Image source, PA Media

There we go, then - plenty of goals (especially for those who view football through Middlesbrough-tinted glasses) and plenty of late drama.

That came even later than usual at The Den, where Sunderland regained top spot from Sheffield United despite conceding an injury-time equaliser to Millwall at just after 5.20pm.

What will tomorrow bring? Well, that depends on Swansea and Leeds, who get under way at 15:00 in the final slice of Championship cake for this weekend.Make sure you join us again for all the action - until then, thank you and good night!

Millwall

Millwall boss Neil Harris speaking to BBC Radio London:

“It’s 41 minutes [when the players came off] and that’s almost a half-time team talk, but you don’t know how long you’re going to be in there for.

“I had my say after 41 minutes, I was very composed because we knew we were going back out for five minutes – and then at half-time I let them have it properly, because that’s what it deserved.

On Millwall’s substitutions: “Sometimes just [throwing] caution to wind. When you’re behind sometimes you can do that.

“We were trying to get five players against their back four, trying to overload the midfield area and you just hope that you get a moment of quality and we had that.”

Oxford United

Oxford United head coach Des Buckingham says their 6-2 defeat at home to Middlesbrough illustrates the "harsh reality" of life in the Championship.

"It shows you the ruthlessness of this league," Buckingham told BBC Radio Oxford.

"They've had three shots on our target in the second half and scored all three so they were clinical in their finish but they were the better team throughout the majority of that game.

"We were in a good game for 30-35 minutes, and I thought we deserved to go 1 up, and then we had a 10 minute spell where they got the penalty and then got the second quickly to put them in front and ended up getting in to the half 3-1 up."

"It's a harsh reality of this league, we need to quickly recoup, recover and get ready for Tuesday and we'll certainly do that."

Stoke City

Stoke head coach Narcis Pelach told BBC Radio Stoke:

“I'm pleased with the point because I know how difficult it is to compete in every single game in the Championship.

“We knew they were a team under the cosh and would put a lot of pressure on us because they have a lot of need, but I think we showed the same need and that is important to me and we could have won the game at the end.

[On disallowed goal] “I don’t want to go into it because if I do it teaches my players a culture I don’t like. I don't want to go into the excuses game.”

QPR

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes spoke to BBC Radio London about feeling his side should have come away with more than just a point against Stoke today.

“Football is about achieving, not deserving but you could say that according to the amount of chances we deserved something else - but football is about quality," he said.

“In the first-half we were very dominant and created a lot of situations, but one mistake and an amazing strike from (Tom) Cannon gave them the lead.

“It was not easy mentally for the team to miss a penalty so at half-time it was important to pick up the players again and for us to show commitment, and I’m proud about the way we kept pushing.

“The second-half was open because Stoke have quality players and manager and it wasn't easy to contain them but if there was a team looking for the win in the last minutes of the game it was us.”

Norwich City

Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk:

"I think sometimes a point is worth a little bit more, and I think that's the case today.

"Sometimes you're disappointed after a draw, sometimes you can say 'ok we were playing against a good West Bromwich side', and that we also have to respect.

"But I think the top moments for this team were really, really top and we created some really good moments, some great chances and scored some good goals.

"Of course we also had to survive in bits of the game, which we expected.

"So good for everyone, good for us, good for the group, good for the players as this is a step in the direction we want and need."

West Bromwich Albion

Image source, Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberan told BBC WM that he was looking for a bigger finish from from his side in their 2-2 draw with Norwich.

"I think that in general there were things that I liked of the team, especially in attack, especially in the first 60 to 70 minutes of the game," he said.

"In these moments we were creating a lot of good opportunities - in the first half it's true that we gave them the option to create some good opportunities too.

"But in the second half we kept creating chances without conceding chances.

"But in the last 20 minutes we didn't use the control of the game that we had well enough to create something else - that for me is the difference, to have scored a goal that could have made the difference in the game."

Hull City

Image source, Getty Images

Hull City manager Tim Walter told BBC Radio Humberside:

"Like every week - like the last seven weeks as well - we played well. We created a lot of chances.

"We also defended really good. But, set pieces - sometimes it is a coincidence and it was today - they scored and the whole game they didn't have a chance to score without this.

"At the end, it is up to us, because we didn't score in the opposite goal and that is what we have to do better.

"The boys showed again character, because if you run backwards in the 96th minute, that shows that the team is really sticking together and they are fighting for each other and they have a good togetherness. I can see it everyday in the training sessions.

"We have to score to get better results, but sometimes it is like it is."

Luton Town

Image source, Getty Images

Luton Town boss Rob Edwards has spoken about how his team "showing resilience" was what took them to their win against Hull City.

"Really proud of the boys, really pleased with everyone for showing the resilience and the will to get us over the line," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"It wasn't perfect today - it didn't have to be - but it was important to show a reaction, show some resilience, some spirit, a bit of quality when we needed it.

"They are a really difficult team to play against. They are probably the most complex team in the way they play, to press. It was difficult, it was challenging.

"If you think back a couple of years ago, when we got promoted, we had quite a few of those kinds of performances. Maybe similar 1-0 wins with people putting their bodies on the line. You have to do that to win football matches, it is not always going to be pretty.

"What is pleasing is that the lads are there fighting, with me and with us, and that is good because it has been quite a challenging couple of weeks, or a challenging quite a long period. But yeah, nice feeling today."

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough won big today, but head coach Michael Carrick was incredibly understated about things when talking to BBC Radio Tees.

“It’s a hard place to come and the conditions made it tough - fast pitch with a lot of wind," he said.

"It’s not easy to play but I thought, especially going a goal down, we started alright and made some chances and we played some really good football."

There is no surprise that Middlesbrough's big win against Oxford United has provided a few golden nuggets for statisticians to mine.

Below are the pick of the day's Championships stats and facts from Opta.

• Middlesbrough scored six goals in an away league game for the first time since October 1960, when they drew 6-6 with Charlton – incidentally the joint-highest score draw in English league football (also 6-6 between Arsenal and Leicester in April 1930).
• Middlesbrough’s Emmanuel Lath Latte scored his first ever hat-trick in English football, his 25th goal in total for Boro – more than three times as many as any other player for the club in all competitions since the Ivorian’s debut in August 2023.
• Sunderland’s 1-1 draw against Millwall means that they have now picked up 32 points from 16 Championship games this season, their best start at this level since 1998-99 (34), when they eventually won the league.
• Burnley’s clean sheet against Bristol City means they have conceded just six goals across their 16 Championship matches this season, the fewest by any team at this stage of a second-tier campaign since Manchester United in 1924-25 (also six).
• West Brom’s Josh Maja scored his 10th goal of the season in the Championship (16th app), the first time he’s reached double figures in the EFL since netting 15 (24 apps) for Sunderland in League One in 2018-19. Only Norwich’s Borja Sainz (11) has scored more in the competition so far in 2024-25.

• Di’Shon Bernard scored Sheffield Wednesday’s only goal during their 1-1 draw against Cardiff City – he had gone exactly 100 EFL matches without scoring a goal before today, since netting for Salford City against Mansfield Town in January 2021.

Bristol City

Bristol City manager Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol:

“We didn’t do enough to win it but I felt we did enough to get something from it, especially in the second half when we were really on the front foot and played with purpose and intent. We lacked a bit of quality on the final bit.

“Yu (Harikawa) had a terrific moment, and there were a lot of set-pieces where we asked questions, and a header back across goal from Rob Dickie where we didn't have anybody. But we didn’t create enough despite getting in good areas.

“The second half was about the basics and a bit of belief, especially when you are playing such a good side."

On a penalty shout for an alleged handball by Burnley's Josh Brownhill: “I feel sorry for the officials because they change the definition of a handball every season. That one’s not given but we get one on the halfway line against Jaidon Anthony when the ball is smashed it him from two yards. That’s what infuriates everybody.”

Burnley

Image source, PA Media

Burnley manager Scott Parker reflected on a hard-fought win in difficult conditions at Ashton Gate when he spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire.

“It’s a difficult place to come and the conditions today were horrendous, probably the wettest I’ve ever been standing on a touchline," he said.

“We took some control in the first half, looked quite deadly in our moments and well-deserved the goal, and in the second half we started slow but then had 15 to 20 minutes of dominance when we could have made it easier for ourselves by putting away one of the chances we had.

“From there we just had to dig. We camped in and the momentum swung in their favour, and in that moment you need a group of men you can trust and they did that to a man.”

Cardiff City

Cardiff interim manager Omer Riza told BBC Radio Wales:

“I think it’s a good point away from home. We showed good resilience to make sure we came away with something.

“It wasn’t our best performance in terms of our in-possession quality but it’s a tough place to come and weather conditions weren’t great.

“But I thought everybody played their part in getting the point, so I’m happy with the result.”

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl certainly felt his team should have got more from their draw with Cardiff City when he spoke BBC Radio Sheffield.

“I’m not happy. We tried everything to win this game – more chances, more ball possession, set-pieces, all the things you need to win games," he said.

“We conceded a goal that wasn’t necessary in the situation. All these games are tight and we’ve had chances to win them. We have to work on it.

“We missed four big chances. That’s hard to take. I can’t blame my team. We created more and more chances but we want to win games.”

Sheffield United

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield:

“These are a good group of players we were up against, who are under achieving and are one of the top four or five strongest squads in the division. They’ve decided to turn it on. And that makes this a big point and an important point for us.

“I’m a Mark Robins fan and maybe I can’t keep my mouth shut. But, if they’d run around like that the last 14 or 15 games, maybe somebody would have a job still. Maybe there’s a new manager sat in the stand and they were trying to impress, but maybe they should have tried to impress Mark Robins a bit more.

“I’ve no complaints about the red card. I told the ref that at half time. He had nowhere to go with it, if that’s the way certain players behave – and we now lose a big player for three games.

“He tried to leave one on Anel early on and went over twice looking for penalties to try and con the referee. Anel should know better. He’s fell for the three-card trick and he’s gone down like he’s been hit by Mike Tyson holding his face when the contact was clearly around the neck.”

Coventry

Coventry City interim boss Rhys Carr oversaw another epic draw as they snatched a point against a Sheffield United side that played with 10 men for more than half a game.

Carr heaped praise on the Sky Blues players when he spoke to BBC CWR.

“The players have shown incredible character and spirit in the last couple of games," he said.

"We don’t want to take a punch on the nose first. That’s the one disappointing thing. But we’ve still come back against two of the top teams in this division.

“They’ve applied themselves so well, but that comes from the training during the week. You can’t just switch it on and off on a Saturday. It’s about how you train.

“And, with the bit of quality we’ve got, we always feel confident we can do things. That goal will give Norman Bassette a spring in his step. His enthusiasm is infectious.

“As regards the red card incident, I’d have to see it back but those sort of things happen every week, trying to provoke and upset the opposition. If Norman has done anything wrong, we’ll have a word.”

Now the game between Millwall and Sunderland is over with the Lions and Black Cats playing out a 1-1 draw, let's get some reaction from our lunchtime fixtures earlier today...

Luton Town lifted themselves four places to 16th with a 1-0 victory over strugglers Hull City, who slip into the bottom three.

QPR remain bottom despite picking up a point in their 1-1 draw at home to Stoke.

Managerless Coventry's hard-earned 2-2 draw against high-flying Sheffield United sees them go above Oxford who were thrashed 6-2 at home by Middlesbrough.

Preston and Cardiff drew 1-1 with Derby and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Portsmouth's game with Blackburn was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

Nick Barnes
BBC Newcastle's Sunderland commentator

It is hard to take with the goal coming so late. I guess when you step back from it you have to look at it in the wider perspective. Six changes made today, they more than made up for it in the first half. They looked as if they hadn't made any changes.

Everyone slipped seamlessly in to the roles they had to play, it's caught up with them right at the end. But credit to Millwall, Neil Harris threw on forward after forward after forward at the end to try and break down Sunderland and it worked for them.