QPR went into the game after their first two defeats of the season but once they had taken the lead there was never any doubt they would go on to win the game against a Swansea team who are still only three points away from those top two positions.
Adel Taarabt was the star in the game but only referee Phil Crossley will know just how on earth he didn't get a yellow card. It was a day when cards were being thrown around like confetti with only Burnley coming out of a game card free. In this game there were two red cards but when Taarabt decided to jump into the crowd after scoring his second there was no action taken. Is it any wonder people have a go at referees when they can't even get the easy things right?
Cardiff have been struggling of late but bounced back by outplaying Coventry. The scoreline was a respectable 2-0 because of the performance of Coventry goalkeeper Keiren Westwood who was in top form.
It took them back into the top three because Leeds got some of their own medicine. They've won their last two games having come from behind but this time they could only draw at Leicester despite having a two goal lead. Andy King got the last goal of the game with a spectacular shot that was as good a goal scored yesterday.
At the other end of the table all of the bottom four were out of action following the postponement of five of the games.
The results and stats are shown below with the leading scorers and each club's disciplinary record. The next fixtures are also shown with one game, that between Doncaster and Ipswich, already called off.
The Weekend Results | |
Sunday 26th December | |
Barnsley 1 Burnley 2 | M'brough v Nottm Forest - Postponed |
Cardiff 2 Coventry 0 | Portsmouth 1 Millwall 1 |
Crystal Palace v Norwich - Postponed | QPR 4 Swansea 0 |
Derby v Doncaster - Postponed | Reading 4 Bristol City 1 |
Ipswich v Watford - Postponed | Scunthorpe v Preston - Postponed |
Leicester 2 Leeds 2 | Sheffield United 2 Hull 3 |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | QPR 4-0 v Swansea (home) |
Total goals scored | 25 (16 home - 9 away) |
Player scoring most goals | Ched Evans (Sheffield United) |
Highest Attendance | 30,919 - Leicester v Leeds |
Lowest Attendance | 14,219 - Barnsley v Burnley |
Total Yellow Cards | 29 |
Total Red Cards | 2 |
Most cards in a game | Leicester v Leeds (6Y) - Tony Bates |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
13 | Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff) |
12 | Kris Commons (Derby) - includes 2 penalties |
11 | Luciano Becchio (Leeds) Adel Taarabt (QPR) - includes 4 penalties |
10 | Danny Graham (Watford) |
9 | Chris Iwelumo (Burnley) Grant Holt (Norwich) Andy King (Leicester) Jamie Mackie (QPR) Lewis McGugan (Nottingham Forest) - includes 1 penalty |
8 | Adam Hammill (Barnsley) Shane Long (Reading) - includes 4 penalties Steve Morison (Millwall) - includes 1 penalty Scott Sinclair (Swansea) |
7 | Max Gradel (Leeds) - includes 1 penalty James Hayter (Doncaster) Jon Parkin (Preston) Billy Sharp (Doncaster) - includes 3 penalties Jason Scotland (Ipswich) Jonathan Stead (Bristol City) |
Hat Tricks (league only) | |
11th Sep | 3 - Chris Iwelumo - BURNLEY v Preston |
14th Sep | 3 - James Coppinger - DONCASTER v Norwich |
14th Sep | 3 - James Vaughan - CRYSTAL PALACE v Portsmouth |
28th Sep | 3 - Jon Parkin - Leeds v PRESTON |
30th Oct | 3 - Jonny Howson - Scunthorpe v LEEDS |
13th Nov | 3 - Luciano Becchio - LEEDS v Bristol City |
27th Nov | 3 - Grant Holt - NORWICH v Leeds |
Disciplinary Record (all domestic games) | |||||
Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
Barnsley | 35 | 0 | Middlesbrough | 34 | 1 |
Bristol City | 31 | 1 | Millwall | 35 | 2 |
Burnley | 39 | 4 | Norwich | 34 | 3 |
Cardiff | 28 | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 28 | 0 |
Coventry | 42 | 2 | Portsmouth | 36 | 3 |
Crystal Palace | 32 | 5 | Preston | 49 | 5 |
Derby | 38 | 1 | QPR | 35 | 3 |
Doncaster | 26 | 1 | Reading | 37 | 3 |
Hull | 43 | 1 | Scunthorpe | 22 | 1 |
Ipswich | 35 | 3 | Sheffield United | 32 | 4 |
Leeds | 45 | 2 | Swansea | 44 | 2 |
Leicester | 27 | 2 | Watford | 25 | 0 |
The Next Fixtures | |
Tuesday 28th December | |
Bristol City v Crystal Palace | Millwall v Leicester |
Burnley v Scunthorpe | Norwich v Sheffield United |
Coventry v QPR (12:15) | Preston v Middlesbrough |
Doncaster v Ipswich - Postponed | Swansea v Barnsley |
Hull v Reading | Watford v Cardiff |
Leeds v Portsmouth | . |
Wednesday 29th December | |
Nottingham Forest v Derby (19:45) | . |