The final full weekend of August action in the Sky Bet Championship continued to spring up surprises and plenty of drama.
Queens Park Rangers overcame their disastrous start to the season with a 1-0 victory at home to Wigan Athletic.
Leeds United and Middlesbrough remain in the top two spots of the Championship table; Marcelo Bielsa’s side earned at 3-0 victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road, whilst Boro defender Daniel Ayala scored in controversial circumstances in second-half injury time to earn a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, Bolton Wanderers’ unbeaten run came to an end after a 3-0 home defeat to Sheffield United.
There may have been only 24 goals across the 12 matches in the Championship this weekend, but there were plenty of stunning individual displays. Using statistics from WhoScored.com, here is our Championship Team of the Week from matchday five.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Goalkeeper: Joe Lumley (QPR) 7.86
QPR’s first win of the season also saw them keep their first league clean sheet of the campaign.
Goalkeeper Joe Lumley made five saves against Wigan to help Steve McClaren’s side move off the bottom of the table.
It was the 23-year-old’s first league game of the campaign, having spent part of the last season on loan with Blackpool.
Lumley featured in the Super Hoops’ 2-0 EFL Cup first-round win over Peterborough United earlier this month and with two clean sheets in two matches, he will have certainly given McClaren a lot of food for thought.
Defender: Sean Raggett (Rotherham United) 9.08
This week’s Player of the Week is Rotherham United defender, Sean Raggett, who scored the decisive goal for The Millers during their 1-0 win over Millwall on Sunday.
The on-loan defender from Norwich City scored in the 20th minute after heading in Will Vaulks’ cross from close range.
Raggett’s goal was one of nine aerial duels that he won against The Lions, with only opposition striker, Tom Elliott, winning more at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.
With the winning goal and a clean sheet, it was certainly an afternoon to savour for Raggett and his Rotherham colleagues.
Defender: Chris Basham (Sheffield United) 8.94
The first of four Sheffield United players to feature in this side is defender Chris Basham, who provided an assist and kept a clean sheet away at Bolton.
Basham created The Blades’ opener in the fifth minute at the University of Bolton Stadium, with his clever set-back for Mark Duffy being tucked away in the bottom corner.
He also made three tackles, the second most in the match.
With a match rating of 8.94 out of 10, Basham was named as WhoScored’s star man as Chris Wilder’s side moved into the play-off places
Defender: Richard Keogh (Derby County) 8.38
Derby County centre-back, Richard Keogh, scored and kept a shutout during The Rams’ 2-0 win over Preston North End.
Keogh headed in Mason Mount’s corner in the second half to double Derby’s lead and to secure back-to-back home wins for Frank Lampard’s side.
He also won the joint-most aerial duels out of the starting Derby side, alongside striker David Nugent.
It was the Irishman’s second clean sheet in as many games for Derby and after some poor performances against Reading and Leeds earlier this season, it looks like that he is starting to re-discover his form and confidence.
Defender: Enda Stevens (Sheffield United) 8.31
At left-wing-back, Enda Stevens affected the game heavily at both ends of the pitch.
Stevens created United’s third of the match in the final 20 minutes, with his low cross being turned goalbound John Fleck.
He made three key passes, the joint highest of the match.
The 28-year-old also made five tackles, a total not bettered by any other player.
Midfielder: Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday) 8.40
Sheffield Wednesday got their second Hillsborough win in as many matches with a 2-1 victory over Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Former Aston Villa and Crystal Palace man, Barry Bannan, provided an assist during the game.
His first half corner picked out Lucas Joao at the back post who headed in Wednesday’s opener.
Bannan completed 27 passes on Saturday, second only to teammate, Adam Reach.
Midfielder: John Fleck (Sheffield United) 8.66
John Fleck got Wilder’s side’s third and final goal of the tie in Lancashire to round off a fine display from the 27-year-old.
Fleck completed the scoring with a clever flick after being picked out in the penalty area by Stevens.
He attempted 44 passes, the fifth most of any player in the match and completed 77% of his total passes.
The midfielder was also one of only three visiting players to have attempted more than one dribble against Bolton.
Midfielder: Mason Mount (Derby County) 8.14
Mount came to Derby with a big reputation after impressing last season with Vitesse Arnhem and on Saturday, he again showed his quality.
The teenager opened the scoring at Pride Park after showing a lot of composure to put away Nugent’s cross.
He then turned into the creator for Derby’s second goal, as his corner was met by the head of Keogh.
With a staggering six key passes, Mount made one more than Preston’s entire side and if he hadn’t been booked, he could have easily been named as WhoScored’s star man but had to settle for second place.
Midfielder: Lucas Joao (Sheffield Wednesday) 8.83
Despite playing naturally as a striker, Lucas Joao proved to be a threat from wide areas, scoring both of The Owls’ goals against Ipswich.
His first came in the 16th minute after steering in Bannan’s corner off the post with his head from close range.
Joao got Wednesday’s second and the winning goal shortly after Aristote Nsiala was dismissed for Ipswich. He again met one of Bannan’s corners at the back post, but after his first effort was denied by the woodwork, he was able to bundle the ball past Bartosz Bialkowski.
The Portuguese forward also had the best passing accuracy out of every player to have started the match.
Attacking-midfielder: Mark Duffy (Sheffield United) 8.55
The final member of Wilder’s quartet to make our Team of the Week is Mark Duffy, who opened the scoring at Bolton.
Duffy received a perfectly placed pass from Basham, before side-footing his effort into the bottom corner of the net with a neat first-time finish.
He made four dribbles during the match, a number only topped by Bolton’s Sammy Ameobi.
It was Duffy’s first goal of the campaign and his 10th for The Blades since moving to Bramall Lane from Birmingham City two years ago.
Striker: Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham City) 8.8
Our lone striker this week is Birmingham City’s Lukas Jutkiewicz, who scored the opener during The Blues’ 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
He opened the scoring at the City Ground with a superb looping header over Forest goalkeeper Costel Pantillimon, after being picked out by Jacques Maghoma’s deflected cross.
Birmingham won 40 aerial duels on Saturday evening, half of which were from Jutkiewicz alone.
The forward only had one shot, which he scored from and his double-decade of successful aerial battles made him a nightmare for Forest’s defence to deal with.
