Championship Review: Fulham thrash Millwall as Nketiah strikes for Leeds United

Fulham thrashed Millwall on Wednesday but are only third in the Championship table thanks to victories for Leeds United and Swansea City.

Sheffield Wednesday went top on Tuesday but have dropped three places following wins for three of the early-season pacesetters.

Cardiff City overcame Huddersfield Town in south Wales in a battle of two of last season’s Premier League sides, while Jack Butland had a game to forget for Stoke City at Preston North End.

West Brom and Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, each earned a point by virtue of late goals.

FULHAM ON SONG AS CARDIFF EDGE HUDDERSFIELD

Fulham’s front three of Ivan Cavaleiro, Anthony Knockaert and Aleksandar Mitrovic is starting to look a formidable attacking threat.

All three were on the scoresheet as the Cottagers saw off Millwall 4-0 for a third win in a row in England’s second tier.

Cavaleiro fired home the opener and crossed for Knockaert to make it 2-0 at the end of a move that saw 26 completed passes involving all 11 Fulham players.

Mitrovic got the third from the penalty spot and Cavaleiro added a cool fourth for a Fulham side who enjoyed a remarkable 84 per cent of the possession and completed 934 passes.

Cardiff and Huddersfield, who joined Fulham in dropping out of the Premier League last season, played out a much more even encounter at Cardiff City Stadium.

Trevoh Chalobah cancelled out Joe Ralls’ opener, but Neil Warnock’s side snatched all three points in the 88th minute through Junior Hoilett’s deflected strike.

26 – Anthony Knockaert’s 32nd minute goal for Fulham vs Millwall tonight ended a sequence of 26 passes and involved all 11 of Fulham’s players on the pitch – the longest sequence for a goal in the Championship in 2019-20 so far. Ballers. pic.twitter.com/0EyNDKvQrG

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 21, 2019

LEEDS AND SWANSEA SETTING THE STANDARD

Leeds and Swansea are the only two teams with 10 points from their first four games of the season, although Marcelo Bielsa’s side left it late at home to Brentford.

Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah was the hero on his Championship debut at Elland Road, tapping in Helder Costa’s cross with nine minutes to go to seal a 1-0 win.

Swansea were a little more comfortable, although their 3-1 win away to QPR came despite them attempting 10 shots to the hosts’ 22.

Bersant Celina put them ahead and, after Jordan Hugill headed in an equaliser, Borja Baston converted a penalty and Sam Surridge secured the points at Loftus Road.

Anyone order a goal?  @EddieNketiah9 pic.twitter.com/i3VaGfhQSL

— Leeds United (@LUFC) August 21, 2019

BUTLAND IN DEEP TROUBLE AT DEEPDALE

Stoke’s miserable start to the season continued with a 3-1 loss to Preston in which goalkeeper Butland had something of a nightmare.

Having failed to stop Daniel Johnson’s improvised half-volley from finding the bottom-right corner, Butland allowed Billy Bodin’s shot to squirm beneath his body and put Preston 2-0 up after 25 minutes.

Former Manchester United man Josh Harrop netted the third from a rebound after Butland denied Johnson, meaning James McClean’s close-range finish was little consolation for a side who have taken one point from four games.

West Brom had been staring at a home defeat to Reading until the 88th minute, when Kenneth Zohore’s penalty – conceded by Ovie Ejaria – cancelled out a stunning goal from the Royals’ Liverpool loanee.

Charlton Athletic’s meeting with Forest at The Valley also finished 1-1, with Albert Adomah earning a point after Lyle Taylor had headed in the opener.

FT: An incredibly disappointing night at Deepdale.

 3-1 #SCFC pic.twitter.com/CY54JrzI3u

— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 21, 2019