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Championship round-up: Stoke and Middlesbrough impress once again

Stoke's players celebrate against Sheffield Wednesday
Stoke's players celebrate against Sheffield WednesdayČTK / imago sportfotodienst / IMAGO

The second weekend of Championship action has now passed with several high-scoring encounters and plenty of drama throughout.

Stoke and Middlesbrough continued their promising starts with big wins, while Leicester were handed a shock defeat at Preston and Southampton played out a 1-1 draw with Ipswich.

Elsewhere, Coventry came out on top in an eight-goal thriller away at Derby, Sheffield United were handed their second consecutive defeat and Hull stole a 93rd-minute winner against Oxford.

Here, Flashscore takes a look at all the major talking points from England's second tier.

Championship table
Championship tableFlashscore

Sheffield United's struggles continue

Sheffield United were perhaps just a VAR call away from Premier League football back in May before ultimately losing the play-off final against Sunderland, even after hitting a staggering 90 points in the regular season.

That defeat led to the sacking of club legend Chris Wilder and the arrival of promising manager Ruben Selles, and a host of departures on the pitch, but not too many exciting replacements came in.

The Blades would still be expected to be among the clubs challenging for promotion this time around but have started slowly with two defeats - the latest a 1-0 loss away at Swansea.

There was a real sliding doors moment over the weekend as United went behind in Wales around the same time that Sunderland took a 2-0 lead in the Premier League - no doubt conjuring up some feelings amongst Blades fans of what could have been had things gone differently back in May.

Sheff Utd's recent form
Sheff Utd's recent formFlashscore

Selles' side is a shadow of the team from just 10 weeks ago and has faced several key departures without plugging in any of the gaps.

Louie Barry, Tyler Bindon and Djibril Soumare have arrived on loan and - aside from Mikhail Polendakov, Christian Nwachukwu and Ehije Ukaki signing from Bulgaria for minimal fees - no further signings have been made.

That's despite around £20 million coming in from player sales, and the lack of transfer activity is particularly worrying.

Defeat away to Swansea could be a sign of things to come for the Blades, who need reinforcements as soon as possible if they are to achieve their goals this season.

Stoke, Middlesbrough and West Brom lead the way

At the top end of the league, just three teams maintained a 100 per cent record after the second round of fixtures.

Stoke, Middlesbrough and West Brom are the only clubs to win both of their opening games, with the Potters in particular doing so in style.

Mark Robins' side took on lowly Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and came out with an expected yet still impressive 3-0 win.

Million Manhoef - certainly a player to keep an eye on throughout the campaign - bagged a brace either side of Manchester City loanee Divin Mubama's second goal in as many games.

The Potters had been on a worrying decline over the last few years, but look to have finally cracked the Championship code with an exceptional manager leading a promising group of players.

It's still early days, but Stoke look a strong bet for a charge at the top six over the next few months.

Likewise, Middlesbrough had been tipped by many to struggle after sacking Michael Carrick, but sit second after a 3-0 win away at Millwall - perhaps one of the trickiest trips in the entire division.

The Teesiders made it look easy, though, with goals from Hayden Hackney, Alfie Jones and Delano Burgzorg helping seal a very promising away win.

Millwall v Middlesbrough stats
Millwall v Middlesbrough statsFlashscore

West Brom faced a sterner test against Wrexham but managed to grab a narrow 3-2 win after a brace from the division's current top scorer, Isaac Price, on top of a goal from veteran midfielder Jed Wallace.

The Baggies are another club always expected to be around the play-offs, and it looks like new manager Ryan Mason has got them on the right track early on.

Coventry win eight-goal thriller

The undoubted match of the weekend came on Saturday afternoon when Coventry played out an eight-goal thriller against Derby, triumphing 5-3 at Pride Park.

Frank Lampard's Sky Blues took the lead early on through Bobby Thomas before Callum Elder swiftly equalised for the Rams.

Haji Wright gave the visitors the lead once again just minutes late from the penalty spot, only for Derby to hit back twice through Carlton Morris and Ebou Adams, either side of half-time.

Coventry had to bide their time before netting three goals in seven minutes to complete a dramatic turnaround.

Brandon Thomas-Asante first equalised before Ephron Mason-Clark put the Sky Blues ahead, with Victor Torp capping off an excellent comeback shortly after.

Lamprd's side faced play-off heartache last season but look to be ready to go again this time around and are another club that have started the season fairly strongly - although worries linger over their slight lack of transfer activity.

Monga breaks Bellingham's record

Leicester were defeated 2-1 by Preston on Saturday, but one standout moment came when 16-year-old Jeremy Monga netted his first goal for the club - a driving into the box and drilling a low effort into the bottom corner.

That goal saw Monga become the youngest-ever goalscorer in the Championship, breaking the record previously held by Birmingham hero Jude Bellingham.

While there might have been goals of better technical quality, Monga's historic strike takes our Goal of the Week.

McBurnie wins it late for Hull

Hull secured a last-gasp 3-2 win against Oxford on Sunday thanks to a composed late winner from Oli McBurnie.

The Scottish striker also grabbed two assists earlier in the match in what turned out to be an excellent showing for the Tigers after arriving on a free transfer earlier in the summer.

His performance earned a 9.1 Flashscore rating, the highest of any player over the weekend.

Take a look at the full Team of the Week:

Championship Team of the Week
Championship Team of the WeekFlashscore

Full results:

Derby 3-5 Coventry

Wrexham 2-3 West Brom

Portsmouth 1-2 Norwich

Swansea 1-0 Sheffield United

Watford 2-1 QPR

Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Stoke

Preston 2-1 Leicester

Millwall 0-3 Middlesbrough

Bristol City 0-0 Charlton

Blackburn 1-2 Birmingham

Ipswich 1-1 Southampton

Hull 3-2 Oxford

Ali Pollock
Ali PollockFlashscore