Goals from Ilias Chair and Sinclair Armstrong gave relegation-threatened QPR a vital 2-0 win over Millwall at Loftus Road.
It was Rangers’ first victory in eight Sky Bet Championship matches and lifted them up a place, to third from bottom.
And it means they will move level on points with Huddersfield, the team immediately above them in the table, if they beat the Terriers in another crucial game next weekend.
In a feisty London derby, both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances before Chair put Rangers ahead in the 27th minute with his third goal of the season.
Lyndon Dykes, usually a striker but currently operating in a withdrawn role, played a big part in the build-up.
Dykes controlled the ball nicely and laid it to the right to Chris Willock, who turned away from Joe Bryan and delivered a left-footed cross to the far post, where Chair bundled home from close range after getting in front of Millwall’s on-loan Arsenal youngster Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
QPR continued to threaten after the goal and Willock fired over – again after turning away from Bryan – before Dykes’ side-footed effort flashed narrowly wide.
Millwall’s first real sight of goal came a couple of minutes before half-time, when Billy Mitchell sent a first-time strike over the bar after being found by Zian Flemming’s cross from the left.
Rangers were back on the front foot after the interval, with Dykes heading wide from Willock’s cross and then testing keeper Matija Sarkic with a low shot which was well saved.
And the hosts appealed in vain for a penalty when Wes Harding blocked Dykes’ shot with his hands.
Rangers then had a let-off of their own when keeper Asmir Begovic allowed Mitchell’s shot to squirm through his legs and was rescued by Reggie Cannon’s clearance off the line.
Cannon took a heavy knock in the process and as he lay on the ground the defender appeared to be struck by a number of objects thrown from the away fans’ section of the ground.
That was the closest Millwall came to an equaliser – and there was no way back for them after Armstrong’s 85th-minute goal.
Chair teed up Jack Colback and, after Sarkic failed to hold the veteran midfielder’s left-footed shot, Armstrong was on hand to tuck away the loose ball.
Millwall, who recently won three matches in a row under new boss Joe Edwards, have now suffered back-to-back defeats.
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
Amorim believes Man Utd were guilty of overthinking in Ipswich draw
Ruben Amorim believes Manchester United were guilty of overthinking as his Premier League managerial bow ended in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town.
The Red Devils made a flying start to the Portuguese's tenure as Marcus Rashford netted in only the second minute at Portman Road.
But Omari Hutchinson's deflected equaliser restored parity and Andre Onana had to make a couple of big saves from Liam Delap to ensure Amorim started with a point.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Amorim said: "I think my players were thinking too much during the game, they were thinking not just with the ball, but, 'where am I supposed to be?'
"It is hard because the team has been together only two days, I think we needed more in the first half with the physicality, because they left us one against one up front so we have to use those moments to feel the opponent.
"I think we lost some balls without pressure and when you start a game like this, you score one goal, then you have to control the ball, you have to control the tempo of the game.
"We cannot do it at the moment but they tried, they really, really tried. I know for some guys it's hard to understand this but they're trying and they really want this."
Amorim conceded that United, who are 12th in the Premier League, need to be better in their game management moving forward.
"I think that is a concern because you can understand you don't need to coach them at this level (how) you have to keep the ball, put the momentum in to put the ball up front," he added.
"At the end of the game, we are around the box with two strikers, Josh (Zirkzee) has to understand he has to go to the box to have the crosses, so we are doing things not in the right moment. That is something we have to address.
"Everyone talks about the 3-4-3 – that is not the problem, but the understanding of the game... we have to improve in this area."
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