Thousands of Manchester United fans stayed behind to protest against the Glazers’ ownership after the comeback win against Nottingham Forest.

It has been 18 years since the Americans’ controversial leveraged takeover of the club and nine months since they announced a strategic review.

The sale of United was one option being considered but the interminable potential takeover process rumbles on, despite offers from Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The 1958 supporters’ group have led calls for the Glazers to sell up and organised an hour-long sit-in after the 3-2 win against Forest on Saturday.

“Stay in your seats and protest,” read their tweet before kick-off. “History, Dignity, Integrity. They stole it all. For you. For us. For each other.”

Thousands did just that, with banners held aloft and chants filling the air long after the full-time whistle.

Asked about the fans’ protest, United manager Erik ten Hag said: “They are entitled to have that opinion.

“But you see also between the fans and the team there’s a very strong bond.

“I think throughout my time here it even got stronger and stronger.

“Today I think, even again, we make it stronger because such a magnificent comeback will help and support that.

“We got big support from them, away from home and at Old Trafford, and we have to keep strengthening that.

“It’s very good to see that fight and the spirit between us.”

Northampton boss Jon Brady hailed Sam Hoskins’ ability to pop up in the right place at the right time after his late strike sealed a 1-0 win at Cheltenham.

The only goal of a largely uninspiring game arrived in the 88th minute after a ball over the top of the home defence from Sam Sherring and a slip from Lewis Freestone left Hoskins with only Luke Southwood to beat.

He confidently beat the goalkeeper for his third of the season and Cheltenham rarely troubled Max Thompson in the Cobblers goal.

“It just feels great to get the win away from home against a team you’re probably expected to compete with in same area of the table,” Brady said.

“I felt we came here really positively and again we dominated the ball for most of the game. There was probably a five or 10 minute period in the second half – it felt longer at the time – where we wobbled a little bit and they went more brave. They moved to three at the back, pushed their wing-backs right in and went very direct and tried to land on things.

“I think they only had a couple of shots over the bar and three or four crosses and we had to defend that period well, but we made the changes and I felt we could get in behind their defence.

“Lo and behold we did and there you go – it’s that man again Sam Hoskins who scores a late winner. He’s got a knack of that, which is lovely, and to come away with three points feels really good.”

Will Ferry sent a shot over the bar for the home side in the third minute, but Northampton went on to control much of the opening period.

Patrick Brough smashed an effort wide in the 17th minute and Kieron Bowie was off target after good work from Louis Appere in the 23rd minute.

Sherring saw a header hit the bar after Marc Leonard’s corner five minutes later.

Elliot Bonds curled an effort over the bar in the 61st minute and Luciano D’Auria-Henry’s header was kicked away by Sherring in the six-yard box as Cheltenham showed an improvement.

But Hoskins had the final say as promoted Northampton made it seven points from their last three games.

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott admitted his side need attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes on Friday night.

“I really feel for the players because in the second half it looked like if one team was going to edge it, it was going to be us,” Elliott said.

“I thought we were on top in the second half, but ultimately, we can’t keep relying on clean sheets to accumulate points. It’s pretty obvious where we are a little bit deficient at the minute.

“In terms of attacking changes, we were very light. In most departments, we are probably OK, but it’s obvious which departments we need help in.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell could not have been prouder of his team as they bagged a dramatic late winner to beat Reading 2-1 at St James Park.

Despite their first-half dominance, Exeter went in level after Will Aimson’s 34th-minute header was cancelled out in stoppage time through Harry Knibbs’ strike.

The Royals shaded the second half but it was Exeter that won it when Reece Cole struck a sublime 93rd-minute effort to take City up to second place in the League One table.

“It was a sensational performance from start to finish,” Caldwell said. “The first half was outstanding and was the best 45 minutes of football since I’ve been at the club.

“We were totally dominant against a team that was in the Championship last season and had won their last two games; we created numerous chances and the only disappointment was not scoring more goals.

“It was an even bigger disappointment to concede a really poor goal just before half-time but all credit to the players.

“I just said to them ‘you can’t dominate a game against teams like this for 90 minutes, you have to show different parts of your character and your quality as a team’ and we had to do that second half.

“We lost a bit of control and had to defend, but we still created chances and it was an absolutely fantastic goal in terms of the quality of strike from someone I have known a long time and has had really difficult moments in football.

“He (Cole) was playing for Hayes & Yeading last year – I don’t know how many leagues below us that is – but he’s a quality player for us and it was great to see him score like that in front of the Big Bank.”

Reading boss Ruben Selles felt his side only performed in the second half.

“We had a couple of chances to go in front in the second half, but we didn’t take them and then a mistake that shouldn’t have happened from a throw-in led to us conceding a goal from the edge of the box,” he said.

“So the first part of the game and small mistakes in the second half kept us away from getting something today.

“We could have got something but we didn’t put the ball in the net and the opposition did.

“We showed in the second half the team that we want to be. We showed we are a team that wants to play at a high intensity, high tempo, to be make counter press under pressure situations.  We weren’t like that in the first half.

“I think we did enough for a point. But we didn’t score a goal and the opposition scored. We need to learn to manage those situations better. I am pretty sure we will be able to get some victories in the next set of games.”

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut was relieved to get his first league win in a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday and believes it has been coming.

Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey had a hand in the opening goal of the game two minutes after half time as Ike Ugbo hammered in his third goal in four games since joining from French Ligue 1 side Troyes in the summer.

Barry Bannan’s screamer looked set to earn a point for Wednesday but Will Vaulks was adjudged to have handled the ball in the seventh minute of added time.

That gave Ryan Wintle the chance to step up and hammer home the winner from the penalty spot to give new Cardiff boss Bulut his first league win.

“I didn’t expect it [first win] to be so difficult. After three games, what we played, we were unlucky at Leicester and Leeds, conceding last-minute goals, so confidence was not like before,” said Bulut.

“That is why this game was really important for us. We could have been 2-0 up if (Callum) O’Dowda or (Yakou) Meite could have taken their chances.

“I think we deserved the win. Everybody fought and we really wanted these three points.

“Sometimes it’s not enough to play well. At Leeds, we played well for 45 minutes, 45 minutes at Leicester. We could have more points by now but 45 minutes is not enough.

“Today, for 90 minutes we were really fighting and we had our moments to make it easier for ourselves but I’m really happy we got three points for the morale of the team. It’s really important.”

Wednesday are still pointless after four games since coming up from League One.

“I think it was our best performance of the season today and we need to continue like this. After we drew level we began to control the game and tried to go on to win it,” said Wednesday boss Xisco Munoz.

“We need to improve on our clean sheets because at the moment we need to score at least two goals to win any game. We lost today because of some of our mistakes, it wasn’t so much a case of Cardiff winning it.

“I am very, very sad for my players because I know how hard they are working every day. We have lost the game because of some silly mistakes.”

Bulut confirmed after the game that goalkeeper Ryan Allsop has been given the go ahead to leave the club. He has been linked with a move to Hull.

“We got a message from his management. If somebody wants to leave, we don’t keep anybody here,” explained Bulut.

“For that shirt, you have to fight. He did it in years before but his management said they wanted to make their move, so we made our move also.

“We took Alex Runarsson on loan so we let him go.”

Birmingham head coach John Eustace says match-winner Jay Stansfield will be a “really big player” for the club after his wonder goal gave his side a 2-1 win against Plymouth.

On-loan Fulham forward Stansfield, 20, volleyed home from the edge of the box in the fifth minute of time added on for a dream debut for the substitute to make it three wins out of four for Blues.

“Jay is an excellent player and it was an outstanding finish,” said Eustace.

“He comes with a real hunger and a great pedigree and for him to choose to come here over 12 or 13 other Championship clubs is a really massive statement of intent from the club.

“It’s very pleasing he chose to come to us.

“We’ve watched him over the last couple of seasons to see how he’s progressed and developed and he’s going to be a really big player for us.”

Eustace was relieved after Argyle played a full part in the game and looked like earning what would have been a hard-earned point until Stansfield’s wonder goal.

“Plymouth are in a really good moment. They have got really good momentum, they have a fantastic manager who plays the right way and they’re a fantastic footballing team,” he said.

“They did really well when we weren’t at our best and we knew they’d have a lot of the ball.

“It was a real collective performance in a game where we weren’t good with the ball which was disappointing.

“We need to be better when we have the ball but we were always a threat in transition.

“They had a couple of good chances from balls over the top where John Ruddy pulled off a couple of good saves.

“This was our toughest game of the season but we knew that if we defended our box properly then with our pace we had a chance on the turnover.”

Blues led in the eighth minute when Scott Hogan got ahead of Kaine Kesler-Hayden to slide the ball home from close range after the tricky Koji Miyoshi crossed from the left.

Plymouth equalised on the hour when Morgan Whittaker’s curling left-footed shot was saved by John Ruddy and Ryan Hardie reacted quickest to stab home.

Then came Stansfield’s moment of glory. The former Exeter attacker latched onto fellow substitute Lukas Jutkiewicz’s pass before lobbing Lewis Gibson then lashed a volley into the roof of the net to clinch victory.

Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher said: “I was gutted to lose the game in that fashion in the 95th minute again.

“And after what happened last week (Southampton’s Che Adams scored a 90th-minute winner to win 2-1) I’m devastated.

“Again I thought we played really well but I don’t want to keep saying after games that we did great but got beat – that’s doing my head in.

“But it’s part and parcel of football and we’ve got to learn from our mistakes.

“Today I felt we caused our own problems with that goal in the last minute.”

Schumacher felt if Argyle had stuck to their footballing principles they might not have conceded Stansfield’s wonder goal.

“There were 15 seconds to go and we had a throw-in – all day we’d played them short and controlled possession,” he said.

“This time we threw it short then tried a big diagonal pass and it probably wasn’t on.

“If we’d have kept possession and played it into the corner it would have been game over and we’d have gone home with a point.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield sang the praises of defender Joe Low after he played the role of local villain to perfection in a tense 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

The former Bristol City defender put the Chairboys in command after 19 minutes when he headed in ex-Rovers skipper Luke Leahy’s free-kick, only to be booked for goading the home fans who greeted his celebrations with disdain.

Veteran striker Garath McCleary strengthened Wycombe’s grip on the game when he rounded off a swift counter-attack with a clever finish after 74 minutes only for Rovers’ on-loan Chelsea forward Harvey Vale to spark a tense finale with a deft strike 10 minutes later.

The Wanderers goal was under siege for most of the closing stages but 21-year-old Low showed off his defensive capabilities with a series of aerial clearances before his stoppage-time block to divert Tristan Crama’s goal-bound shot wide ensured a victorious return to Bristol.

“Joe said he enjoyed the block more than the goal, but I don’t want to go overboard about him,” Bloomfield.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and we’re really proud to have him as one of us with the way he treats everyone and goes about his work.

“He’s going to be a very good player and we absolutely love him. We’ve got high hopes of Joe but at the time same time he’s got a lot to work on. He’s got to enjoy his football and keep improving.”

Bloomfield also leapt to the defence of the centre-back – whose father Josh started his career at Rovers – following his booking by referee Lee Swabey after scoring.

“When a local boy comes back against the team which is the opposite of the one he used to play for and then he scores, silly boy, and celebrates like that we’ll have to stop it,” Bloomfield added.

“But it’s all part of the emotion of the game and we’ve got to be careful we don’t take too much of that out. He enjoyed his moment, and you can’t hold that against him.

“These boys work extremely hard and sacrifice a lot in their lives and while we don’t encourage provocative behaviour in terms of inciting the crowd, you’ve got to be able to enjoy those moments.”

Rovers manager Joey Barton, who said defeat was “tough to take”, criticised the referee’s performance.

“We don’t get much out of that referee and we never tend to when he comes here and I’d quite happily never see him again,” Barton said.

“I don’t think he’s a fantastic referee for us. We’ve got this new directive to speed play up and he was constantly slowing play down to get himself a breather.

“He needs to get fitter. These are fit boys at this level and if a directive is coming from the EFL to drive more ball-in-play time then unfortunately the referees and assistants are going to have to get down and do a bit of work to keep up with the physicality.

“The little fella in there was gasping for air. He wasn’t the only one, there were a lot of W players doing the same.”

Manager David Wagner expressed his pride as Norwich claimed a 4-0 Championship victory on his return to Huddersfield.

The Canaries continued their impressive start to the season as they stretched their unbeaten run to five games.

Josh Sargent pounced on a Lee Nicholls error to hand the visitors an early lead and score in a third-successive game.

The hosts’ calamitous start worsened when Matty Pearson conceded a penalty and Ashley Barnes converted from the spot.

Straight after the interval, the in-form Jonathan Lowe continued his feat of scoring in every game as he notched a fifth goal this term. And Adam Idah rounded off a delightful Norwich display with a late fourth as they rose to second place.

“We scored some very good goals and it was a deserved win,” former Huddersfield boss Wagner said.

“Nobody knows better than me how difficult this place can be and this was a big win from us.

“Coming to Huddersfield away from home, if you don’t take the lead or if you give chances away, the supporters can make a big difference.

“The players have done fantastic, used their opportunities and defended their goal with everything they had.

“(Goalkeeper Angus) Gunn was fantastic and it’s our first clean sheet and offensively we were able to break from that.

“Unfortunately, Sargent has a serious ankle injury but this goal shows the character and desire of him and the whole group.

“Overall, it was a very good performance and all our strikers have done great and scored and our substitutes made an impact as well.

“We can create good opportunities and score and this is good to know, but our whole performance was right today.

“The fact we scored four is pleasing but to keep our first clean sheet in the Championship this season, makes the win even greater.

“I’ll never rule anything out with the transfer window still open but I am very happy with the squad we have.”

It was another miserable afternoon for Huddersfield, who are still yet to record a victory this season.

Josh Ruffels went closest to handing the hosts a reprieve, but his goal-bound header was saved miraculously by Gunn.

“I can’t fault the effort at all,” said boss Neil Warnock. “There’s nobody on the pitch today who’s not given everything.

“The goals we’re conceding are silly and we can’t keep giving goals away like that – Norwich is a good side without giving them a goal.

“We started off really strong, on the front foot and I didn’t think they were going to cope with us and then we gave a goal away.

“And then the penalty’s very iffy and you’re two-nil down and you can’t believe it.

“The lads are giving everything and you can’t ask any more, but they’re very elementary goals and you can’t concede like that at this level.

“We’re getting in decent positions, but we’ve not been able to finish.

“At the end of the day, I can’t fault the effort and they’re giving me everything. And there’s a lot of the points of the game today that I did enjoy.

“But if you make mistakes like that at any level of football, you’re going to get punished and we can’t be doing that.

“I think we can beat anybody on our day but when we’re playing well, we shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Erik ten Hag was delighted by his players’ response to their “horror start” as Manchester United overcame a two-goal deficit to beat 10-man Nottingham Forest.

After stumbling to victory against Wolves in their Premier League opener and seeing a fine start fade in last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham, things unravelled in the opening four minutes at Old Trafford.

Taiwo Awoniyi scored a decent opener on the break just 86 seconds after kick-off and Willy Boly added another in the fourth minute – the earliest United have ever trailed by two in a Premier League game.

But they dug deep and pulled one back through Christian Eriksen, with Casemiro equalising after the break and Bruno Fernandes scoring a spot-kick to decide the contest shortly after Forest’s Joe Worrall was dismissed.

Ten Hag said with a wink: “We want to give the fans something, eh? Of course it is a horror start, giving them two goals and making mistakes.

“But I am very pleased with the comeback, with the leadership, how we stayed calm and composed.

“We stick to the plans, stick to the belief and turn it around and I think we played in the meantime very good football out of our plan and out of our principles and rules. We scored good goals.”

Asked if he views the comeback win more positively than negatively, the Dutchman said: “I think every team in the start (of the season) have areas where they have to improve.

“Definitely we have also some and we have to progress there if you want to be successful.

“But also you see this team has big character, big personality, there is a very good spirit in this team, there is energy and they found a way to win so, for today, big compliment for the team.”

Fernandes, appointed captain in the summer, was at the heart of United’s comeback.

The skipper provided the assist for Casemiro’s leveller, drew the foul that saw Worrall sent off and fired home the match-winning penalty a week on from being criticised for his role in the Spurs loss.

“I think in almost all the aspects, moments of football, he played a very good game at the highest level,” Ten Hag said. “Keeping calm, for instance, emotions under control but in the right moment using his emotions.

“He was brilliant in attacking, making the difference, so (I’m) very pleased with his performance.”

Ten Hag is unsure whether Raphael Varane has suffered a noteworthy injury having come off at half-time due to “complaints” and was coy about Dean Henderson’s future.

The PA news agency understand the goalkeeper is travelling to Crystal Palace for a medical despite the terms of the deal yet to be ironed out, with Fenerbahce’s Altay Bayindir lined up as replacement.

Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman was in the Old Trafford directors’ box and Henderson waited outside the away dressing room to see former Forest team-mates after Saturday’s match.

The goalkeeper spent last season on loan under Steve Cooper, who was left aggrieved by some of the decision-making on Saturday but said he was “biting my tongue”.

“I just think in games like these, you need a bit of… I don’t even want to say good luck to go your way, you just want things to be as they should,” the Forest manager said.

“I think on the decisions, I am not going to talk too much because I don’t want to get into trouble.

“But the only thing I was surprised about is how quickly the decisions were made at that moment in time.

“I think you sort of see now on decisions that can define a game, you tend to see referees take a bit more time, particularly at the top, top level. I was just really surprised looking at it, how quick it all happened.

“Of course there was a decision to be made, I understand that, and it’s plain to see on the cameras and I’m hearing what everyone is saying.

“But I was just surprised how quickly the officials sort of (decided). It was split-second stuff, wasn’t it?”

Under-fire Hibernian manager Lee Johnson apologised to supporters after his side put in an ‘unacceptable’ performance to lose 3-2 to Livingston.

Hibs had been looking for a reaction following their 5-0 defeat to Aston Villa but they fell behind early on as Jordan Obita turned James Penrice’s cross into his own net under pressure from Scott Pittman.

Martin Boyle equalised with a solo strike but goals from substitutes Bruce Anderson and Mo Sangare gave Livingston the win.

Josh Campbell’s late tap-in proved in vain as Hibs succumbed to a third straight league defeat and Johnson said: “I genuinely do apologise because I didn’t want to start like this.

“I was full of beans – I still am – going into the season and this has caught us out a little bit.

“I hope they (the board) stick with me, I really do, because I want to be here. I’d never throw the towel in.

“And I understand there will be fans calling for my head. But I genuinely believe that we’ll do it. I think we’ve got a good squad, I think we’ve had a few issues – and we’ve got to tidy up our defensive stuff.

“It’s unacceptable, I understand that. I’m okay to take responsibility for that knowing I still have belief in the squad.

“I think the squad still believe in us and what we’re doing and are as frustrated as anybody.

“I can understand the scrutiny. I have been here before. It’s not nice. There’s a human there as well and sometimes people forget that.

“We work extremely hard and I just want the positivity in the football club. That focus is on me and I’d rather it was on me than the players.

“It’s small margins and I honestly believe if we see out 10 minutes at 1-1 our momentum takes the game back.

“I’m disappointed because I love it here and I believe in us. But at the same time I’ve experienced this before in my career.”

Livingston manager David Martindale, meanwhile, was full of praise for his side who recorded their first away victory in the league since a 4-2 win over St Johnstone in January.

He said: “I’m really, really happy. I thought the boys were very good within the game. I’ve changed the shape three or four times and it’s not really had a negative impact on the fluidity of the game.

“I felt we created the best chances and had the best scoring opportunities. Martin Boyle scores a really good goal so I’ll take that on the chin.

“The second one is a mistake which comes from us but apart from that I don’t think they threatened our goal a lot in the game, whereas we had Joel Nouble’s one-v-one, we had the penalty shout and we had Bruce Anderson’s chance.”

Livingston’s three goals were also their first away strikes in the cinch Premiership since January and Martindale was delighted with the impact of Anderson and Sangare off the bench.

He added: “Mo (Sangare) goes on and has a fantastic strike. He scored a similar goal for Liberia recently. It’s one of the reasons I brought him into the club.

“And with the second goal, wee Bruce (Anderson) is very good in the air in the box. He’s just a natural goalscorer and he comes alive if you can get the ball into the penalty box, Bruce Anderson is a very, very good striker.”

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray is still waiting for his attack to fire this season after they ground out a goalless draw at Coventry.

Already without long-term casualty Ross Stewart, the Black Cats were also shorn of the injured Patrick Roberts, with Mowbray continuing to mend and make do with 17-year-old Jobe Bellingham leading the line.

Mowbray is hoping he will be able to bring in a striker before the transfer window closes on Friday in order to add a cutting edge to a side that frequently dominates possession.

In terms of chances created, it was Coventry who shaded matters and it required several good saves from Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson to preserve a point for the visitors.

Mowbray said: “The game panned out a little bit differently to what I thought.

“I thought we would come here and dominate possession, like we did last year against them, and they were good first half with the ball.

“I was disappointed at half-time and we readjusted a few things and I thought we were better in the second half.

“We got into some good positions and just the final ball wasn’t quite there today, as we can say in most of the games this season.

“The first three games we averaged 68 per cent possession and we got in behind teams so many times, but we couldn’t find the pass to put the ball into the back of the net.

“It was a bit like that in the second half today and yet you could always feel Coventry’s threat.

“They obviously played two strikers and a 10, they’re a menace and I thought the concentration was good defensively.”

The best chance of the first half came Coventry’s way after 44 minutes when Ellis Simms went through, only for Patterson to save well with his legs.

Sunderland looked bright after the restart and forced Ben Wilson into action twice in a matter of moments as he parried Dan Neil’s effort before also saving Dennis Cirkin’s follow-up.

Kasey Palmer then tried to force the issue for the hosts with a good run into the area, but his tame effort was comfortably saved by Patterson.

The clearest chance for either team to win it came in the 79th minute when Coventry debutant Yasin Ayari played in fellow substitute Haji Wright, who was also denied by the impressive Patterson.

Coventry boss Mark Robins said: “Across the backline, I thought we were outstanding.

“When we needed to, we threw bodies in front of it – I think Milan (Van Ewijk) has had his best game, Jay Dasilva has been really good today, Kyle McFadzean was a joke throwing himself in front of things.

“Then on the flip side of it, we’ve played some really good football.

“We got through them, we got into wide areas, they sat deep and tried to play on the counter-attack against us – they had three players there to try and break out at any given moment, and that’s why they’re dangerous.

“They dropped bodies in, we tried to open them up and if we don’t get it right because there’s no space, it means that as soon as we turn it over, they’re on a counter.

“That put us on the back foot in terms of coming out and being really aggressive.”

Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick was left to rue what he deemed to be a foul in the build-up to West Brom’s opening goal as Boro were beaten 4-2 at The Hawthorns.

Carrick’s winless side, who reached the Championship play-offs last season, suffered their third defeat in four matches after going down to Carlos Corberan’s Baggies.

The hosts took control of the match with two goals in quick succession midway through the first half, but Carrick bemoaned referee Jeremy Simpson’s decision to not award a free-kick to Jonny Howson prior to Cedric Kipre opening the scoring.

“It’s a big moment,” Carrick said.

“It’s hard not to get too frustrated, but I thought it was a clear two-handed push. You’re going to suffer things which go against you over a season. I’m not going to sit here and say everything is fantastic because we haven’t won yet, but equally there’s more to it than that.”

Although Middlesbrough, who had Tommy Smith sent off just after half-time following a second booking, have begun the season slowly, Carrick remains encouraged with many aspects of what he has seen from his team, which is still finding its feet after the loss of top scorers Chuba Akpom and Cameron Archer over the course of the summer.

Carrick added: “I feel for the boys. There are two sides of it – there’s the result which you can’t hide from, but it’s what happens within that which leads to the result.

“We’ve conceded four shots on target, and four goals. One is a foul, one was a mistake and for a large part I thought there were a lot of good things. We have finished the game strong with 10 men. I was encouraged by things I’m seeing – it’s a strange feeling in many ways.

“You can’t hide from it, but it doesn’t knock my belief in the boys in the squad. We keep doing a lot of things we’re doing and the results will come.”

West Brom quickly backed up Kipre’s 22nd-minute opener with John Swift’s superb 27th-minute thunderbolt, but Boro replied a minute later through Emmanuel Latte Lath.

Albion struck quickly in the second period through Brandon Thomas-Asante before Smith was sent off and, although Boro responded again via Marcus Forss’ late penalty, Jeremy Sarmiento sealed the points in stoppage time for the hosts.

Despite making it two wins from two at home this season, Baggies boss Corberan still sees room for improvement in his side.

“It was hard for me, emotionally, to see that we were better than them at 2-0 and you go to 2-1. We need to control better some moments of the game, in some areas of the pitch, to stop conceding goals that we need to avoid,” he said.

“At 3-1, we were allowed to be more dominant in attack without hurting them, and the red card meant we had a numerical advantage. Sometimes when you have the ball so much, you lose concentration. We started to relax in defence.

“In some moments they found ways to create chances against us. This is something I want to correct, because I want a strong team in attack and a strong team in defence. The fact that we score goals doesn’t mean anything.”

Southampton manager Russell Martin was proud of his players for beating QPR 2-1 after another week of dealing with transfer disruption.

Adam Armstrong bagged his fourth goal of the season after Samuel Edozie and Jack Colback had cancelled each other’s strikes out in the first half.

Saints were without Che Adams – who is wanted by Everton – and Bayer Leverkusen-bound Nathan Tella after weeks of uncertainty around the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia.

“There has been so much change and disruption, so I am pleased with the mentality of the group,” Martin said.

“Che wasn’t in a place to give it everything he’s got. He and Nathan both played last week despite the noise but it has been a long week for both of them.

“The first half was no where near good enough but the subs were important and we persevered.

“I’m pleased we won, but I’m not happy with the amount of moments QPR had and how we reacted to scoring again.

“Armo comes up with a really good finish but I am frustrated with many aspects of the performance.”

Saints opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Ryan Manning squirted a perfect through ball for Edozie to cut onto his right foot and smash through Asmir, giving the former Manchester City youngster his first professional goal.

Less than three minutes later QPR were back level when Colback’s 20-yard hit and hope went in off the post.

Rangers hit the bar after the break but Armstrong picked up a pass from Manning to thump into the bottom corner with Saints’ only shot of the second half.

Armstrong had only scored four goals for Saints since arriving from Blackburn in 2021 before doubling his tally in four matches this season.

Martin said: “Armstrong has been amazing. He is a talented football but he listens to the detail and trusts in us here.

“I think he is enjoying himself and feels how much we value him, which is important for every player.

“There is also his work-rate. Like at the end of the game he makes two huge tackles at the end of the game, it is incredible.

“He is a top person and a top player and will score a lot for us this season.

“Adam has been judged for two years on something that didn’t really suit him.

“Now he has something that really suits him and is thriving.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities.

He said: “A £15million striker was the difference today. Armstrong has scored a lot of goals already this season and he got a chance and took it.

“But we really limited Southampton to hardly any chances and we were the aggressors with shots on target. We didn’t throw it away, we just didn’t convert our chances.

“These are things I can work on though, I can’t work on heart and desire but that is here now. The boys are emptying the tank.

“All teams are going to get dominated at Southampton this season, they are a Premier League outfit without a shadow of a doubt, but I can’t deny we didn’t deserve something from the game.

“I don’t think many teams will come here and out-shoot them here this season. Somehow we have come away with nothing.”

Gary Rowett hailed a determined Millwall performance after they ended a run of three straight defeats to beat Stoke 1-0.

Rowett labelled his team as “lacklustre” after their 3-1 loss to Norwich last week and has faced criticism from Lions fans following a poor start to the season.

But Kevin Nisbet’s excellent first-half finish was enough for a fifth win in six games against the Potters, who missed a host of second-half chances.

“I’m pleased for the players. I’m still the same manager as I was last week but a little bit happier,” Rowett said.

“I understand the fan criticism. When you pay your money you take your choice but I knew that our fans would get behind us if we put the relevant energy and aggression into the game. That’s what they want to see and that’s what I thought we gave them.

“Certainly, first half I thought we were very good. We played on the front foot, we played forward early, we supported quickly, played off those second balls. We caused Stoke quite a lot of problems, we scored the goal with a good finish to give us that slender lead.

“(Nesbit) just has that calmness around him when he’s in and around the box.

“Stoke made a good tactical change at half-time but we’ve dug in and had to be resilient.”

Millwall were the stronger team in the first half and found the breakthrough when Stoke failed to deal with a looping long throw from the right, bouncing kindly for Nesbit to find the bottom right corner.

Stoke came into the game after a quadruple substitution at half-time. Andre Vidigal went close with a one-on-one and forced a fine save from Matija Sarkic, while Tyrese Campbell hit a post and Wouter Burger had a late drive fizz wide.

Stoke dialled up the pressure as the heavens opened and Campbell had a shot blocked by Shaun Hutchinson before Mehdi Leris shot just over in a scramble.

Potters manager Alex Neil is adamant his team deserved at least a point after camping inside the Millwall half.

Stoke have signed 10 players this summer, including three in the past week, and Neil admits it will take for them to gel – but still wants to add more to his squad before the deadline.

“I’m not in the habit of taking four players off at any one time ever, but I felt as if I needed to impact the game in a positive manner,” he said.

“In the second half, we were excellent and deserved to get something from the match. I thought the chances we had second half, you could argue we should have won it really.

“I was concerned how quickly the new players will bed in, how quickly can they adapt, but on the evidence of the second half, I think the answer was there.

“So when you say ‘stutter’, the first half was disappointing, the result is disappointing but the second half there were hugely encouraging bits.

“We’ve still got to add, we know that, this was always going to be the case for us. The fact is we had won three games out of four this season so far, we’ve won three games out of five now. I think you can see that we’re a good side.”

Liam Manning says he will not be getting carried away after Oxford moved top of Sky Bet League One after beating Charlton 2-1.

It was a fourth straight win for the U’s and owed much to two-goal Tyler Goodrham, who opened the scoring in the 10th minute and struck the winner five minutes from time.

Charlton had bossed the start of the second half and equalised through Alfie May’s second goal of the season in the 63rd minute, but the Addicks have now lost five on the spin in all competitions.

Manning said: “I won’t be looking at the league table. For me it’s just about keeping on chipping away and picking up points.

“We will just reflect on what we did well, what we can do better and it’s all about building on this for the next game.

“It was a cliched game of two halves. We controlled the first half, with the ball and out of possession.

“We got in some really good areas and had some really good chances and I thought we could have been more clinical.

“I would have liked us, while we had the dominance there, to have made the most of it and try to put the game to bed.

“But you’re never going to dominate a game for 90 minutes and in the second half they came out a little more aggressive, on the front foot and pressed a bit more.

“They got the goal, but despite their possession they didn’t create too many chances and James Beadle didn’t have too many saves to make.

“What we showed was a good response and a willingness to bounce back.

“Yes, the performance we can dissect, but ultimately we did enough to get three points.”

Goodrham, 20, also scored in Oxford’s previous game, a 3-1 win at Barnsley.

“Tyler’s fearless, his energy and bravery are tremendous,” Manning said. “It’s now about the consistency, which he’s starting to show, and we’ll be pushing him to produce.

“Knowing him as well as I do now, he’ll keep demanding of himself.

“He’s in a terrific spot where he’s consistently playing games and is on form at the minute.

“It’s an exciting time for young players here, and we’ve shown we’re not afraid to throw in young players.”

Charlton manager Dean Holden admitted: “It’s a tough one to take.

“We started excellently and had the best chance of the game in the first few minutes for Alfie May.

“Then we conceded poorly on 10 minutes and started getting pulled around a lot and were ragged and that wasn’t acceptable.

“That’s why I made changes and changed the shape and we were much better in the second half.

“I was really pleased with the second half – we came out of the traps quickly and took the game to them and deservedly equalised.

“But we were caught by a sucker punch, trying to find the winner, they break from their box and seven seconds later we’re 2-1 down.

“My players gave everything they’ve got. We deserved more from the game but didn’t get it. It’s a similar story every week.

“We have to get back to work and turn results around. It’s about regrouping quickly.

“For me it’s about staying positive…the first half wasn’t acceptable but the second half is something to build on.

“I’m absolutely certain we’ll turn this around.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admitted it was clear they need to bring in new signings to improve the team after a goalless home draw with St Johnstone.

The hosts failed to score in consecutive domestic games for the first time since May 2018, when they did so soon after winning the title for the second time under Rodgers.

Celtic delivered another flat display following their 1-0 defeat in the Viaplay Cup at Kilmarnock to allow Rangers to cut their deficit on the cinch Premiership champions to a point before next Sunday’s Ibrox derby.

Matt O’Riley forced a hat-trick of impressive stops from Dimitar Mitov, but Celtic largely struggled to test the Saints goalkeeper and Joe Hart pulled off excellent second-half saves from debutant Dara Costelloe and substitute Stevie May.

Rodgers pinpointed the performance of summer signing Yang Hyun-jun as one of the positives along the return of Alistair Johnston, but he admitted they deserved to be booed off.

Swedish centre-back Gustaf Lagerbielke was the only other summer arrival to start and Rodgers is looking for new players ahead of Friday’s deadline that can hit the ground running after the club signed largely inexperienced players since his arrival.

When asked if he expected incomings, Rodgers said: “Hopefully. I think it’s clear… I have said before we have improved the squad with some of the players we have brought in, but we have lost starters. So we need to improve the team.

“And it’s always a challenge coming off the back of a season where you have won the treble.

“You have got to go again the following season where there is a greater expectation on you and more pressure.

“The fans will expect and rightly so. They were disappointed after the game and I am fully aware that if you draw at home to St Johnstone you deserve that bit of stick.

“There’s no numbers. I spoke with the club when I first came in and assessed the squad and we just need to improve that quality.

“It’s clear, if you see the team. When you look back at my first time here; the team was dynamic, it was fast, it was quick, got through the lines very quickly, created chances, scored goals.

“This is what we will eventually get to here, but we are missing certain profiles. Hopefully we can bring that into the squad and obviously be a lot cleaner and quicker in our play.”

The performance will further concern fans ahead of the meeting with Rangers, but Rodgers said: “Listen, when you are playing Rangers, whether you are home and away, it’s the easiest game ever as a manager in terms of motivation and commitment because it’s an obligation. You don’t have a choice in any game, and in particular in that game.

“It’s a disappointment, it feels like a loss when you don’t win, but the point might prove important for us at the end of the season.

“But the expectation when you are playing here is to win and we need to do more to do that.”

Saints moved off the bottom of the table with their first point after a difficult summer for Steven MacLean, which saw the new manager round off a disastrous Viaplay Cup campaign with a 4-0 home defeat by Stirling.

MacLean handed debuts to three new loan signings – Costelloe, Jay Turner-Cooke and Luke Robinson – and fielded eight summer arrivals in total, with skipper Liam Gordon starting on the bench.

His side were compact and organised, though, and the former Saints striker was delighted with the performance.

“All the new players we had, the way they worked, the togetherness of them, the work ethic, they did what we wanted them to do to the letter,” he said.

“You never know quite what you’re going to get. You see them doing good things in training but until you pitch them in, you never know.

“I’m delighted for them as well. They’re young, hungry players who want to kick on and play at a higher level. Hopefully we can help them to do that.”