Image source, Rex Features

That's as far as we go today and we have to give the final word to Coventry City.

The Sky Blues started the day by buying their CBS Arena home and ended it by walloping QPR 7-1 to register their first league win with a seven-goal haul since 1963.

Cov are in great early-season form but they're still behind Stoke and Middlesbrough, who both boast a 100% record after three matches.

We'll be back with more EFL Cup action on Tuesday and the Championship returns next Friday when Leicester City host Birmingham City.

Thanks for your company today and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cheers!

Image source, Rex Features/Opta

At the end of matchday three we have just two perfect records remaining, Middlesbrough and Stoke lead the way in the fledgling standings.

At the other end Blackburn, Wrexham and Sheffield Wednesday opened their accounts for the season leaving just Oxford United and, gasp, Sheffield United awaiting their first points of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen was delighted with the spirit his side showed to come back from 2-0 down and claim a point at Wrexham:

"The big picture is that I'm very, very proud.

"After we conceded we struggled so we changed things and were able to put in a strong defensive performance and helped us to a great second half.

"We had nearly 60% of possession in the second half and created a lot. I really think the boys showed what they are standing for.

"They were 2-0 down but they stayed together, the belief was there. How they expressed themselves in a difficult period and trust they showed, it was impressive.

"It showed our culture is strong and our players are ready to do everything for our club."

Wrexham blew a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday and leave both teams without a win this season. Red Dragons boss Phil Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales:

"We showed we looked like a Championship team in the first half and a League One side after the break.

"We were terrific to start but credit to Sheffield Wednesday for the way they responded, but we never got a grip of the ball, gave it away too cheaply and put ourselves under pressure.

"At the end, players were out on their feet because we were stretched and didn't retain possession – and at this level if you give the ball away you get punished.

"We are showing we can compete but we have to find a way to sustain performances right through the game."

QPR

Image source, Rex Features

After the 7-1 humbling at Coventry, QPR head coach Julien Stephan told BBC Radio London:

“I can promise one thing: it will be a completely different game next week against Charlton. We will react for sure next week.

“We did a lot of mistakes today. It’s unacceptable. We will think about the next week and how we can react.

“This is a big challenge. This is the first time in my career I have to deal with a score like this, but in football you learn a lot.

“I just want to promise that next week it will be completely different and you will see a completely different team.”

Coventry

Image source, Rex Features

Coventry boss Frank Lampard was a happy man after seeing his side hammer QPR 7-1 on the day the club completed the purchase of the Coventry Building Society Arena. Here's what he told BBC CWR after the game:

“It’s a great day. This club has a great history and tradition and been through so many things. To make this feel our home is really special.

“I’m delighted for everybody. We have this officially as our home. Then the onus was on us to put in a performance and the boys certainly did that - from the first minute.

“It was a performance of quality, mentality and attitude. They were at it in every single way.

“We want to take the template of today. We won’t always play with so many great things but we must always have the attitude and mentality we had today.”

Sheffield United

Image source, Rex Features

After his side lost 1-0 to Millwall to fall to a fourth straight league and cup defeat to start the season, Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles told BBC Radio Sheffield:

“It’s a tough one to take. In the first half we were not the team we want to be. The second half was completely different and we played a game of football. We created situations to score and recognise the team we want to be.

“I didn’t change a bit in the half time. It was our application that changed.

“Right now we are in a tough situation. But we need to start to show a bit more especially in the beginnings of the game. We can’t wait to go behind before we start our game.

“I am not about to open the book of excuses. It is me as the first one to do my job better it is always like that. After analysing my performance and what I want to do with the team comes the rest.

“We created enough situations but it is about how we do it. We have the quality and the positions but sometimes football is like that.”

Norwich City

Image source, Rex Features

After seeing his 10-man Canaries beaten at home by Middlesbrough, Norwich head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Norfolk:

"We did a really good job first half of problem solving and I thought we managed to start putting a bit of pressure on higher up.

"We got some control of the ball but have to show more quality when we do break their structure, we had a couple of half decent chances.

"We'd had a couple of warning signs and turned the ball over far too cheaply, and at this level when you give it away so easily you end up defending your goal extremely quickly.

"Things are improving but what you can't do is performing an action at eight out of 10 to a three very quickly, there were far too many of them."

(On Wright's sending off) "It was disappointing, frustrating but after that we saw another side to the team and they continued to fight to the end, which is a really important attribute, but ultimately just fell a little bit short."

Portsmouth

Image source, Rex Features

After coming from behind to earn a point at The Hawthorns, Portsmouth manager John Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent:

“It’s a brilliant point. It's a step up in terms of the result and certainly in terms of the performance. We deserved it.

“We should have gone ahead, I thought we had the better of the chances and after the equaliser as well we had a 10, 15 minute spell where we looked much the better side. Naturally towards the end with the changes that both sides make – we’re giving debuts and bringing some young players on - we sank in and had to do a bit of last ditch defending but ultimately the lads really deserved a point.

“As good as West Brom are I didn’t think they created a huge amount against us. They had the chance but it’s a shot from the edge of the area and there was a chance at the back post but it was given offside. Apart from that I can’t remember Nico [Schmid] having to do a huge amount

“It took us going in at half-time to wake up and liven up a bit. It took the equaliser for us to think actually, we might be all right here. We can definitely get something from the game.”

Ipswich Town

Image source, Rex Features

After falling to a 1-0 defeat at Preston, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk:

"Really frustrated and annoyed by the result. Our supporters have travelled a long way; we wanted to get the win after a couple of hard fought draws and we didn't do it, so that is the overriding emotion.

"We gave away a goal which we can't concede at this level, we won't be successful if we concede goals like that. That is clear, the type of performance we are going to face we needed to be stronger in the few occasions we had to defend.

"Before and after we had control of the game, there was some nice passages to our play but we didn't create as may chances as we would like.

"The connections in the team aren't strong enough. I knew it would be a difficult summer; we need to improve and quickly."

Middlesbrough

After seeing his side beat Norwich to make it three wins from three, Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards told BBC Radio Tees:

"It's a really difficult place to come and win games of football - it felt like a number of games within one game.

"At the start, you could see two good teams trading blows, you could see the shape and how they could hurt each other.

"To go in 2-0 up at half-time was fantastic but you'd like to take the game away from them then or not give them any belief, and we did towards the end when we could have gone 3-0 up and 10 seconds later it's in the back of our net.

"Then the stadium starts believing and it became a little bit nervy. You just want to be able to take the sting out of it, keep the ball, manage it, make good decisions - they were charging at us from everywhere but we got over the line and won the game."

Sam Parkin
Former Millwall forward on BBC Final Score

Image source, Rex Features

I think we have to have a nod to the two unbeaten teams.

It's an incredible start for Mark Robins and Stoke City, they've got a great goalkeeper and a really vibrant front three. Going to St Mary's and winning 2-1, that's a hell of a result.

Middlesbrough as well, I was reading in the summer that Rob Edwards isn't the man. I don't think they won in pre-season so to be three from three is incredible.

They look better defensively, I think that was the criticism of Michael Carrick, and they're getting goals at the opposite end of the goal too. They will just need to try and keep hold of their better players.

Charlotte Richardson
Final Score reporter, St Mary's

'We are top of the league' rang out amongst Stoke supporters and how proud they can be of their side’s resilient display. Three wins in three for the visitors as they inflicted a first defeat of the campaign for Will Still’s side.

I have to shout out Stoke keeper, Viktor Johansson. He pulled off some exceptional saves at key moments. Commanding off his line, positionally astute, there was little he could do to prevent Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ bullet header but what a part he played in what proved to be the winning goal.

Johansson came out to gather a Southampton corner, doing so with such poise and clarity he was able to quickly identify the counter-attacking opportunity was on. He unleashed Sorba Thomas who dispatched the chance well but Stoke’s number one played a huge part. Both in the goal and the victory.

Image source, Rex Features

• Middlesbrough have begun a league campaign with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1994-95, also in the second tier. They went on to win promotion that season.
• Stoke have begun a league campaign with three consecutive wins for the first time since 1998-99, in the third tier.
• Sheffield United have begun a league campaign outside of the top-flight with three consecutive defeats for just a second time, previously doing so in 1995-96, also in the second tier.
• Coventry became the third side to score 5+ goals in the first half of a Championship game in 2025 after Leeds v Stoke in April and Burnley v Plymouth in January. The Sky Blues have netted 5+ goals in back-to-back league games for the first time since September 1935 (5-3 vs Derby on MD2 & 7-1 vs QPR today).
• Coventry scored 7+ goals in a league game for the first time since October 1963 (8-1 v Shrewsbury), while it was the first time QPR have conceded 7+ goals in a league game since August 2018 (7-1 v West Brom).
• Despite not scoring on MD1 v Hull, Coventry's 12 goals are the most in a side's opening three games of an English second tier season since Middlesbrough in 1963-64 (also 12). Indeed, today against QPR, Coventry became the first Championship side to have 3+ players score 2+ goals in a game since Fulham v Blackburn in November 2021.
• Hull City (0-3 vs Blackburn) suffered their heaviest home league defeat since a 0-3 loss to Stoke in September 2022.

Nathan Albon
BBC Radio 5 Live sport

The party atmosphere was there from minute one.

I was speaking to one Coventry fan this morning who said 'the club is back,' on the news they officially bought the CBS Arena for themselves.

For QPR it's absolute misery for them, they are still winless under Julien Stephan. You wonder with this kind of result, after an already bad start to the season, what kind of pressure that would bring on him.

Samantha Fletcher
Final Score at St Andrew's

Birmingham fans are very much used to watching their team win at St Andrews, they’re on a run of 27 home games unbeaten! That last home defeat was when today's visiting boss Gary Rowett was interim manager in April 2024.

The forward offerings of Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuahashi are impressive but today I think Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-Ho stand out as a perfect pairing in the midfield.

They controlled the game and intelligently delivered plenty of great balls into Oxford’s half. Watching these two, you feel confident that not only will chances be created but counter attacks will be stopped in their tracks too.

It’s a pleasure to watch them work together in perfect harmony.

West Bromwich Albion

After the Baggies were pegged back by Portsmouth, West Bromwich Albion assistant manager Nigel Gibbs told BBC Radio WM:

“We’re a little bit frustrated that we didn’t win the game. We had a lot of possession that second-half, we just couldn’t find the moment to get us the winner. We felt we had a penalty in that second half but it wasn’t given.

“We pushed right to the end and we looked like the team that was going to get the winner, they didn’t have that many chances against us. A little bit frustrated that we couldn’t turn that effort into chances. The lads gave great effort today and they kept pushing to get the winner.

[On the penalty appeal and Ryan Mason sending off] “From where I was it looked a penalty, as did the crowd – everyone in the stadium thought it was a penalty – they didn’t. It’s frustrating, disappointing what went on. That’s football. The boys really responded well after that which was the most important thing, they stayed calm, they kept playing, they kept pushing and we had a couple of moments near the end where we nearly got the ball in the right area or it fell to us but it wasn’t to be.”

Watford

Image source, Rex Features

After being pegged back by a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Swansea, Watford head coach Paulo Pezzolano said:

"First half was really good, tactically and individually the players played really well.

"We were very good for 65, 70 minutes and they couldn't find a way to harm us. Maybe in the last minutes we might have run out of energy a little bit, but the opponents also played a good game.

"The first half was very good, very solid. Maybe what leaves a bad taste in the mouth is that we cannot drop these types of points.

"Based on what we did in the first half and part of the second half, we should win this game."

Swansea City

Swansea came from behind to draw 1-1 against Watford and here's what Swans head coach Alan Sheehan had to say:

"I think the first half a worldie free-kick and a headed chance kind of changes the perception. Apart from that there wasn't really a whole lot in the game.

"Were we the best version of ourselves? No, but it's very bitty against a physical team that's going man to man.

"I think after 55 minutes when we made the changes and made a few tactical tweaks, we were the better team.

"We were gathering rhythm, [then a Watford] injury, gathering rhythm, another injury, gathering rhythm, another injury. That's what it was like for the last 35 minutes.

"We just kept going until the end. We got a point and on another day we'd have got three."

Blackburn Rovers

Image source, Rex Features

After a thumping 3-0 win at Hull City opened their account for the season, Blackburn head coach Valerien Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"When you win your first game it's really good because you start your Championship season.

"When we lost games we stayed calm and focused. We deal with adversity and now we're moving forward and the win will help us to start the season.

"In the second half we scored two goals straightaway and that gave us the confidence to control the game. Since I've been in charge at the club, that was the best away performance.

"Now before the international break we have a difficult home game against Norwich and we need the same performance and same focus."