Middlesbrough moved into the Championship play-off spots, brushing aside struggling Luton Town 5-1 to add to the pressure on Rob Edwards.

Delano Burgzorg netted his first two Championship goals for Boro, opening the scoring with a well-worked corner in the 30th minute before Emmanuel Latte Lath skilfully added a second before the break.

Finn Azaz set up the second and added a third just six minutes into the second half, before Burgzorg's second put the game beyond the visitors in the 54th minute.

Jordan Clark's strike was nothing more than a consolation as Luton's misery was further compounded by Azaz's stunning curling finish with three minutes left.

If results go Middlesbrough's way, they could keep their place in the top six going into the international break, but Luton are 20th after registering their eighth loss since returning to the second tier.

Elsewhere, Cardiff City missed their chance to move clear of the relegation zone after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, who ended a three-match losing streak on the road.

Andreas Wiemann scored early on in both halves, tapping in both from close range to give Blackburn the advantage.

David Turnbull gave Cardiff hope, turning in the rebound of his own saved penalty, but Lewis Baker's late effort wrapped up the result in the 86th minute, moving John Eustace’s side up to ninth.

Ben Gibson salvaged a point for Stoke City against Millwall, ending the visitors’ four-match winning run.

Josh Coburn had given Millwall the lead from very close range shortly before the break, netting with their first shot on target, but Stoke fought back thanks to Gibson's flicked header from a corner.

The Potters are up to 11th for now, while Millwall leapfrog West Brom into seventh. 

Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.

The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.

But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.

The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.

At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.

The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.

It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.

Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.

That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.

QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.

Leeds climbed to second in the Championship, three points behind leaders Sunderland, following a 3-0 victory at home to Plymouth.

Daniel Farke's side dominated the opening 30 minutes of the match before three goals in eight minutes put the game to bed inside the first half.

Dan James opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, firing into the top corner from the edge of the area, before Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson made it comfortable.

The result marked Plymouth's fourth game without a victory and they dropped into the bottom three on goal difference due to results elsewhere.

Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away to second-bottom QPR, which opened the door for those below to reduce their lead at the top of the table.

While Dan Neil hit the post for the Black Cats in the first half, it was the hosts who were the better team for long periods.

The game turned in the second half when Jobe Bellingham was sent off after 58 minutes for a poor challenge on Zan Celar, but neither side was able to find a winner.

Elsewhere, Watford moved above West Brom into fifth after they hammered Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 at Hillsborough for their second away win of the season.

The result ended a six-game losing run on the road for the Hornets, who were drawing 1-1 at half-time and saw Vakoun Bayo score four goals inside 30 second-half minutes.

Coventry also made it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 victory away to Middlesbrough that moved them up to 13th.

The hosts had Hayden Hackney sent off after 22 minutes for two yellow cards, which allowed the Sky Blues to ease to three points. As a result, Michael Carrick's side are three points off the play-off positions in 10th.

Michael Carrick was impressed with Middlesbrough's showing against another top opponent in the Championship after they played out an enthralling 3-3 draw with Norwich City.

Borja Sainz had given the Canaries a ninth minute lead before Tommy Conway's brace and Finn Azaz's close range effort had Boro in the ascendency at the interval. 

Conway then saw his penalty saved by George Long after Jose Cordoba fouled Riley McGree, with that moment proving pivotal in the outcome of the contest. 

Sainz doubled his tally two minutes after Boro's spot-kick with a stunning effort that kissed the underside of the crossbar, before an own-goal by Seny Dieng drew Norwich level.

The Canaries finished the game with a man less after captain Kenny McLean was shown a straight red card late on, but Middlesbrough were unable to find a winner.

Despite letting a two-goal lead slip at Carrow Road, Carrick was pleased with his players' efforts in a game he felt his side edged.

"I thought we were fantastic for the most part, we showed what a good team we are and played some really good football," Carrick told BBC Radio Teesside.

"We conceded three goals, the third wasn't nice at all but the other two, he put them in the top corner from distance and if they’re going to score like that from there, there's only so much you can do [to stop it].

"I thought we were pretty much the better team throughout, [although] the momentum swung a little bit towards the end.

"That’s two games against really good, top opposition in this league and we’ve been the better team in both games.

"Today was a test in terms of going a goal down but the confidence we showed and togetherness to get through that was top-class."

For Norwich, meanwhile, the draw ensured they maintained their 11-month unbeaten home record. 

A win would have put them fifth in the table, but they remain eighth on the same number of points as ninth-placed Boro, both of them still one point adrift of the top six.

But it was a contest they were perhaps fortunate to claim a point from. The Canaries ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of just 1.1 compared to the visitors' 3.86. 

"When a game is that hectic, with so many situations in it, then it's hard work for me from minute one to minute 90," Johannes Hoff Thorup told BBC Radio Norfolk

"We had to be very specific at half-time about what was important for us [to do], very specific with in-game communication to the players because there were so many details to put focus on.

"The moments we have when we are calm on the ball, especially in their half, the spaces we highlighted before the game opened up and we created chances, or at least got into some dangerous positions."

Sunderland moved three points clear at the top of the Championship with a 2-1 win over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Leeds moved level on points with Sunderland 24 hours earlier with victory over Watford, but Regis Le Bris' men responded well thanks to Romaine Mundle's superb winner shortly after the hour mark.

The visitors had earlier taken the lead 10 minutes into the second half through growing talent Chris Rigg's third goal of the campaign, following an error from Tahith Chong, before Elijah Adebayo swiftly levelled with a header from close range.

But Mundle's fine finish into the far corner from outside the box secured an eighth win in 11 matches for Sunderland, who have a small buffer at the summit.

Burnley join Leeds in sitting three points off the pacesetters after drawing 1-1 against Hull City at the MKM Stadium to make it eight games without defeat.

Xavier Simon opened the scoring for Hull just before half-time with a heavily deflected shot that got the better of James Trafford.

Scott Parker's visitors found an equaliser through Zian Flemming 13 minutes from time - the Dutch midfielder powerfully heading in Jaidon Anthony's back-post cross - but they wasted a big chance to take all three points as Anthony missed from close range in added time.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Sheffield United fell to a second successive defeat without scoring as they went down 1-0 to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. 

Substitute Emmanuel Latte Lath met Finn Azaz's cross in the 80th minute to head in the only goal of the game, after Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had earlier had a shot blocked on the line by Luke Ayling.

The Blades drop to fifth in the table, level on points with West Brom and Blackburn Rovers either side of them, after the pair played out a 0-0 draw.

Albion went closest to scoring in a game of minimal chances as their winless run stretched to five matches, while Blackburn dropped points at home for the first time this campaign.

The day's other game saw Romain Esse's 13th-minute strike earn 13th-place Millwall a 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle at The Den, with the visitors dominating possession but not making it count for anything as they stay two points above the relegation zone. 

Sheffield United maintained their unbeaten start in the Championship and moved joint-top of the table with a 2-0 home win over Luton Town.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi marked his 22nd birthday in style, scoring a goal in each half, as the Blades brushed aside their struggling visitors on Saturday.

The youngster was denied in the opening stages, but still ensured United got off to a strong start, firing in an emphatic finish after just 12 minutes.

He then got his second just seven minutes after the restart, sliding it through Thomas Kaminski's legs.

The Blades should have had a third late on when Vinicius Souza struck the post, but they had already done enough to take advantage of Sunderland dropping points on Friday to join them on 19 points at the summit.

Luton, meanwhile, are winless in three as they sit just above the relegation zone in 21st place.

Elsewhere, Plymouth Argyle snatched a dramatic 2-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers, after manager Wayne Rooney had been sent off.

Michael Obafemi's 15th-minute goal looked enough to secure a win until Joe Rankin-Costello equalised with four minutes left of normal time.

Rooney was subsequently sent to the stands for his protests as he felt there was a foul in the build-up, meaning he was not on the touchline when Morgan Whittaker headed in a last-gasp winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Watford also secured a late victory, with Tom Cleverley's side coming from behind to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Vicarage Road.

It initially looked like they were in danger of falling to a second consecutive defeat, having failed to create chances before George Edmundson took advantage of slack defending to put Boro ahead.

However, the Hornets' substitutions swung the game back in their favour, with Edo Kayembe pulling them level before Kwadwo Baah's half-volley secured the points in the 87th minute.

Jobe Bellingham's stunning goal helped Sunderland go top of the Championship table as they beat Derby County 2-0, capitalising on West Brom's slip-up against Middlesbrough.

Bellingham got off the mark for 2024-25 with a crashing finish from 25 yards out to put Sunderland ahead shortly before half-time at the Stadium of Light.

Wilson Isidor then tapped home following great work from Romaine Mundle after the break as the Black Cats earned their sixth win from eight league games this term.

While Derby – who missed several chances to get back into the game – sit 13th on nine points, Regis Le Bris' side overtook West Brom to go top of the table on 18.

The Baggies relinquished their position due to a 1-0 home defeat against Middlesbrough, with Hayden Hackney netting the only goal after 73 minutes.

No away team had scored at the Hawthorns in almost six months, but Hackney found the bottom corner with a sweeping finish after taking in Riley McGree's pass for the winner.

Carlos Corberan's men slipped two places to third, with Burnley also overtaking them by beating Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Turf Moor.

The Clarets needed a 26th-minute Josh Brownhill penalty, awarded for Darko Gyabi's foul on Josh Cullen, to get over the line despite Plymouth not attempting a single shot on target.

Fellow high-flyers Blackburn Rovers, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Coventry City, who recorded a deeply impressive 3-0 win at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Jake Bidwell, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante were on target for last season's FA Cup semi-finalists, who climbed to 16th in the table. Blackburn sit fifth.

Leeds United are level with Blackburn, but have a superior goal difference and sit fourth, after fighting back to draw 1-1 at Norwich City.

Josh Sargent's early penalty gave Norwich the lead over their former boss Daniel Farke, but Largie Ramazani's goal on the hour earned Leeds a point amid a better second-half display.

Sunderland edged past local rivals Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday to return to winning ways in the Championship.

The Black Cats' four-game winning run to begin the season was ended by Plymouth Argyle last weekend, but they responded well on home soil.

Local lad Chris Rigg, aged just 17, earned Sunderland Wear-Tees bragging rights with an outrageous backheel after 24 minutes.

Middlesbrough had chances but lacked a cutting edge as Sunderland made it three clean sheets from three home league games this season.

The win lifted Regis Le Bris' men back into top spot in the early Championship standings ahead of West Brom facing Plymouth later in the day.

Elsewhere in the early kick-offs, Johannes Thorup earned his first home league win as Norwich City manager in a 4-1 victory over Watford.

The Canaries' only other win this season came on their travels at Coventry City last month, but they were good value for their latest triumph.

Callum Doyle's long-range opener was cancelled out by Ryan Andrews' strike, before Borja Sainz restored the hosts' lead just before half-time.

Marcelino Nunez added a third nine minutes into the second period and Ben Chrisene made certain of the three points late on.

QPR drew 1-1 with London rivals Millwall at Loftus Road, meanwhile, with both sides remaining in the bottom half of the table with one win apiece.

Duncan Watmore rounded off a nice team move to put Millwall ahead after 34 minutes, but Michael Frey poked home a leveller four minutes later and neither side could find a winner.

Blackburn held out for a 1-1 draw away to Burnley in the East Lancashire derby, despite playing the final 33 minutes of the match with 10 men.

Burnley opened the scoring after 10 minutes at Turf Moor after new signing Jaidon Anthony whipped in a perfect cross for Lyle Foster - who remains at the club following a potential move to Ipswich breaking down - to head home.

The home side dominated the early proceedings of the match and deservedly led until Blackburn struck against the run of play in the 23rd minute.

Forward Andi Weimann hit a sumptuous dipping shot from outside the penalty area, which looped over goalkeeper James Trafford, to level the scores.

Rovers thought they had retaken the lead soon after, but Tyrhys Dolan’s finish was disallowed for offside.

Makhtar Gueye was then sent off for a second bookable offence in the 57th minute, picking up his second yellow for dissent after making a card gesture at the referee following a heavy tackle from Maxime Esteve.

Burnley were unable to make their numerical advantage count, despite applying plenty of pressure in the late stages. Indeed, it was Blackburn who arguably came closest to winning the match, with Lewis Travis firing high and wide in the 96th minute after Dolan had played a loose ball to him.

The point leaves Blackburn and Burnley third and fourth respectively in the Championship.

Elsewhere in the early kick-offs in the second tier, Middlesbrough picked up their first league win since the opening day of the season as they beat Cardiff 2-0 on the road.

A second-half header from Matt Clarke and an Aaron Ramsey own goal secured the points for Michael Carrick’s side, although Ramsey did hit the post for the hosts. The win leaves Middlesbrough sixth, while Cardiff are bottom.

Norwich also claimed their first three points of the season, with a 1-0 victory away to Coventry.

Borja Sainz scored the winning goal after 49 minutes, with his shot taking a big deflection to wrong-foot the goalkeeper before landing in the goal.

Sunderland defeated Burnley 1-0 at the Stadium of Light to stop their opponents' winning start to the 2024-25 Championship season and maintain their own perfect record.

Both teams had won two games from two heading into Saturday's contest - Burnley scoring a combined nine goals - which was settled by Romaine Mundle's drive after 26 minutes.

Dan Neil was sent off late on for a second booking, but Burnley could not find a response as they tasted a first loss under manager Scott Parker.

Elsewhere in the late Championship kick-offs, Watford also made it nine points from nine as they recovered to beat Derby County 2-1.

Vakoun Bayo's superb strike cancelled out Ebou Adams' second-minute opener at Vicarage Road, before captain Moussa Sissoko grabbed a winner in the second half.

West Brom and Blackburn Rovers also remain unbeaten through three matches after beating Stoke City and Oxford United 2-1 respectively.

Karlan Grant and Josh Maja scored either side of Lewis Koumas's equaliser at the Bet365 Stadium, with both West Brom goals assisted by Tom Fellows.

Substitute Arnor Sigurdsson was the late hero for Blackburn, meanwhile, after Joe Rankin-Costello had earlier cancelled out Mark Harris's sublime opener.

In the other games, Tommy Conway's 90th-minute penalty denied Portsmouth a first win of the season as Middlesbrough snatched a 2-2 draw at the Riverside.

Norwich City and Sheffield United played out a 1-1 draw, meanwhile, and Preston North End beat Luton Town 1-0 in manager Paul Heckingbottom's first game.

Luton Town survived more than an hour with 10 men as they drew 0-0 with newly promoted Portsmouth to claim their first points of the campaign on Saturday. 

Thomas Kaminski was given his marching orders in the 31st minute following two missed-timed challenges on Paddy Lane and Connor Ogilvie in quick succession. 

But Pompey failed to make their man advantage count, with only six of their 15 attempts on target as well as having 66.5% possession. 

Rob Edwards' side did have their opportunities, however, missing four big chances, with the best of those falling to Elijah Adebayo, registering an xG of 0.51 from his three shots. 

Meanwhile, at the Hawthorns, Leeds United remain winless in their first two Championship games as they were held to a goalless draw away to West Brom.  

Daniel Farke's side suffered an early exit in the Carabao Cup to Middlesbrough earlier this week, and struggled once again in front of goal at the Hawthorns. 

Leeds registered just one shot on target from the eight they attempted in the West Midlands, with that effort coming from Ethan Ampadu 10 minutes into the second half. 

The Baggies opened their season with a 3-1 win over QPR, with Josh Maja netting a hat-trick, but he proved ineffective this time around, registering an expected goals (xG) of just 0.03 from his one shot on target. 

Meanwhile, at Pride Park, Kayden Jackson scored the only goal of the early kick-offs as Derby beat Middlesbrough 1-0 for their first win of the campaign. 

Jackson, who arrived from Ipswich in the transfer window, pounced on a mistake by Isaiah Jones before rounding Seny Dieng to give the Rams a 14th minute lead. 

But Michael Carrick's side's wastefulness in front of goal proved to be their downfall, underperforming their xG by 1.73 with only four of their 20 shots on target. 

Middlesbrough have now only scored once in their last four away league games against Derby, with the goal coming in a 2-1 loss back in 2021 under Neil Warnock.

Newcastle United will visit Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest in the second round of the EFL Cup.

Newcastle reached the final of this competition in 2022-23, also qualifying for the Champions League.

But Eddie Howe's men narrowly missed out on European football ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, meaning they enter the EFL Cup at this early stage.

The Magpies were handed one of the tougher possible draws, although they have won at the City Ground in each of the past two seasons. Newcastle and Forest will meet in Nottingham in the league in November.

Forest have enjoyed the sides' recent cup encounters rather more, knocking Newcastle out at this stage in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Elsewhere, Wednesday's draw, which was split into northern and southern sections, also pitted West Ham and Bournemouth against one another in a second all-Premier League tie.

Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle are to head to fellow Championship outfit Watford, while Middlesbrough host Stoke City after making the semi-finals last term and then beating Leeds United in the first round.

Rooney's former side Everton were drawn against Doncaster Rovers, the same opponents they defeated a year ago.

Ties will be played the week commencing August 26.

EFL Cup second-round draw in full:

Coventry City v Oxford United
Swansea City v Wycombe Wanderers
Wimbledon v Ipswich Town
Birmingham City v Fulham
Watford v Plymouth Argyle
West Ham v Bournemouth
Queens Park Rangers v Luton Town
Brighton and Hove Albion v Crawley Town
Crystal Palace v Norwich City
Cardiff City v Southampton
Millwall v Leyton Orient
Colchester United v Brentford
Grimsby Town v Sheffield Wednesday
Everton v Doncaster Rovers
Blackburn Rovers v Blackpool
Fleetwood Town v Rotherham United
Shrewsbury Town v Bolton Wanderers
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United
Barrow v Derby County
Leicester City v Tranmere Rovers
Middlesbrough v Stoke City
Barnsley v Sheffield United
Harrogate Town v Preston North End
Walsall v Huddersfield Town
Wolves v Burnley

Wayne Rooney claimed his first win in charge of Plymouth Argyle with a 3-0 victory over fourth-tier Cheltenham Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.

Manchester United and England great Rooney was appointed as Plymouth boss ahead of the 2024-25 season, returning to the Championship after an unsuccessful stint at Birmingham City last season.

But the former striker's league bow saw Plymouth thrashed 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, with Rooney criticising his players following the first match of the campaign.

This cup meeting with Cheltenham eased the pressure on Rooney and Plymouth a little, however, even if they had to wait until past the hour mark for Ben Waine's breakthrough goal.

Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu then added to the scoring in the final 10 minutes to send Rooney's side safely into the second round.

Argyle are joined there by league foes Wednesday, who continued their strong start to the season by beating Hull City 2-1 courtesy of an early Charlie McNiell brace.

Meanwhile, in the third and final tie on Wednesday, Middlesbrough dumped out fellow Championship promotion candidates Leeds United, winning 3-0 at Elland Road.

Leeds, beaten play-off finalists last season, had been held at home by Portsmouth on the opening day of the league campaign and were frustrated again in front of their own fans, who booed the team off at full-time.

Anfernee Dijksteel's fine individual strike was followed by goals from Delano Burgzorg and Josh Coburn to ensure Boro boss Michael Carrick joins former team-mate Rooney in the draw for the next stage.

Brenden Aaronson scored a 95th-minute equaliser for Leeds United as they began their Championship campaign with a thrilling 3-3 draw versus Portsmouth at Elland Road.

Aaronson, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Union Berlin, squeezed his finish into the bottom-left corner deep into stoppage time to deny John Mousinho's newly promoted visitors a dream start to the season.

Pascal Struijk's early penalty gave Leeds the lead but they were quickly pegged back by Elias Sorensen's leveller, and Portsmouth then inched ahead on two occasions.

Callum Lang's stunning strike from distance put them 2-1 up shortly before half-time, only for Wilfried Gnonto to drag Leeds level just 54 seconds into the second half, beating Will Norris with a clever reverse finish.

Leeds dominated for long periods and should have killed the game off, finishing with 22 shots to Portsmouth's five and 39 touches in the penalty area to the visitors' six.

Daniel Farke's hosts were almost condemned to a shock defeat by Lang's 92nd-minute penalty, conceded cheaply by Jayden Bogle, but Aaronson had other ideas.

Elsewhere, West Brom fought from behind for a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, with Josh Maja scoring a hat-trick.

Lucas Andersen put Marti Cifuentes' hosts ahead after 16 minutes, but Maja soon hit back with a near-post header before adding two more close-range finishes after the break.

Maja's treble made him the first Albion player to score a hat-trick in their opening game of a league season since Alf Bentley accomplished the feat in 1913-14.

Norwich City, who joined Leeds and West Brom in falling short in last season's play-offs, endured a miserable start to their campaign as they went down 2-0 to newly promoted Oxford United.

Mark Harris cut inside from the left before squeezing a finish through Angus Gunn's legs for 1-0, then Cameron Brannagan made the points safe with a side-footed finish in the 58th minute.

Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough also got off to a winning start, beating Swansea City 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium as Emmanuel Latte Lath continued his fine run in front of goal.

Latte Lath converted from the penalty spot 25 minutes in after Azeem Abdulai felled the marauding Isiah Jones, netting in a seventh straight Championship game.

He has nine goals in total throughout that run, which is the joint-longest scoring streak by any player since the Championship's 2004 rebrand, alongside Charlie Austin in 2012, Jordan Rhodes in 2013, and Aleksandar Mitrovic in 2021.

Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has signed a new contract to remain Middlesbrough head coach until 2027.

Carrick was set to enter the final 12 months of the three-year deal he signed when arriving at the Riverside Stadium in 2022, and he had been linked with Premier League clubs after impressing on Teesside.

He led the side to a fourth-place finish in the Championship in 2022-23, though they were beaten by Coventry City in the play-off semi-finals.

Carrick's team then missed out on the play-offs as they finished eighth in 2023-24, though they did reach the EFL Cup semi-finals, winning the first leg against Chelsea 1-0 before being thumped 6-1 in the return fixture.

Speaking to the club's media channels, Carrick said: "I think having that attachment, that trust and that belief within the club is really important.

"We've certainly got that. That's what still gives me the great feeling that I had when I first walked through the door.

"It feels like a big step as a headline, as a statement, but really it doesn't change anything I do or how I approach it – it just carries on what we're trying to achieve."