The Championship returned after the international break with two days full of action this weekend as the season boils to a close. There were late goals, huge wins, and big movement at both ends of the table.
Sheffield United Top the Table with Friday-Night Spectacle
It was the Blades who kicked off game week 39 in the Championship as they defeated an in-form Coventry City side 3-1 at Brammal Lane.
Gustavo Hamer opened the scoring against his former club with a brilliant free-kick goal early on. Tyrese Campbell and Rhian Brewster followed this up with a goal each to seal a huge three points and send them to the top of the table.
Jack Rudoni added a last-minute consolation goal, but it was not enough as Coventry have fallen to two defeats in their last three games, ending their fantastic run of form under Frank Lampard.
The Blades, however, were thoroughly impressive, making it their eighth win in their last ten matches as the season hits the most important stretch of games in their title pursuit.
The energy shown by players such as Hamza Choudhury and Rhian Brewster was the driving factor in their domination of the game. If they can keep this form up, then they will have a fantastic chance of promotion to the Premier League.
Luton Town Claim Huge Win After Defensive Nightmare
Luton Town moved to just two points away from safety in the Championship after a huge 1-0 away win against relegation rivals Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
Despite the magnitude of the result for the Hatters, the main headline from the game was the manner in which they got their goal.
Their goal came just after the half-time interval, after a long ball from Thomas Kaminski fell into the Hull box, where captain Lewie Coyle attempted to clear the ball. However, his clearance hit Alfie Jones in the face and ricocheted into his own net.
The video of the goal gained huge traction on social media due to the comic nature of the error, but it could potentially be a goal that could have serious repercussions on Hull’s season as they are now just three points above the relegation zone.
Illan Meslier Goes From Hero to Zero at Elland Road
It was a bad day at the office for Leeds, as they threw away the lead not once, but twice at home as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Swansea City.
Goals from Brendan Aaronsen and Willy Gnonto were cancelled out by Harry Darling and Zan Vipotnik finding the net for the Swans, with the latter being a 96th-minute leveller.
However, the focus was very much on goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who had a very indifferent game in front of the home crowd.
He began the game in perfect fashion, as he managed to save Josh Tymon’s early penalty to deny the Swans an early equaliser.
However, the eventual equaliser came after a corner from Swansea was seemingly claimed by the Frenchman, but he spilled the ball back out, and Darling managed to poke it home.
The last-gasp winner also followed from a Meslier mistake, after Vipotnik’s shot from a seemingly impossible angle managed to glide through the keeper’s hands to ensure Leeds drop another two points and lose the top spot in the Championship.
Overall, a day that started brilliantly for Meslier ended up being a tough day at the office.
Omer Riza’s Cardiff Drop More Points From Winning Positions
Cardiff City still remain firmly in the relegation battle in the Championship, after they could not hold a 1-0 lead as they drew 1-1 against Sheffield Wednesday.
The Bluebirds have now dropped an astonishing 22 points from winning positions under Riza, with many fans pointing out how much further up the table they could be if they could hold on to their leads in games.
They now face a difficult decision in regard to the security of Riza’s job. They are just two points above the relegation zone and could drop into the bottom three if Derby County are victorious on Wednesday evening.
However, if they did sack him, there is potential for the situation to become worse under a new interim boss. Whatever they decide to do, they must fix this issue when ahead in games if they want to retain their Championship status.
Blackburn Rovers’ Horrible Run of Form Continues
Since the departure of manager John Eustace to Derby, it has been a torrid time to be a Blackburn Rovers fan.
In the seven games since Eustace departed the club, they have picked up just four points and have fallen from playoff shoe-in to a five-point gap away from sixth place in the Championship.
New boss Valerin Ismael has yet to taste victory, with all their losses coming to teams in the bottom half of the table in recent weeks. It now looks likely that Rovers are in for yet another season of missing out on a chance of promotion to the Premier League.
Club captain Lewis Travis took to social media in recent weeks to express his disappointment at recent results, with an outcry to Rovers fans to keep backing the side despite their current state of affairs.
They now enter their last six games with a huge challenge if they want to push back towards the top six, but it seems very unlikely at this moment.
All statistics via Transfermarkt