Sky Bet Championship round-up: Norwich beat Leeds as Blades & Boro also win
Norwich beat Leeds to go top of the Sky Bet Championship but Sheffield United and Middlesbrough kept the pressure up on the top two.
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Results
- Birmingham 1-0 Nottingham Forest
- Brentford 4-2 Blackburn
- Bristol City 2-0 Swansea
- Hull 2-0 Stoke
- Ipswich 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
- Milwall 0-0 Rotherham
- Reading 0-0 Aston Villa
- Sheffield United 2-0 Bolton
- West Brom 2-3 Middlesbrough
- Wigan 2-1 QPR
- Leeds 1-3 Norwich
Vrancic fires Norwich to the top
Mario Vrancic hit a brace as Norwich replaced Leeds at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table following a convincing 3-1 win at Elland Road.
The midfielder fired the Canaries ahead with a fifth-minute free-kick before Teemu Pukki doubled their advantage on 36 minutes.
Vrancic then made the game safe when Jamal Lewis won possession before delivering a perfect cross to the striker with 12 minutes to go.
Click here for the full report from Elland Road.
Sharp Shooter Blades at it again
Sheffield United kept the pressure on the top two in the Championship courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Bolton at Bramall Lane.
With leaders Leeds facing fellow high-flyers Norwich in the evening kick-off, the Blades knew they could make ground with a win.
And they did just that as David McGoldrick and Billy Sharp netted their 11th and 20th goals of the season respectively to leave struggling Bolton three points from safety.
Blades boss Chris Wilder said: "They were dogged opponents with professional pride at stake and we had to work hard.
"It was a really slow game in the first half and I suppose they would have been delighted with that.
"We played a little too slow and a little too safe for my liking in the first half. We just needed to speed things up in the second half, which we did."
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Boro win battle with WBA
Britt Assombalonga fired Middlesbrough to a 3-2 win over fellow promotion rivals West Brom at the Hawthorns.
Jay Rodriguez and Dwight Gayle netted for the Baggies, who trailed to George Saville's 17th-minute opener.
But Assombalonga, a 65th-minute substitute, made an impact with a brace in the final 15 minutes.
Bristol City into Play-Offs
Bristol City surged into the top six, leapfrogging Derby, with a 2-0 triumph over Swansea at Ashton Gate.
Second-half goals from Andreas Weimann and Callum O'Dowda secured the Robins their seventh consecutive win in all competitions.
Brentford in stunning comeback victory
Brentford produced a storming comeback from two goals down to beat play-off chasing Blackburn 5-2 at Griffin Park.
Bradley Dack and Danny Graham netted in the opening seven minutes for Rovers, but Said Benrahma, Ollie Watkins (two), Neal Maupay and Sergi Canos completed a fine turnaround.
Jota and Che Adams powered Birmingham to a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, who had Yohan Benalouane sent off late on at St Andrews, while Reading and Aston Villa drew 0-0 at the Madejski Stadium.
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said: "When we went behind so early I looked at the players' body language and they didn't panic, and in the last 15 minutes of the first half we got more into the game," he said.
"At half-time, all of us felt we could turn it around and that it was an opportunity to show how we've improved as a team. But I was also disappointed at how we'd defended."
Angry Rovers boss Tony Mowbray cited "ridiculous decisions" from referee Andy Davies as he explained his side's rout at Griffin Park.
"There were some ridiculous decisions today but I don't want to blame the ref because in the end we lost the game against a very good football team," he said.
Hull add more misery to Stoke
New Stoke striker Sam Vokes had a debut to forget, missing a penalty in the 2-0 defeat to Hull at the KCOM Stadium.
Jarrod Bowen's free-kick put Hull ahead in the 44th minute, his 15th goal of the campaign, just before Vokes failed to score from 12 yards, with Kamil Grosicki adding a second for City in the 64th minute.
Bruce earns first Wednesday win
Lucas Joao struck late on as Steve Bruce's reign in charge of Sheffield Wednesday started with a hard-fought 1-0 win over bottom-placed Ipswich at Portman Road.
The striker netted in the 90th minute to ensure the Owls collected all three points in a scrappy and disjointed Sky Bet Championship encounter.
Wednesday missed a host of chances throughout the game and were forced to wait until the death for second-half substitute Joao to fire home from Adam Reach's cross.
Ipswich applied some late pressure but the defeat leaves them bottom of the Championship, eight points adrift of safety.Bruce said: "When you miss so many chances - how many times have we seen it? You think it's going to be one of those days.
"In the end, I think we had five or six wonderful opportunities and didn't take them and that always puts you under a bit of pressure.
"However, I thought we were comfortable in the game, the goalkeeper (Keiren Westwood) in the end made the save from the header - that was the only attempt they had on goal I think."
Millwall and Rotherham share the points
Millwall and Rotherham remain above the relegation zone following a goalless draw at the Den.
Clarke stars on Wigan return
Josh Windass and debutant Leon Clarke scored to take Wigan further clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over QPR, who set up a nervy finish through Bright Osayi-Samuel at the DW Stadium.
Wigan manager Paul Cook said: "We really needed the three points today, and I'm really delighted for the Wigan Athletic fans that we were able to deliver them."