Sky Bet Championship with an emphatic 6-0 win over relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday.

A brace apiece by Omari Hutchinson and Ali Al-Hamadi helped Town leapfrogged above Leeds ahead of the Yorkshire side’s home match with Millwall on Sunday.

Three first-half goals put Ipswich in complete control at Portman Road with Cameron Burgess and Nathan Broadhead adding to Hutchinson’s 15th-minute opener.

Hutchinson added a sublime fourth goal soon after half-time before substitute Al-Hamadi struck twice late on as the Tractor Boys recorded their biggest win of the season.

The Owls, meanwhile, remain down in 23rd spot and two points adrift of safety after seeing their recent revival dented by successive defeats.

Wednesday had won five of six matches prior to their loss at Leeds last time out and they showed promising signs early on at Ipswich as they created several chances.

However, Anthony Musaba could not make the most of his opportunities while Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was called upon to turn Djeidi Gassama’s shot round the post, and it was the home who drew first blood.

Wes Burns picked out Hutchinson near to the penalty spot and his fine low shot beat Beadle.

Gassami almost bought the scores level when his snap-shot from just outside the penalty area had Hladky diving across his goal line to push the ball round the post.

Burns limped off with what appeared to be a calf injury in the 36th minute, but the Tractor Boys extended their lead a minute later following a goalmouth scramble from a Leif Davis corner.

Kieffer Moore initially headed the ball onto the crossbar but Australia international Burgess was on hand to hammer home and make it 2-0.

The points were all-but sewn up in first-half stoppage time when Broadhead put the hosts further ahead after meeting substitute Kayden Jackson’s cross inside the six-yard box.

Ipswich picked up where they left off after the break and Hutchinson fired just over before getting his second of the match in the 48th minute after receiving the ball from Broadhead and slamming a shot past Beadle.

The Wednesday keeper had to claw away a long-range effort from Massimo Luongo soon after but he was beaten again in the 80th minute when Al-Hamadi made it 5-0 after Beadle had parried Jeremy Sarmiento’s shot into his path

Hutchinson’s inch-perfect cross in the 90th minute was then converted by Al-Hamadi to wrap up a comprehensive win for promotion-chasing Town.

Ryan Lowe’s Preston reignited their play-off hopes with a 1-0 win at his former club Plymouth.

Substitute Liam Millar scored the decisive goal in the 43rd minute after a sweeping move down the left.

The victory lifted North End up to ninth, five points off sixth-placed Norwich with a game in hand, and condemned Ian Foster’s struggling Argyle to a fourth successive home defeat.

The hosts started well, with Ryan Hardie firing wide after latching on to a superb through-ball down the left by Mickel Miller.

Preston boss Lowe was forced to shuffle his line-up early on as Milutin Osmajic was forced off injured after only seven minutes, Millar coming on.

The visitors also lost Brad Potts in the 19th minute, with Layton Stewart taking his place.

But the two changes did little to disrupt Preston’s intent and they forced the pace of the game for much of the first half

Millar should have scored in the 20th minute when he latched on to a pass along the edge of the box by Mads Frokjaer-Jensen and raced into the area, chesting the ball down but then firing wide with only goalkeeper Michael Cooper to beat from close range.

But he made no mistake shortly before half-time as Liam Lindsay’s deep cross was flicked on by Will Keane and Millar at the far post smashed a volley back across goal and into the corner.

Argyle’s best chances came late in the half as they forced a succession of corners, with North End keeper Freddie Woodman at full stretch to tip away Adam Randell’s inswinging set-piece before Mustapha Bundu’s header from another ball in flew high and wide.

Millar forced a good diving save from Cooper in the 52nd minute as Preston began the second half on the front foot.

Cooper made an even better stop to keep out Jordan Storey’s far-post header from a 59th-minute corner.

Argyle’s top-scorer Morgan Whittaker then swept his shot wide when well-placed in the box.

Keane’s long throw from the left was then gathered 20 yards from goal by an unmarked Stewart, who let fly with a fierce, dipping shot which beat Cooper but smashed off the foot of a post.

Adam Randell went close for Plymouth with a 20-yard strike, but the hosts could not find a leveller.

Promotion-chasing Barnsley failed to capitalise on their dominance as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to relegation-battling Cheltenham in League One.

The Tykes slipped seven points off the automatic promotion places and – with the four teams above them all playing each other – missed the chance to move up to fourth.

Cheltenham remain in the bottom four and are without a win in six, but the draw edged them to within five points of safety.

Jon Russell thought he had put the hosts ahead after four minutes when he turned home Luca Connell’s free-kick, but the assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.

The Tykes countered dangerously in the 31st minute as Adam Phillips slotted through to Sam Cosgrove, but his low effort from the edge of the box was always curling wide.

Cheltenham almost took the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute when Tom Pett curled one towards the bottom right corner from the edge of the box and prompted a smart save from Liam Roberts.

Russell should have broken the deadlock four minutes after the break when he was found at the back post by Cosgrove but dinked his close-range effort over the crossbar.

Barnsley substitute Devante Cole had an opportunity to make it 1-0 with eight minutes to play when a smart cross from Phillips gave the forward a free header inside the box, but he nodded wide.

Oxford brushed aside Port Vale with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Vale Park.

Ciaron Brown lashed home and Josh Murphy whipped a left-footed effort past Connor Ripley as the U’s dominated throughout.

Murphy showed early glimpses of his quality down the left before playing in Billy Bodin. Vale’s Dan Jones on the line swept the effort clear.

After 16 minutes, Brown notched the visitors in front. The defender latched on to a loose ball and fired home from the edge of the six-yard box.

With Vale pinned in their own half, Ripley got two hands to Elliott Moore’s flick midway through the first half.

After 49 minutes, Murphy doubled Oxford’s advantage. He skipped inside on to his left foot and his cross-shot evaded everyone and nestled in the corner.

Owen Dale zipped an effort wide, and Murphy was sluggish in getting a shot away, as Oxford sought a third.

Baylee Dipepa was denied a consolation for the hosts when he turned a strike into a crowd of Oxford shirts.

West Brom extended their unbeaten Sky Bet Championship run to six matches as they signed off before the final international break of the season with a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Bristol City.

Tom Fellows netted his fifth goal of the year to fire Albion in front in the final minute of the first half, before Jed Wallace doubled the lead in the 50th minute when he routinely tapped in Conor Townsend’s cross.

Carlos Corberan’s team – without Andreas Weimann, who was ineligible to face his parent club – did not initially settle as well as City.

Cedric Kipre had to be alert to clear his lines after Tommy Conway produced a dangerous centre and West Brom were grateful that Mark Sykes did not do better with the rebound.

Mikey Johnston, who joined Albion on loan from Celtic in January, has six goals in as many league starts and he threatened to add to that tally shortly after the quarter-hour mark when he eased away from yellow shirts and bent a strike from the edge of the area just past Max O’Leary’s far post.

The Robins’ best opportunity of the opening half came when Anis Mehmeti flicked on a Haydon Roberts hooked clearance and Conway was sent racing clear with Okay Yokuslu for company. The forward shot low but Alex Palmer in the West Brom goal was equal to the effort.

Just as it appeared as though the first half would end goalless, Albion nosed themselves in front.

Winger Johnston again caused problems when cutting in from the left, teeing up Yokuslu, who in turn found Fellows on his right. The winger struck a powerful shot through a crowded area and it beat O’Leary at his near post.

The lead was doubled within five minutes of the restart, with the influential Johnston involved again. He fed left-back Townsend, who picked out the unmarked Wallace and the captain rolled the ball home to give Albion a cushion.

From there, Corberan’s outfit, fresh from scoring four at Huddersfield last Sunday, went immediately in search of more.

Yokuslu drove a first-time effort just past the post after O’Leary had denied Johnston and in the final 20 minutes the City goalkeeper was forced into action again when he denied Fellows, who found space on the right hand side.

City boss Liam Manning made a triple substitution which included the introduction of centre-forward Harry Cornick, who posed more of a challenge for opposing centre-halves Kipre and Kyle Bartley.

However, the Robins were wayward when Ross McCrorie and then Sykes were presented with openings, before Gardner-Hickman stung Palmer’s gloves.

The visitors could not find a breakthrough and Albion further cemented their place in the play-off places with three points and 16th clean sheet of the season.

Portsmouth took another big step towards the League One title with a vital 1-0 victory at promotion rivals Peterborough.

Australian striker Kusini Yengi climbed off the bench to grab the only goal in the 77th minute to send an army of 4,000 Pompey fans wild.

Yengi slammed his seventh of the season past Posh keeper Jed Steer to complete a ruthless breakaway after being picked out by fellow substitute Gavin Whyte’s pass.

And that was enough to extend the table-toppers’ unbeaten run to 12 games while bringing Posh’s five-match winning streak to an end.

Captain Harrison Burrows was inches away from giving Posh a first-half lead when steering a low shot past the far post.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark came even closer to breaking the deadlock when blasting against the bar.

That was soon followed by the best Pompey opportunity of the opening period as Colby Bishop headed a Marlon Pack free-kick straight at Steer.

Malik Mothersille saw a volley fly across the face of goal as Posh started the second half well, but it was Pompey who eventually made the breakthrough to move nine points clear of third place and closer to a Championship return.

Norwich continued their Championship play-off push with a comfortable 3-0 victory away at relegation-threatened Stoke.

Josh Sargent, Gabriel Sara and Ashley Barnes all got their names on the scoresheet as David Wagner’s side made it six wins from their last nine matches.

Victory keeps the Canaries in sixth place – the fourth and final play-off spot – but they are now three points clear of seventh-placed Hull, having played a game more.

Defeat for Stoke, meanwhile, leaves them two just points clear of the drop zone and still firmly among the candidates for relegation.

Norwich – unchanged from the team that started the 5-0 win over Rotherham last time out – came flying out of the traps, with Borja Sainz’s half-volley forcing a good save out of Daniel Iversen in the opening minute.

Stoke responded well though and nearly took the lead when right-wingback Ki-Jana Hoever went on a long mazy run before unleashing a close-range shot that was diverted against the post by goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

The missed opportunity came back to bite the hosts after 24 minutes as Norwich captain Kenny McLean threaded the ball through to Sainz, who held it up before feeding Sargent to score into an empty net for his 13th goal of the season.

Sargent turned provider for Sainz moments later as the visitors’ confidence grew, hanging up a cross for a volley that was well stopped by Iversen.

And the Canaries doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark, with Sainz finding Sara, who guided the ball into the corner of the net from outside the box.

Potters skipper Josh Laurent had a great chance to halve the deficit five minutes later, but he could only head the ball over the crossbar from Lewis Baker’s corner.

Stoke continued to battle for a way back into the contest as the second half got underway, with Tyrese Campbell heading over after meeting Baker’s delivery.

But the game was effectively put to bed on the hour mark as Barnes slotted home a rebound after McLean’s effort in the box was deflected into his path.

Iversen denied Sara from distance in the 72nd minute and Sargent from up close shortly after to prevent Norwich adding further gloss to the scoreline.

Stoke came close to bagging a late consolation on a couple of occasions but it was an extremely disappointing day for Steven Schumacher’s team, who had come into the match in confident mood on the back of two wins from their last three games.

Some of the home fans were leaving with 10 minutes left to play and it is bound to be a nervy end to the campaign for them, with eight matches remaining.

Alfie May’s 25th goal of the season was not enough for Charlton as Fleetwood hit back late to earn a 1-1 draw in League One.

May scored from the penalty spot but substitute Ryan Graydon rescued a point for the hosts with six minutes left, rounding keeper Harry Isted before tucking home from a tight angle.

The Cod Army started brilliantly with Xavier Simons denied by a super save from Isted. Jayden Stockley also headed inches wide, still with less than 10 minutes played.

The hosts continued to press, Brendan Wiredu and Gavin Kilkenny also going close.

The Addicks’ first decent chance came after 36 minutes when Macaulay Gillesphey drilled narrowly over the top.

The visitors went ahead in first-half added time when May tucked home a penalty after he had been felled by Shaun Rooney.

Fleetwood went close soon after the restart when Bosun Lawal saw a well-struck shot saved by Isted. Wiredu also headed wide from Phoenix Patterson’s cross.

At the other end Thierry Small’s effort was saved by Jay Lynch, before Graydon went on to salvage a point for the hosts with time running out.

Kane Wilson’s header gave Derby a 1-0 victory over promotion rivals Bolton at a packed Pride Park.

Wilson struck with 12 minutes remaining to earn the Rams a four-point cushion in the battle for automatic promotion.

In front of over 32,000, the biggest attendance in League One this season, Bolton had the first chance when Nathanael Ogbeta crossed and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s header was brilliantly saved by Joe Wildsmith.

Derby striker Dwight Gayle limped off in the 21st minute but the home side had a good chance soon after from a Joe Ward free-kick which Curtis Nelson headed over.

Bolton ended the first half strongly and Derby made three changes for the second, although it was the visitors who threatened with Bodvarsson forcing Wildsmith into another good save.

Wildsmith denied George Thomason in the 64th minute but against the run of play it was Derby who broke the deadlock when Wilson headed in Callum Elder’s pinpoint corner.

The home side protected their lead despite fierce late pressure to leave Bolton third and without a league victory at Derby since 1981.

Burnley kept their faint Premier League survival hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Turf Moor.

Brentford had to play most of the match with 10 men after Sergio Reguilon was sent off with just nine minutes on the clock for a push on Vitinho inside the penalty area.

Following the fastest red card of the Premier League season, Burnley took the lead from the resulting spot-kick as Jacob Bruun Larsen converted from 12 yards.

Burnley looked to have sealed their first win in 2024 and first since a 2-0 victory over Fulham in December when David Datro Fofana slotted past Mark Flekken from inside the box to make it 2-0 but they were made to sweat for the points when Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute with a smart header.

Brentford thought they had snatched an equaliser at the death when Shandon Baptiste’s cross ended up in the net but referee Darren Bond blew for a foul on keeper Arijanet Muric as Vincent Kompany’s side hung on to move within eight points of safety.

In another crucial game in the relegation battle, Luke Berry scored a late equaliser to earn Luton a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

Forest hit the front in the 34th minute after Morgan Gibbs-White floated a cross to the onrushing Chris Wood who volleyed home from close range.

Luton looked to have equalised before the break when Teden Mengi bundled home but referee Darren England cut celebrations short after the ball hit the defender’s arm in the process.

Forest had chances to put the game to bed and came close to a second when Anthony Elanga had an effort cleared off the line.

The Hatters struck in the 89th minute to secure a valuable point when Berry poked home from Reece Burke’s nod down inside the box to prevent Forest pulling away from the bottom three and keep the gap at three points.

Ten-man Exeter gave their League One survival hopes a huge boost with a hard fought 1-0 win against relegation rivals Burton.

Reece Cole scored the only goal in the 41st minute but City had to play the entire second half with 10 men after Zak Jules was sent off for an incident in the tunnel as the players made their way off at half-time.

Exeter started well and should have been in front inside four minutes, but Luke Harris skied Ilmari Niskanen’s pull-back over the bar.

The deadlock was broken in the 41st minute after a lovely Exeter move. Jack Aitchison played a fine ball to Niskanen and he picked out Cole with a perfect cut-back, and he made no mistake from 12 yards for his fifth goal of the season.

Burton responded well with Deji Oshilaja’s header crashing back off the crossbar, but it took the Brewers 25 minutes of the second half to really get going and when they did, Antwoine Hackford was put in on goal but shot wide when under pressure from Niskanen.

John Brayford crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar but despite eight minutes added at the end, the Grecians held firm for a deserved win.

Harry Kane broke the record for most goals scored by a debutant in a Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich secured a 5-2 comeback win at bottom club Darmstadt to draw themselves within seven points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The England captain was replaced after colliding with a post late in a contest in which Tim Skarke opened the scoring against the run of play in the 28th minute before his goal was cancelled out by the first of two from Jamal Musiala.

Kane, who earned an assist for the equaliser, nodded home his historic 31st goal in the German top flight before the break, when Oscar Vilhelmsson also came inches away with a crossbar-clipping effort.

Darmstadt lost momentum after Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a 64th-minute strike before Serge Gnabry and Mathys Tel added their names to the scoresheet, with Vilhelmsson only able to claw back a stoppage-time consolation.

Bayern quickly got down to business with early efforts from Eric Dier, Joshua Kimmich and Kane, narrowly escaping danger when, despite dominating with over 80 per cent possession in the first 20 minutes, Mathias Honsak’s sharply deflected effort forced Manuel Neuer into an alert palmed save.

Darmstadt took an unlikely lead from a sequence that began with a lovely long ball from deep inside the hosts’ half, eventually allowing the agile Honsak to evade a pair of Bayern defenders and release Skarke, who slotted past Neuer into the bottom right.

Bayern looked to reply quickly as Musiala completely missed his target with a close-range header, but he made no mistake when Aleksandar Pavlovic pulled the ball back to Kane, who took a loose touch before teeing up Musiala’s low finish.

The England captain handed Bayern the lead on the stroke of half-time with an historic header from Kimmich’s cross, the goal standing after a VAR review and the lead preserved at the break after Vilhelmsson could only rattle the crossbar with his attempt at an equaliser.

Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a fine bit of footwork to weave through a sea of blue shirts before sending a strike through Schuhen’s legs, the ball appearing to deflect off the foot of the Darmstadt keeper.

It was Musiala who set up Gnabry for Bayern’s fourth, playing through the substitute who slotted home three minutes after his 71st-minute introduction, then came inches away from a hat-trick when he clipped the crossbar from the right.

Kane crashed into a post as he looked to tuck in the rebound and was eventually replaced by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in what Gareth Southgate will hope was a precautionary measure after he was seen hobbling around the pitch.

Eight minutes of stoppage time were not going to be enough for Darmstadt especially after Tel bundled home, but Vilhelmsson did his best to send the home supporters home happier when he snatched back a late consolation with a flicked finish.

Recalled forward Kyogo Furuhashi scored one and set up another as Celtic went back to the top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-1 victory over St Johnstone.

Celtic took time to break Saints down despite dominating possession and territory, but they went on to create a steady stream of chances before Furuhashi headed the opener in the 40th minute.

Wingers Nicolas Kuhn and James Forrest netted in the second half against a side who enjoyed a goalless draw at Parkhead early in the season.

The only down side for Celtic was the failure to boost their goal difference, not helped by having three goals disallowed for offside, two of them marginal, and losing a late goal as substitute Connor Smith got off the mark for St Johnstone.

Brendan Rodgers’ side had missed the chance to move top of the table when losing to Hearts in their previous league game and this spell at the summit might only last until Rangers face Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday.

But the Celtic manager will have been pleased with the tempo and creativity shown by his side.

Furuhashi was in for Adam Idah after starting the previous three games on the bench, while Cameron Carter-Vickers recovered from a hamstring issue to replace the injured Liam Scales.

Adama Sidibeh had one long-range effort blocked as the Perth side frustrated Celtic for the opening quarter, but it was clear the St Johnstone striker was in for a lonely afternoon.

The visitors lost midfielder Sven Sprangler to injury with winger Max Kucheriavyi coming on, and Celtic began to wear their visitors down with their first real threats coming from a Matt O’Riley corner.

Luke Robinson twice blocked from Daizen Maeda on the line, the second time sparking a VAR check after the ball hit his upper arm. But referee Euan Anderson was not called to his screen by video assistant Chris Graham.

Kuhn soon played in Furuhashi over the top but the striker shot over with his right foot under pressure from Ryan McGowan.

Robinson produced his third goal-line clearance to deny Tomoki Iwata following another O’Riley corner.

Furuhashi was getting closer, seeing a goal disallowed for a marginal offside call after he steered home Paulo Bernardo’s cross and then getting in behind again only to see his shot deflected over.

Iwata was denied by Dimitar Mitov’s flying save before Celtic made their pressure count. Furuhashi was quick off the mark to beat Mitov to Kuhn’s inswinging cross and head home from four yards.

The goalscorer continued to threaten, stabbing Alistair Johnston’s low cross just wide and then having another goal disallowed for an offside against Maeda.

He turned provider in the opening minute of the second half, darting beyond the Saints defence to latch onto Greg Taylor’s perfect pass and send in a low cross. Kuhn showed good anticipation to net from six yards.

The Japanese striker soon fired a right-footed effort off the underside of the crossbar after being fed by O’Riley.

O’Riley saw an ambitious free-kick tipped over by Mitov before setting up the third goal midway through the second half.

Iwata won the ball back deep in the Saints half and O’Riley quickly spotted Forrest in space. The winger took a touch and rifled a left-footed strike into the corner of the net from 18 yards.

Saints got their goal in the 81st minute. Goalkeeper Joe Hart produced an excellent stop from Stevie May’s header and Smith was on hand to net the rebound.

Johnston soon lashed the ball into the roof of the net following a one-two but the flag went up and the decision was ratified after a lengthy VAR check.

Celtic could have given the scoreline a truer reflection of the game in stoppage time but Mitov saved well from Taylor and Iwata headed over from three yards.