Blackburn Rovers 4-0 Birmingham City: Ben Brereton Diaz scores twice as hosts go third in Championship
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John Buckley's sixth-minute strike was the midfielder's first goal of the season - and just the fourth of his career
Impressive Blackburn Rovers moved to within a point of the Championship's top two as they brushed aside feeble Birmingham to record a fifth successive victory.
With goals from John Buckley, Reda Khadra and two from in-form striker Ben Brereton Diaz, Rovers fully capitalised on second-placed Bournemouth's defeat at Middlesbrough earlier on Saturday.
Buckley steered Rovers ahead after Matija Sarkic parried Ryan Nyambe's cross straight to the unmarked midfielder, while Khadra rounded the keeper from Darragh Lenihan's through ball to double the lead.
Brereton Diaz scored from the spot after being upended by Sarkic and then took his league tally to 19 for the season by nodding in a cross from Dan Butterworth, who had struck the bar moments earlier.
Blues slipped to 17th after a poor display, although Chuks Aneke, on his first league start since joining from Charlton in the summer, did hit the crossbar from 25 yards when the score was only 1-0.
The game was one of only five Championship fixtures - and just 15 across the whole English Football League - to go ahead on Saturday following a raft of Covid-related postponements.
Rovers winger Tyrhys Dolan missed the game after testing positive, but his absence did not blunt their attacking threat as they controlled proceedings throughout and could have won by more.
Scott Wharton headed a good chance wide after Buckley's early opener, while Sarkic saved well from Joe Rothwell before Khadra's classy second teed up an eighth win in 10 games for Tony Mowbray's side.
Blues did show some signs of life in between Brereton Diaz's double as Riley McGree and Lukas Jutkiewicz both tested Blackburn keeper Thomas Kaminski.
But the damage was already done as the Chile striker continued his rich vein of form to make it nine goals in nine matches, and he almost completed a hat-trick with a cheeky lob that sailed just over late on.
Rovers' defensive improvements have been just as important as Brereton Diaz's goals to their surprise promotion push and they stretched their shut-out streak to five games, having not conceded a goal in 500 minutes of football, since Callum O'Dowda's strike for Bristol City on 20 November.
Ewood Park remains a bogey ground for Blues, who have won just once on their past 25 visits, and goals have severely dried up for Lee Bowyer's side, with just four in their past 10 away games.
Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"In all areas of the pitch we were good today. I think defensively we looked pretty strong, I think we've got a real determination about trying to keep clean sheets at the moment.
"Do we look like we can score goals when we win the ball back and break away? Yes. I think any team that carries the threat we carry and is looking as solid as we look at the moment is going to win games.
(On being third) "It means nothing really, because we are only halfway into the season but it's still important, when you hope to win games and you try to win games, that you can actually do that."
Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer told BBC Radio WM:
"I think we helped them along the way - some of the goals we conceded were not good enough, not acceptable. We were second best all over the pitch.
"The only positive was [17-year-old] Jordan James, he's the one player who can walk out of that dressing room with his head held high. He tried to do the right things and he's learning.
"They are a good side, Blackburn, they have quality all over the park. We were out of our depth today."