Championship round-up: Leeds frustrate, Rooney's Plymouth struggle
One of the most exciting divisions on the planet got underway for the season last weekend, with several teams picking up important opening-day wins, while others were left with their hopes for the campaign dented by poor performances.
England's second tier was back with a bang; with upsets, thrashings, a hat-trick, a goal direct from a corner and a managerial departure already!
Leeds slow out of the blocks
Leeds United came within touching distance of Premier League football last season, but would lose to Southampton in the play-off final after throwing away automatic promotion by losing four of their last six games in the regular campaign.
Manager Daniel Farke was given a chance over the summer to correct Leeds' shortcomings and mould a new squad back into the convincing promotion contenders they should be - but his side stumbled out of the blocks to a frustrating draw.
Up against the newly-promoted Portsmouth at Elland Road - a side Leeds should comfortably beat - Farke's team again failed to find a way to win and needed a last-minute equaliser to seal a 3-3 draw.
Despite Pascal Struijk's early penalty, the Yorkshire club went into the break 2-1 down after goals from Elias Sorensen and Callum Lang.
Wilfried Gnonto equalised shortly into the second half, but Leeds would spend the next 45 minutes struggling to break through the Pompey defence before conceding a third in the 92nd minute.
Controversial figure Brendan Aaronson netted a 95th-minute equaliser to spare Farke's blushes, but when given the chance to win it with the last kick of the game the American fired wide unchallenged in the penalty area - which just about sums up Leeds' issues with finding the net when they need to most.
Of course, it's the opening day and Leeds have time on their side to get things right - but it was a worrying omen that perhaps things haven't changed a great deal from the disappointment of the last campaign.
Portsmouth also deserve a special mention for a resilient display against a side that will likely be battling for automatic promotion this season.
Rooney's opening-day horror show
Plymouth's appointment of Wayne Rooney surprised several supporters given his abject failure at Birmingham last season, which ultimately was the main contributor to the club going from play-off contenders to relegation.
The Manchester United legend did nothing to squash any apprehension among fans after an embarrassing 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.
A 4-0 defeat itself is bad, but Argyle's performance across the 90 minutes is a major cause for concern with Rooney's side showing no semblance of a proper style of play, any attacking threat, or even the basics of being fit and ready for the season.
Yes, Wednesday were very good and have plenty to be excited about under the guidance of Danny Rohl, but they could and perhaps should have scored a lot more - Plymouth were that bad.
Rooney's men registered just one shot on target and didn't even look like threatening throughout the match before eventually slumping to the classic trope of many sides without proper direction; give it to the best player and hope.
Morgan Whittaker essentially kept Argyle up last season with his 19 goals, but he was powerless against Wednesday and if transfer rumours are to come true he will likely depart before the window ends.
That would leave Plymouth and Rooney right in the mud going into the rest of the campaign - they will need a major change in performances from the opening day if they are to stay up.
Early farewell for Preston's Lowe
After just one game, we've already had our first managerial casualty in the Championship - and no, despite several supporters' predictions, it wasn't Rooney.
Preston's Ryan Lowe departed by mutual consent on Monday morning following their opening-day 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
It can only be assumed that something happened behind the scenes as the loss itself isn't that bad or even a shock considering the Blades have just been relegated from the Premier League and boast a superb starting 11 for this level.
It's a nasty setback for Preston, who would have hoped to build on last season's mid-table finish, and they will now have to look for a new head coach.
Ironically, former Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom is the early favourite.
Chakvetadze scores a stunner
One of the features of Flashscore's new Championship round-up will be picking a 'Goal of the Week' after each round of fixtures - and what better way to start than with Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze's free-kick against Millwall, a curling effort from 30 yards out.
The Georgian - one of his country's heroes at Euro 2024 - helped the Hornets to a 3-2 win and stood out in a week of excellent goals; just take a look at Edo Kayembe whipping the ball in directly from a corner earlier in the same game.
Other standouts include Lang's superb volley against Leeds, Sheffield United midfielder Gustavo Hamer's lob at Preston and Fally Mayulu's debut strike in Bristol City's draw away to Hull.
Maja bags a hat-trick
The Championship's top individual performer from the opening weekend was undoubtedly Josh Maja, who netted a hat-trick in West Brom's 3-1 win away at QPR.
Two headers on either side of an instinctive acrobatic finish from close range saw the Nigerian take home the match ball and earn a 9.9 rating from Flashscore's player ratings system - the highest of any player from the opening day.
Just for fun, we'll also build an entire 'top 11' each week, looking at the best ratings across the second-tier fixtures.
Little disclaimer - this is written before Luton's clash with Burnley on Monday night, hence why those players don't feature. Player ratings for Preston v Sheffield United were also unavailable although this should be rectified for next week - special shout-out to Hamer in midfield.
Full results and fixtures:
Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 Plymouth
