Leeds United closed the gap on Championship leaders Sunderland after Regis Le Bris' side collapsed at home to Coventry City on Saturday.

Daniel Farke's side moved to within two points of Sunderland after coasting to a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.

Jayden Bogle sliced home after 19 minutes for Leeds, who made sure of victory in stoppage time as Joel Piroe came off the bench to score.

There was no such success for Sunderland despite Wilson Isidor and Dennis Cirkin both finding the net in the first half at the Stadium of Light.

Haji Wright pulled one back for Coventry, who dismissed long-term boss Mark Robins this week, just past the hour before Jack Rudoni snatched a 2-2 comeback draw with six minutes remaining.

At the other end of the table, Portsmouth managed just their second victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Preston North End at Fratton Park.

Josh Murphy and Connor Ogilvie were both on target in the first half before Colby Bishop's late penalty sealed victory after Emil Riis Jakobsen had reduced the deficit for Paul Heckingbottom's visitors.

Victory moved Portsmouth up to 23rd in the league, two points ahead of bottom side QPR and within three points of safety.

Fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle also gained a point as Adam Randell's 41st-minute strike cancelled out Jerry Yates' early opener for Derby County at Pride Park.

The 1-1 draw leaves Wayne Rooney's side 16th in the table, but just one point clear of the relegation zone, while Derby sit comfortably 12th.

Norwich City dropped down the table in Saturday's other game, suffering their first home defeat in the league in 22 games after a 2-0 reverse against Bristol City at Carrow Road.

Anis Mehmeti and Nakhi Wells scored in either half for Liam Manning's visitors, who moved into 10th with a victory that left them just two points shy of the play-off positions.

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.

Sunderland defeated Oxford United 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the Championship, as second-placed Burnley were held by Queens Park Rangers. 

Jobe Bellingham opened the scoring for Sunderland in the 16th minute before hitting the woodwork in the second half, but Wilson Isidor gave the home side the insurance of a second goal in the 63rd minute against 14th-placed Oxford at the Stadium of Light. 

The result was Regis Le Bris' side's third win in the space of six days, having beaten Hull City and Luton Town earlier in the week.

And Sunderland also saw their title rivals slip up to cap off a fine week.

After third-placed Leeds United were held to a goalless draw by Bristol City, Burnley suffered the same fate against QPR later in the day, allowing the leaders to extend their advantage. 

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. 

West Brom missed the chance to reach the Championship summit after Dane Scarlett's stoppage-time header snatched a 1-1 draw for Oxford United.

The Baggies seemed set to move to the top of the second-tier table, at least temporarily after Saturday's early kick-offs, when Karlan Grant drove in a first-half opener at the Kassam Stadium.

Des Buckingham's battling hosts stayed in the clash throughout, however, before Oxford captain Elliott Moore flicked on a long throw-in for Tottenham loanee Scarlett to head into the top corner in the 92nd minute.

Dropping two points late on leaves Carlos Corberan's side fifth in the Championship, with fourth-placed Burnley and league leaders Sunderland yet to play.

Further down the table, Luton Town claimed a much-needed 3-0 win over fierce rivals Watford to ease the mounting pressure on Rob Edwards at Kenilworth Road.

Jordan Clark needed just 11 minutes to open the scoring before Carlton Morris headed home Alfie Doughty's 47th-minute corner to punish some woeful Watford defending.

Substitute Jacob Brown sealed victory in the 91st minute after a long ball from goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski as Luton managed back-to-back league victories over Watford for the first time since 1992.

Luton sit 15th in the table after Saturday's victory, one place and a point behind Preston North End, who fought to a 1-0 win over Coventry City, leaving Mark Robins' side just above the relegation zone.

Emil Riis' 72nd-minute finish proved the difference at Deepdale, where Coventry have never won in 23 league attempts (D8 L15).

Coventry may be looking over their shoulders at Cardiff City, who are level on points with Robins' men after thrashing 10-man Plymouth Argyle 5-0 at home.

Rubin Colwill scored one and assisted two more as Cardiff, under the interim charge of Omer Riza, made the most of Ibrahim Cissoko's first-half dismissal for lashing out at Perry Ng.

Alex Robertson got things going with his 16th-minute opener before the Bluebirds ran riot after the interval with goals from Anwar El Ghazi, Callum Robinson and Chris Willock.

A crushing defeat leaves Wayne Rooney's Plymouth just three points clear of the relegation zone after the Championship's return from the October international break.

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.

Wayne Rooney credited Plymouth Argyle's defensive showing as crucial in their 3-1 triumph over Luton Town at Home Park on Friday. 

Plymouth took the lead in the eighth minute courtesy of Rami Al Hajj, with the Swede notching his first Pilgrims goal with a curled finish beyond Thomas Kaminski. 

The hosts found themselves two goals in front 20 minutes from time after substitute Ibrahim Cissoko shifted the ball onto his left foot before firing a stunning effort into the far corner. 

Plymouth's joy was short-lived, though, as Victor Moses chested down Alfie Doughty's cross to the back post before striking the ball beyond Daniel Grimshaw less than two minutes later. 

The Hatters continued to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser but were undone by a moment of individual brilliance from Cissoko, who danced his way into the area and saw his first effort blocked, but finished the rebound to move Plymouth up to 13th in the Championship. 

Rooney has now guided his side to back-to-back home victories for the first time this season, and said his side had to adapt to Luton's relentless attacking to emerge victorious. 

"I thought it was a good performance for different reasons," Rooney said. 

"I thought first half we were good at times, controlled the tempo of the game and Luton tried to press us, and I think when we showed composure and played through the press we caused them problems.

"Second half we were a little bit sloppy with the ball and gave it away in dangerous areas at times, but I thought defensively our back four, and in particular the two centre-backs, were excellent.

"Luton are very good at set-pieces and I thought we were brilliant defending them and showed great character and desire to go and head the ball, and then the attacking players get all the praise when they score the goals."

For Rob Edwards, a run of back-to-back victories ended on the South Coast, with his side lacking a clinical edge in front of goal. 

The Hatters registered 16 shots during the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.07, but only two of his side's efforts were on target. 

"Credit to the opposition, at both ends of the pitch they were better - they were more ruthless at one end and defended better at the other," Edwards said. 

"I think we got into their final third 40-odd times, twice as often as they did, but we didn't make their goalkeeper work enough.

"We weren't clinical enough at one and end then didn't defend well enough at the other -it's not a good recipe to win a football match.

"It's really frustrating to come away losing a game talking about both ends of the pitch."

West Brom went back to the top of the Championship with a 1-0 victory over Wayne Rooney’s struggling Plymouth Argyle.

The Baggies were made to wait until the 62nd minute before opening the scoring through Josh Maja, and it was a goal that came against the run of play.

Plymouth had started the second half better, but were unable to make their chances count before Maja's tap-in ultimately settled it.

The victory is a fifth in six matches and fourth in a row for Carlos Corberan’s side, who reclaimed first place from Sunderland and have opened a three-point gap to third-placed Burnley. Plymouth, meanwhile, are 20th and just one point above the relegation zone.

Elsewhere, Leeds United moved into the top six following a 2-0 win away to 10-man Cardiff City, who are bottom of the table.

Defender Joel Bagan was sent off for the hosts after 23 minutes after he was adjudged to have been the last man after a challenge on Willy Gnonto.

It got even worse for Cardiff seven minutes later as Largie Ramazani scored his first Leeds goal.

Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick saved Pascal Struijk's second-half penalty, but an effort from former Swansea City striker Joel Piroe on 87 minutes wrapped up the points for Daniel Farke's side. Cardiff boss Erol Bulut, meanwhile, looks under increasing pressure.

Burnley snatched a 94th-minute winner at home to Portsmouth, having initially gone a goal down.

Callum Lang's first-half goal had Pompey ahead at half-time, but Jeremy Sarmiento equalised in the second period before Brownhill nicked a winner, leaving the Clarets third and Portsmouth second-bottom.

And Sheffield United are up to fourth after a 1-0 win over Derby County at Bramall Lane.

The Blades got the winner after 53 minutes through Gus Hamer, with Derby dropping to ninth on nine points from six matches.

Joe Edwards netted a dramatic 93rd-minute winner as Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle stunned Championship leaders Sunderland 3-2 on Saturday.

Argyle were still waiting for their first league win under Rooney heading into this match against the early pace-setters, who had recorded four wins from four.

It looked like being more of the same when Patrick Roberts netted a first-half penalty for Sunderland, but Plymouth turned the game on its head after the restart at Home Park.

Dan Ballard's own goal got the home side level, then Ryan Hardie converted an Argyle spot-kick.

Sunderland fans had made the longest trip in the EFL this season to see their side and looked to be rewarded with a hard-earned point when Romaine Mundle equalised four minutes from time.

But Plymouth were not done and rallied again to sensationally snatch victory in stoppage time as Edwards reacted fastest to a rebound and blasted past Anthony Patterson.

Watford had been Sunderland's nearest challengers but could not capitalise as they drew 1-1 at home to Coventry City.

That result allowed Blackburn Rovers to move up to second on 11 points, one behind Sunderland, as they eased to a 3-0 victory over Bristol City.

Yuki Ohashi scored twice at Ewood Park to see Blackburn nudge back ahead of rivals Burnley, winners earlier in the day at Leeds United.

West Brom subsequently ended Saturday in fifth but could now take top spot on Sunday when they take on Portsmouth.

Pompey are in the bottom three until then, a place and a point below Preston North End, who earned a 1-1 draw on the road against Middlesbrough.

Cardiff City are bottom and still with just one point after losing 1-0 at Derby County. 

Plymouth Argyle battled back from conceding an early goal to claim a 1-1 draw away to QPR in the Championship, despite finishing the game with just nine players.

They endured a dismal start after forward Michael Frey headed past goalkeeper Conor Hazard from a corner to put the home side a goal ahead after just three minutes.

But Wayne Rooney's side rallied and equalised in the 28th minute through a magnificent long-range strike from Morgan Whittaker, which was their only shot on target.

The Plymouth attacker had originally played a misplaced pass, which ricocheted off a QPR defender and landed straight back at his feet. The 23-year-old hit the ball first time with his left foot and it rocketed into the top right corner of the goal.

But things got worse for Argyle just a minute later as Adam Forshaw was sent off for a second booking following a late challenge on Jimmy Dunne.

Five minutes into the second half, Sam Field hit the far post with a header and a QPR onslaught followed for the remainder of the match. 

Yet Plymouth stood firm to clinch their second point of the season. Goalkeeper Conor Hazard made nine saves, and despite Freddie Issaka's late red card further diminishing Argyle's numbers, QPR could not find a way through.

Elsewhere, Bristol City drew 1-1 at home to Coventry City.

Liam Manning's side took the lead in first-half stoppage time through a stunning George Tanner volley from a corner.

But they were unable to keep the lead despite controlling large parts of the match, with Kasey Palmer equalising for Coventry in the 76th minute.

Hull City, meanwhile, drew their third league game out of three this season, playing out a goalless stalemate at home to Millwall.

It took 34 minutes for the Tigers to have their first shot on target, although Millwall had the first big chance of the game through George Savile.

Hull could not convert possession into clear-cut chances - Chris Bedia came closest in the 77th minute, but was denied by an acrobatic Lukas Jensen save to keep it goalless. Both sides remain winless.

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.

Wayne Rooney described himself as "angry" after watching his Plymouth Argyle side begin their Championship campaign with a meek 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Rooney's first competitive game at the helm was one to forget as Wednesday ran riot at Hillsborough, with Jamal Lowe, Josh Windass and Michael Smith among the scorers.

The Manchester United and England great has now recorded just two wins in his last 16 Championship games in charge of Birmingham City and Plymouth, drawing four and losing 10.

Speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath of Sunday's defeat, he hit out at his players for failing to do the basics against a well-drilled Wednesday side. 

"The scoreline was deserved. We conceded four goals from four crosses. The basics of the game were not there," Rooney said.

"We didn't take the ball well enough or handle the crowd. We allowed them to get a foothold in the game, and we let it run out and conceded two more goals.

"I'm disappointed and angry, because that's not the performance I wanted to see. We spoke about their threats from crosses.

"We spoke about Barry Bannan and we let him run the game and didn't get close enough to him. That wasn't acceptable.

"The players have to earn a right to play. You can lose football games, that happens, but there's a way you want to see your players run, work and tackle. 

"We've had a lot of fans come a long way, and the performance we've given wasn't good enough. We have to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Wednesday racked up 30 shots totalling a huge 4.85 expected goals (xG) in Sunday's game, with 24 of those efforts coming from inside the Plymouth area.

Plymouth, meanwhile, amassed just five attempts worth 0.31 xG, hitting the target once and only recording eight touches inside their hosts' box.

Wayne Rooney's reign as Plymouth Argyle boss got off to a miserable start as they were thrashed 4-0 by Sheffield Wednesday in their first Championship game of the season.

Sunday's trip to Hillsborough represented Rooney's first match back in management since he was sacked by Birmingham City in January.

Any hopes of a flying start to his time on the south coast were quickly dashed as Danny Rohl's team dominated from the off, eventually racking up 4.85 expected goals (xG) from 30 shots at goal.

Jamal Lowe converted Svante Ingelsson's cross on the slide to hand the Owls a 35th-minute lead, then the new striker saw a header deflect in off the unfortunate Brendan Galloway for 2-0 shortly after the break.

Wednesday added further gloss to the scoreline late on, Josh Windass stabbing home an 82nd-minute third before Michael Smith came off the bench to finish from close range in stoppage time.

While the resounding victory takes Wednesday top of the early-season standings, Plymouth prop up the second-tier table ahead of Monday's match between Luton Town and Burnley.

Data Debrief: Plenty for Rooney to ponder

Plymouth were thoroughly outclassed by a Wednesday team they finished just two points behind last season, leaving their new boss with plenty to think about.

They only managed five shots to the hosts' 30, facing a huge 24 efforts from inside their own area.

Since returning from a spell in MLS with D.C. United, Rooney now has a record of two wins from 16 Championship matches with Birmingham and Plymouth (four draws, 10 losses).

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