Burnley end Blades´ unbeaten home record, Lampard´s Coventry thump Rooney´s Plymouth

Burnley moved to within a point of Championship leaders Sheffield United after beating the Blades 2-0 at Bramall Lane on an action-packed day of Boxing Day action.

The result also saw Chris Wilder’s side lose at home for the first time this season, with the Clarets winning consecutive games against Thursday’s opponents for the first time.

Burnley took the lead two minutes before the break when Bashir Humphreys’ delivery to the back post was met by a stooping header from captain Josh Brownhill.

Zian Flemming doubled Burnley’s advantage eight minutes after the restart. After seeing his initial free-kick blocked, he blasted home with the aid of a deflection.

In the meeting of the EFL’s two meanest defences, being clinical was key, and the Blades were unable to find a way past James Trafford.

Scott Parker’s side were worthy of their win, extending his unbeaten run to five matches against Sheffield United and edge closer to the summit of the standings.

At the opposite end of the table, Plymouth Argyle suffered another heavy defeat as Wayne Rooney was inflicted a 4-0 defeat by Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.

The Sky Blues struck all of their goals in the first 45 minutes, piling more pressure on Argyle boss Rooney with his side now two points adrift of safety after 22 games.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto headed Coventry in front with just five minutes gone, before the recalled Josh Eccles rifled the ball beyond Daniel Grimshaw from the edge of the box.

Ephron Mason-Clark, who had set up Eccles for the opener, netted his fourth goal in his sixth game under Lampard with a fine finish to put the result beyond doubt.

Eccles then completed the first-half rout just before the interval, with Plymouth’s misery compounded late on when substitute Callum Wright was shown a straight red card.

At the Riverside Stadium, Sheffield Wednesday staged an incredible comeback to draw 3-3 with 10-man Middlesbrough to end their losing run against them in the league.

Michael Carrick’s side looked set to be cruising to a comfortable victory when Ben Doak’s early goal and Finn Azaz’s double had the hosts 3-0 in front at the break.

But the Owls started the turnaround after the break when Svante Ingelsson and Josh Windass reduced the deficit to one within nine minutes of the start of the second half.

Rav van den Berg was then sent off for a second bookable offence for Boro in the 55th minute, with Yan Valery heading Shea Charles’ corner in six minutes later.

Boro slip out of the play-off places with this result, three points clear of Wednesday in ninth, but there are no doubts over who will be more pleased with this result.

There was also a winning start for new Oxford United manager Gary Rowett, who oversaw a 3-2 win over Cardiff City to move them two points clear of the relegation zone.

In a first half of few opportunities, Mark Harris broke the deadlock, as the Wales striker fired home from close range after a moment of rare quality from the home side.

The hosts made sure of the result when Ciaron Brown grabbed a goal against his former side before Przemyslaw Placheta crashed home a sensational third.

But Cardiff gave Rowett a nervy final few minutes when substitute Cian Ashford took advantage of some poor marking inside the Oxford penalty area.

Callum Robinson scored with nearly the final touch of the game, but it was not enough to save them from a defeat that has them right in the thick of the relegation picture.

Harry Leonard’s late equaliser salvaged a point for Blackburn Rovers as they shared the spoils with promotion rivals Sunderland, drawing 2-2 at Ewood Park.

Yuki Ohashi had put John Eustace’s side ahead in the 13th minute before the Black Cats turned the contest on its head by scoring twice inside four minutes soon after the restart.

Chris Rigg bundled home the equaliser, which was quickly followed up by Wilson Isidor’s superb flicked finish four minutes later for his sixth goal of the season.

However, with Sunderland seemingly heading for all three points, Leonard turned the ball home from Makhtar Gueye’s knockdown to send the home support into raptures.

The two sides remain in the play-off places, with fourth-placed Sunderland missing the chance to close the gap on the top two. Rovers, meanwhile, stay in fifth.