Swansea made it four Championship wins on the spin following a 3-1 comeback success at sun-blessed Plymouth.

The icing on the cake came with the Swans’ superb 90th-minute breakaway goal, with substitute Liam Walsh playing the ball out to the right to Jamie Paterson on the run.

His precise pass inside enabled Josh Key, who timed his run to perfection, to finish past stranded goalkeeper Conor Hazard as Argyle were committed to attack in search of a leveller.

Sub Ollie Cooper had made it 2-1 with a brilliant 68th-minute long-range strike – a minute after coming on.

Cooper initially collected the ball on the right and exchanged passes with skipper Matt Grimes before unleashing a superb strike from fully 25 yards and into the corner which gave Hazard no chance.

Attacking midfielder Luke Cundle, who spent a spell on loan at Swansea last season, fired Argyle ahead in the 18th minute.

Ryan Hardie broke down the right, beating the offside trap, before cutting back a cross into the penalty area.

The ball was scrambled clear but only into the path of Cundle who side-footed home, first time, into the roof of the net from just inside the left-hand side of the box.

The Swans levelled after 56 minutes having started the second half well.

Paterson crossed to the left where Liam Cullen headed the ball back across the face of goal enabling striker Jerry Yates to bundle it home on the goal-line.

Carl Rushworth made a brilliant one-handed stop, low down, to deny Bali Mumba as he went one-on-one with the keeper on the hour after wriggling through the middle of the penalty area.

Argyle had started the game well with skipper Joe Edwards connecting with a far-post header to greet a sixth-minute corner from the left but Cullen made a brilliant diving headed clearance to deny him.

The Swans responded with Josh Tymon’s superb 12th-minute cross from the left into the box skipping past everyone before being cleared at the far post by Macaulay Gillesphey, with Cullen ready to pounce.

Argyle’s Northern Ireland keeper Hazard was forced to go full stretch to keep out Cullen’s measured strike from the right-hand side of the box after being teed up by Josh Key.

Rushworth and his defenders did well to keep out a string of Argyle shots as the home side pressed for a second in a goalmouth scramble as half-time approached.

Shortly after the break, Rushworth made a brilliant one-handed save from Hardie’s rising drive on the run, which seemed destined for the top corner, before two Swansea goals won it for the Welsh side.

Elie Youan hit two goals in 83 seconds as Hibernian came from behind to seal a 2-2 Edinburgh derby draw at Tynecastle.

Hearts looked firmly in control after a spectacular strike from Alan Forrest and Christian Doidge’s own goal had them two ahead.

But Youan scored with Hibernian’s first two efforts on target midway through the second half ahead of a thrilling finale when both teams went for a winner.

The comeback maintained Nick Montgomery’s unbeaten record as Hibs head coach after five games in Scotland and prevented Steven Naismith’s side from moving ahead of Rangers into third place in the cinch Premiership.

Naismith promoted Forrest and Alex Lowry to his starting line-up, along with the fit-again Cammy Devlin, after the pair came off the bench to fashion the winner against Ross County the previous weekend.

Montgomery started with a positive formation as Doidge partnered Dylan Vente up front with wingers Martin Boyle and Youan outside them. But the attacking line-up did not translate into territory for the bulk of the first half.

Heavy overnight rain had created perfect conditions for slide tackles and referee Willie Collum was busy in the opening 15 minutes, booking Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland and Devlin plus Hibs defender Will Fish.

Lowry made a lively start, curling a left-footed shot off a post from 20 yards and forcing two saves from David Marshall while generally picking out team-mates with clever passes in the final third.

Marshall also denied Shankland before being beaten by a piece of brilliance from Forrest, who had seen plenty of the ball in the opening stages.

The former Ayr and Livingston player collected the ball on the right wing, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike which curled just inside the top corner in the 28th minute.

Hibs took a while to settle after the goal but they did have some pressure late in the half without threatening Zander Clark.

Hearts’ defensive efforts came at a cost when Stephen Kingsley injured himself cutting out a cross. After trying to play on, the left-back was carried off on a stretcher.

The injury blow sparked a reshuffle as Odel Offiah came on at right-back and the rest of the back four moved one space left with Kye Rowles filling Kingsley’s position.

Hearts doubled their lead in the 58th minute when Lowry passed the ball into the goalmouth following his own half-cleared corner and Doidge sliced his attempted clearance behind him and into the corner of the net.

Hibs had several shots blocked in the immediate aftermath of the own goal and they finally got through in the 66th minute when Vente’s first-time pass teed up Youan to fire high into the net from 14 yards.

The same combination soon reaped rewards again as Youan drilled home the Dutch striker’s lay-off from similar range.

Hibs lost Marshall to injury with Max Boruc coming on and the Pole was immediately under pressure. Shankland curled just over after a mazy run and Rowles’ shot took a deflection and hit the bar.

The visitors had chances to seal an unlikely three points but Youan’s low cross was just too far in front of Boyle and Clark stopped Joe Newell’s strike.

Hearts got back on top and substitute Beni Baningime came closest to a last-gasp winner.

Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield played out a goalless draw in a Yorkshire derby of few clear-cut chances at Hillsborough .

It was Neil Thompson’s first game as caretaker manager of Wednesday after taking temporary charge earlier this week following the sacking of Xisco Munoz, who failed to register a league victory during his short spell as manager.

Thompson handed a recall to Cameron Dawson in goal with Di’Shon Bernard the only summer recruit included.

Huddersfield boss Darren Moore, who was making his first return to Hillsborough since leaving Wednesday in the summer, made three changes to his starting line-up with recalls for Jonathan Hogg, Josh Koroma and Tom Edwards.

Moore received a warm welcome from Wednesday supporters after he guided the Owls to promotion via the play-offs last season.

George Byers had an early effort for the home side, seeing his shot deflected for a corner after receiving the ball from Michael Smith.

Koroma then went close for Huddersfield, with a lobbed effort which went wide.

Smith sent in a looping header after getting on the end of a cross from Byers but Town keeper Lee Nicholls dealt with it comfortably.

There was a delay in play following a clash of heads between Callum Paterson and Michal Helik. After receiving treatment, the pair were able to continue.

Wednesday applied some pressure towards the end of the first half with Will Vaulks having a shot blocked on the edge of the area, but the deadlock remained unbroken.

A Wednesday substitution around the hour-mark saw a change in attack with Lee Gregory replaced by Mallik Wilks. Huddersfield also made a change with Tom Lees coming on for Josh Ruffels.

The Owls had a great chance when Smith headed the ball into the path of Paterson whose first-time shot flashed wide of Nicholls’ left-hand post.

Another change for Wednesday saw Paterson taken off with John Buckley coming on to take his place.

Huddersfield’s Sorba Thomas tried an effort from distance in the latter stages of the game but his shot rolled wide of the target.

A further substitution for the home side was required after Reece James appeared to suffer a knock and was replaced by Pol Valentin.

Despite the changes though, both teams had to settle for a point with neither side seriously threatening to force a breakthrough as the match petered out.

Raheem Sterling made a point to Gareth Southgate as he sparked a Chelsea comeback in a 4-1 win at Burnley, who slumped to a fifth consecutive home defeat to start the Premier League season.

Burnley stunned Chelsea 15 minutes in when 18-year-old Wilson Odobert became the Clarets’ youngest Premier League scorer.

But Sterling, again snubbed by the England boss for next week’s internationals, helped turn the game around either side of half-time as Chelsea maintained their long unbeaten record at Turf Moor, where they have only once dropped points in nine visits in the Premier League era.

It was Sterling’s cross that deflected off Ameen Al Dakhil for a 42nd minute equaliser before he won the penalty dispatched by Cole Palmer early in the second half.

Sterling then capped a fine performance with Chelsea’s third in the 65th minute, hitting a confident strike into the bottom corner before substitute Nicolas Jackson added a fourth, with Sterling again involved in the build-up.

Coming off the back of Monday’s 2-0 win at Fulham, Chelsea have won back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since March, but these remain baby steps for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who were arguably second best for much of the first half.

Vincent Kompany showed no sentiment in making four changes to the Burnley side that took their first league win of the season at Luton on Tuesday night, and was rewarded with a surprise early lead.

Lyle Foster cut in from the right but as he saw his own angle to shoot rapidly closing, the South African unselfishly played in Odobert who threaded the ball between Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez.

Burnley were suddenly in buoyant mood. Fans might have been disappointed to see Luca Koleosho only on the bench but Odobert and Mike Tresor, both making their first starts, made them forget with some fearless attacking play.

The pair almost combined for a second in the 22nd minute as Odobert sent in a cross from the left and Tresor capitalised on a sleeping Chelsea defence to win the ball, then missed the target.

Chelsea, who had not won in their previous 19 Premier League games when conceding first, initially struggled to muster a response, but Sterling looked like Chelsea’s best way back into the match and so it proved.

He went close in the 37th minute, beating two defenders before trying to put the ball through the legs of James Trafford, who just about kept it out.

But there was nothing Trafford could do five minutes later when Sterling’s cross took a wicked deflection off Al Dakhil to loop into the net.

Two minutes into the second half, a sudden burst of speed from Sterling took him away from Vitinho, who clipped the Chelsea man on the edge of the box.

Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot and a lengthy check from VAR Darren Bond allowed Cole Palmer time to pick the spot for his first Chelsea goal as he sent England under-21 team-mate Trafford the wrong way.

Odobert saw a dipping, curling shot touched over by Sanchez, but it was Chelsea who scored a decisive third 10 minutes later.

Moises Caicedo won back possession with two challenges on the half-way line and Gallagher quickly picked out the run of Sterling, whose confident finish found the bottom right corner of the net.

Burnley fans started to head for the exits in the 74th minute when Sterling crossed to Palmer, who found Jackson, on as a substitute on his return from suspension, and he skipped away from Dara O’Shea in front of goal before applying the finish.

Odobert and substitute Koleosho both threatened for Burnley late on, but they became only the fifth side to start a season with five consecutive home defeats in top-flight history.

Celtic bounced back from their Champions League disappointment by defeating Kilmarnock 3-1 at home in the cinch Premiership.

Brendan Rodgers’ men looked eager to atone for their midweek loss to Lazio and were two goals ahead at half-time through Reo Hatate and Luis Palma.

David Watson got one back for Kilmarnock midway through the second period before Greg Taylor added a third to send Celtic seven points clear at the top of the table after a fifth consecutive league win.

Rodgers made two changes from the Lazio match. In came Cameron-Carter Vickers and Palma, with Nathaniel Phillips and Hyun-jun Yang starting on the bench.

Kilmarnock also made two changes from their draw with St Mirren. There were starting places for Robbie Deas and Watson who replaced Innes Cameron and the injured Kyle Magennis.

Celtic started on top and had the ball in the net within five minutes but Kyogo Furuhashi had strayed into an offside position before finishing well.

Kilmarnock’s response was a curling effort from Danny Armstrong that arced beyond the far post before former Killie defender Taylor came close with a half-volley.

Celtic moved in front after 22 minutes after great play from Hatate. The Japanese fastened on to a quick free-kick from Callum McGregor, burst past Watson before finishing low in the corner.

Hatate almost came close to doubling his tally with an acrobatic volley that was well saved before Palma stretched Celtic’s lead after 33 minutes.

The winger attempted a pass to Hatate only for the ball to rebound back to the Honduran who took advantage to smash in an unstoppable shot.

Celtic started the second half again on the offensive and Hatate’s run and shot was deflected narrowly wide of goal by Kilmarnock defender Lewis Mayo.

Hatate then thought he had won a penalty after he and Watson tangled at the edge of the Kilmarnock box. Before it could be taken, however, the VAR, David Dickinson, asked referee Matthew MacDermid to have a second look and the decision was overturned.

Hatate was involved in most of Celtic’s promising attacks and only an alert save from William Dennis prevented him from adding a third goal.

Kilmarnock grabbed an unlikely lifeline after 72 minutes. Vassell and Alistair Johnston clashed as they chased down a long ball but play was allowed to go on and Liam Polworth teed up Watson who finished well.

The visitors passed up a good chance to draw level when Stuart Findlay nodded wide from a free-kick and that proved costly when Taylor tucked in Celtic’s third after Daizen Maeda had flicked on Matt O’Riley’s corner.

Maeda was then denied by Dennis after running the length of the pitch, with James Forrest unable to convert the rebound.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy were both on target as Leicester stayed top of the Championship with a 2-0 victory against Stoke at the King Power Stadium.

Iheanacho scored for the third successive game as the dominant Foxes reached the 30-point mark from only 11 games and already have a 10-point cushion to third.

But, once more, Enzo Maresca’s side had to work hard for their victory against stubborn opponents, with injury-hit Stoke providing the league leaders with few chances until the latter stages.

Iheanacho broke the deadlock after 24 minutes but Leicester had to wait until the 79th minute before substitute Vardy netted his fourth league goal of the season from close range.

The result meant the Foxes recorded three home league wins in succession, without conceding, for the first time since April 2017, when Craig Shakespeare was in charge.

Maresca made six changes from Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Preston. That included former Stoke defender Harry Souttar’s first Championship start of the season.

Stoke went into the game missing nine players through injury and their bench contained two goalkeepers and two 16-year-olds.

Stoke made it clear early on that Leicester would have to work hard to break them down.

And the visitors created an early opening of their own when Bae Jun-ho raced to the edge of the area and went down under a challenge from Jannik Vestergaard, but referee Geoff Eltringham dismissed all shouts for a penalty.

Leicester took the lead through Iheanacho’s third goal in as many games.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Ricardo Pereira combined to supply Iheanacho on the left of the Stoke area, and he drove the ball into the far corner before Stoke goalkeeper Mark Travers could react.

Leicester’s command of the game was displayed when the scoreboard showed them having 90 per cent possession at one point.

Stoke had a clear chance to equalise at the start of the second half when Mehdi Leris delivered a cross for Nathan Lowe, but he mistimed his header in front of goal and watched it fly over the bar.

But Leicester almost scored their second goal of the game when Yunus Akgun’s shot from the edge of the area brought an impressive save from Travers.

Leicester eventually extended their lead with substitute Vardy being on the end of an excellent move.

Vardy had only been on the field for three minutes when he was presented with a close-range opportunity after some neat exchanges involving Dewsbury-Hall and Abdul Fatawu before Wilfred Ndidi’s final ball set up the Leicester number nine to score.

Leeds kept pace with the Sky Bet Championship play-off pack with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Bristol City at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke’s side opened the scoring in the 37th minute when Dan James was in the right place to fire into the bottom corner after the visitors had failed to clear a flowing move by the home side.

Kal Naismith sent the sides in level at the break as he headed in a corner but Leeds regained the lead early in the second half through Joel Piroe’s neat finish from the edge of the area, which proved enough to earn all three points.

Leeds started on the front foot but from their first attack Ethan Ampadu sliced a volley off target.

City responded with a cross from the left by Nahki Wells but the ball flashed across goal just in front of the diving Rob Dickie.

Leeds should have taken the lead after 10 minutes when Crysencio Summerville found Georginio Rutter unmarked at the far post but he fired over the bar from two yards.

Ampadu then forced Max O’Leary to punch his fierce shot away as Leeds again pressed for the opening goal, before Summerville had a shot deflected for a corner after he latched onto Rutter’s flicked pass before bearing down on goal.

James finally opened the scoring when the ball broke to him six yards out and he found the bottom corner with a left foot shot, after Rutter had squared a recycled ball when goalkeeper O’Leary beat away a shot by Piroe.

But City levelled in the fourth minute of first half stoppage-time as Naismith rose to head in a corner and earn his side a barely deserved equaliser.

Leeds were ahead again seven minutes into the second half when Piroe shot in low from 20 yards after the home side had worked the ball across the Bristol City area.

The home side just failed to grab a third goal as Rutter’s pass set up Summerville but his rising shot from a tight angle was pushed onto the corner of post and bar by O’Leary.

Rutter then led a breakaway from the edge of his own area and after his pass to James had been blocked the Brazilian crossed from the right side of the area but Summerville was unable to apply the final touch.

Leeds thought they had made it 3-1 but Rutter had been offside from Sam Byram’s original shot, before poking home the rebound following O’Leary’s save.

Byram then headed off the line and did well to block an Andreas Weimann shot in the final 10 minutes as the home side held on for the win.

Jak Alnwick’s second-half howler allowed Watford to claim a 1-1 draw at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Cardiff goalkeeper’s clumsy control of a harmless pass from centre-half Mark McGuinness gifted a 54th-minute equaliser to Hornets striker Vakoun Bayo.

The Bluebirds had taken the lead in the 26th minute through McGuinness, but never played with the energy they needed to bounce back from their midweek defeat at Middlesbrough.

Watford boss Valerien Ismael may feel his side deserved all three points but at least they stopped a run of three successive defeats.

Cardiff went into the game with injuries depriving them of significant firepower but that did not stop the hosts creating all the early chances.

Ike Ugbo, holding the forward line in the absence of others, came within inches of connecting with a rebound after Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann palmed away a shot by midfielder Karlan Grant in the 17th minute.

Grant then found himself clean through at the midway point of the first half, only to blaze a careless attempt high over the crossbar.

The Hornets failed to heed the warnings, and in the 26th minute they fell behind to a goal that will have incensed manager Ismael.

A corner by Cardiff captain Joe Ralls was allowed to float to the far post where McGuinness converted a simple close-range volley.

Watford were not without threat up to the interval, but undid much of their good work in the final third with misdirected or overhit passes.

Striker Bayo dragged a clumsy shot wide when in space on the edge of the penalty area in the 33rd minute, but Watford saved their worst example of wastefulness until added time at the end of the half.

A back-pass by Cardiff defender Perry Ng was intercepted by Bayo, only for the Hornets man to lose control of the ball as he tried to round Alnwick.

There was a sense the equaliser might be coming, but nobody could have foreseen just how it would come in the 54th minute.

When a Watford attack broke down McGuinness played what looked a safe square ball to Alnwick, but the goalkeeper’s touch was hideous, the ball bouncing off him to Bayo who this time punished the error by side-footing home.

The leveller was reward for a marked Watford improvement which saw Ismael’s men take the ascendancy in midfield and offer far more menace going forward.

In the 78th minute another Cardiff error – this time a careless pass from Ryan Wintle – served up a glorious chance for Hornets substitute Tom Ince, who skied his shot into the stands.

Neither side could fashion a winner, and there was sense of frustration all round at full-time.

As the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association’s Disciplinary Committee continues to come down hard on teams for use of ineligible players, Innswood High and Kellits High have found themselves on the bitter end of the whip.

Following investigations and a meeting on Friday, ISSA’s Disciplinary Committee in a release said both teams were found to have used ineligible players in their respective competitions and their actions were met with severe punishments.

Both the St Catherine-based Innswood and Kellits, situated in Clarendon, have been booted from the remainder of this year’s Digicel Manning Cup and Wata DaCosta Cup competitions and have also been barred from participating in next year’s staging.

However, ISSA’s release pointed out that the suspension only applies to the Manning and DaCosta Cup Competitions.

“ISSA will continue its investigation into the breaches committed by both schools and where applicable, apply appropriate sanction(s) to any individual(s) found to be complicit in this matter,” the statement said.

Unlike Jamaica College and Hydel, who were both docked three points and placed on a three-year probation, for a similar offence, ISSA’s competitions director Ewan Scott clarified that the cases presented different scenarios.

He explained that in the case of Jamaica College, the player was registered but did not meet eligibility criteria, while Hydel’s case was one in which the player’s registration, though incomplete, was allowed to play based on the school’s misinterpretation of the rules.

“For cases three and four (Innswood and Kellits), the players are not registered nor eligible to play, but fraudulently presented identification to participate. Clearly the same punishment could not be applicable in all cases,” he shared.

Everton scored more than once at home for the first time in almost a year as Goodison Park finally celebrated a victory after a 3-0 win over a woeful Bournemouth.

October 22, 2022 was the last time Goodison witnessed a game with multiple goals for the hosts when Crystal Palace were dispatched by the same scoreline.

On-loan Leeds winger Jack Harrison, who departed to a standing ovation late on, marked his full home debut with a brilliant lob over goalkeeper Neto to double the advantage given to them by James Garner’s early strike.

Abdoulaye Doucoure, whose goal against the Cherries in May secured the club’s top-flight survival here on the final day of the season, made the game safe on the hour with an altogether more simple close-range finish.

After four successive home defeats, Everton avoided a record worst start to a season at Goodison but were fortunate to come up against Bournemouth.

The visitors extended their own club-record winless run to 12 matches (nine defeats and three draws) and have now equalled their worst start to a season since 1994 in the third tier. The reasons for that were apparent.

Everton have hosted – and lost to – some poor sides in Wolves, Fulham and Luton already this season but none were as accommodating as the Cherries, who aside from an energetic spell 10 minutes after going behind appeared to still be trying to work out what new coach Andoni Iraola wants them to do.

Sean Dyche’s side did not even have to play that well to establish a two-goal cushion but once they did the confidence started to gradually flow back, encouraged by the lack of threat their opponents posed.

Dyche had dropped midfielder Amadou Onana to move Garner inside so he could go with two wingers in Harrison and Dwight McNeil but the Belgium international received a late reprieve when Idrissa Gana Gueye sustained a problem in the warm-up.

The key factor in the victory was probably the early goal, something they had failed to manage in four previous matches.

Illia Zabarnyi slipped bringing the ball out of defence, Philip Billing was unable to recover possession and Garner advanced forward to guide a low shot past Neto’s left hand for his second goal in three games.

The goal prompted Everton’s worst spell of the game and Bournemouth’s best as Dominic Solanke drilled a shot into the side-netting from an acute angle as the momentum appeared to shift.

But Everton seized it back when Dominic Calvert-Lewin latched onto Ashley Young’s pass down the line and set off on a run along the byline to force Neto to block his cross-shot.

A minute later they had doubled their lead when Neto punched clear Vitalii Mykolenko’s hanging cross only as far as Harrison, who perfectly lofted a 20-yard shot over the backtracking goalkeeper and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Calvert-Lewin hit the same crossbar with a header and Onana fired a shot on the turn as Everton finished the half strongly before another mistake by Zabarnyi soon after the interval should have sealed Bournemouth’s fate.

The centre-back’s wayward pass presented the ball to Doucoure but, unlike his blast from the edge of the penalty area in May, he shot weakly at Neto.

He did not make the same mistake from close range when Harrison’s far-post header from McNeil’s cross was parried into his path by the goalkeeper and straight from kick-off he should have volleyed home the fourth from another McNeil cross.

Everton’s former Burnley winger was having a decent game himself and, after hacking Zabarnyi’s header off the line defending a corner, he managed to get on the end of the subsequent counter-attack to shoot at Neto.

The under-employed Jordan Pickford’s late saves from Kieffer Moore and Marcus Tavernier at least kept him tuned up for the forthcoming England internationals.

Dundee United remained top of the Scottish Championship after hitting back to draw 1-1 at second-placed Raith Rovers.

Louis Moult cancelled out Lewis Vaughan’s opener to keep United a point clear of their closest challengers.

Home goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski kept out Kai Fotheringham’s effort in a cagey start between two in-form sides.

Rovers went ahead in the 24th minute when Vaughan poked home on the rebound after his own header came back off a post.

But the visitors maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign thanks to substitute Moult’s 67th-minute header from a Declan Glass corner.

Scottish Championship strugglers Inverness held Partick Thistle to a goalless draw at the Caledonian Stadium.

Partick Thistle hit the woodwork just after half-time as Aidan Fitzpatrick’s ball across the box clipped the post.

Brian Graham forced Inverness goalkeeper Mark Ridgers into a save following a swift counter-attack as the visitors continued to carry the greater threat.

Inverness, who picked up their first win of the season against Arbroath last weekend, came close on 73 minutes as Charlie Gilmour whistled an effort past the post.

Partick Thistle had a great chance to win it three minutes from time but Tomi Adeloye fired over from close range.

Arnor Sigurdsson scored twice as Blackburn thrashed QPR 4-0 to increase the pressure on R’s boss Gareth Ainsworth.

Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics also netted in a thumping away victory for Rovers, who had lost their previous four league matches.

Ainsworth’s future as Rangers boss is in doubt after another diabolical performance at Loftus Road, where the west London side have won just once since last October and have lost five of their six home matches so far this season.

The R’s are in the bottom three, have gone six games without a win, and look both defensively vulnerable and devoid of attacking ideas.

They almost went down under Ainsworth last season and have so far fully justified being among the favourites for relegation this term.

Blackburn took control of the game by punishing woeful QPR defending to score twice in the space of four minutes midway through the first half.

The opener came on 19 minutes, when Joe Rankin-Costello drifted away from Jack Colback to collect Dilan Markanday’s pass and pull the ball back from the right for Dolan to score his first goal of the season.

Rangers were carved open again soon afterwards, with Markanday once more involved in the build-up on the right-hand side.

This time Szmodics was found by Markanday and laid the ball across to Sigurdsson, who got in front of Ziyad Larkeche to apply the finish.

Rangers had made a decent start, with Sinclair Armstrong bringing a near-post save from keeper Leopold Wahlstedt after combining with Ilias Chair, before Wahlstedt gathered Lyndon Dykes’ header from Larkeche’s right-wing corner.

After finding themselves two down, the hosts tried in vain to reduce the deficit before the interval, with Andre Dozzell seeing a shot saved by Wahlstedt shortly before crossing for Dykes, who headed wide.

Any realistic chance of a Rangers comeback evaporated when Sigurdsson struck again after 59 minutes, collecting Dolan’s pass near the left of the penalty area and curling a low shot beyond keeper Asmir Begovic and into the far corner of the net.

Andy Moran should have made it four but missed the target from close range after Begovic had parried Szmodics’ shot.

But Szmodics added the fourth in the 66th minute following an error by Larkeche.

Left-back Larkeche, operating as a makeshift right-back in place of the dropped Osman Kakay, made a mess of an attempted clearance and presented the ball straight to Szmodics, who calmly slotted past Begovic.

Scott Tanser revealed it took only hours to agree a two-year contract extension that keeps him at St Mirren until the summer of 2026.

The 28-year-old wing-back joined Saints in June 2021 and has made 85 appearances for Stephen Robinson’s outfit.

Tanser, whose original deal was due to expire at the end of the season, told stmirren.com of how the new contract was quickly concluded.

He said: “It was very easy. When I say it was done within hours I’m not exaggerating. I had a chat with the manager and Jim Gillespie (vice chairman) in the morning and the deal was done by the afternoon. I’m happy here.

“The team is good, the staff are good and the whole club is together as a whole. It’s been amazing and the club has been amazing for me as well so extending my deal is great for me and my family.

“I’m really enjoying it and playing well so hopefully that continues.”

Robinson described Tanser’s new contract as “very good business” for the Paisley club.

Ahead of the visit of Rangers on Sunday, he said: “I think Scott has arguably been the best left-back in the league this season.

“It’s important that we do our business early and we recognise when people are doing well. I’m delighted that Scott has committed himself to the club for another two seasons.

“The amount of confidence he’s playing with when fans have really got behind him is a lesson for all of us. Sometimes people need an arm round them.

“His ability is undeniable. He’s a brilliant athlete and he’s been terrific for us this season.

“The board appreciate that we are trying to keep building and we’re not making 10-plus signings each season. That’s the way we are trying to do our business.

“I believe it’s very good business and hopefully there’s more to come in the coming weeks.”

Inter Milan blew a two-goal to drop points at the top of Serie A as Bologna earned a 2-2 draw at the San Siro.

Inter looked set to move clear at the summit of the table after they burst into a 2-0 lead after just 13 minutes as Francesco Acerbi and Lautaro Martinez scored.

But mid-table Bologna hit back, with Bendetta Orsolini scoring from the penalty spot before the break and Joshua Zirkzee earned a point after the break.

The result was a big boost for Inter’s city rivals AC Milan, who play at Genoa later on Saturday and go three points ahead with a win.

Although the hosts made a fast start, it was Bologna that almost drew first blood as former Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson hit the post in an open start to the match.

But it was the hosts that soon took control as Acerbi headed home from Hakan Calhanoglu’s corner in the 11th minute.

Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Martinez doubled the lead in style, rocketing a 25-yard shot into the top corner for his 10th goal of the season, becoming just the third Inter player in history to reach double figures in the opening eight matches.

Bologna were shell-shocked, but they responded well and were awarded an 18th-minute penalty when VAR spotted an infringement at a corner, with Martinez ruled to have fouled Ferguson.

Orsolini converted from 12 yards, though Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer may be disappointed after he got a hand to it.

Inter should have restored their two-goal lead eight minutes before the break as both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Calhanoglu found space in the area but could not get a shot away.

Bologna responded well after the break and levelled seven minutes after the restart.

Zirkzee got the ball on the edge of the area and wrong-footed Sommer, shooting into the near post to make it 2-2.

Inter thought they had regained the lead on the hour when Sanchez converted Carlos Augusto’s cross, but it was ruled out for offside.

Boss Simone Inzhagi’s frustration boiled over and he received a yellow card in protestations at refereeing decisions.

His mood did not improve as Martinez then flashed a header just wide from a corner as they pushed to regain the lead.

The pressure mounted in the final 10 minutes with Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski beating away Augusto’s shot before the same player headed over at the death.