Leeds United fall to third after Blackburn Rovers slip up as Championship promotion race hots up

Leeds United head into December out of the Championship's automatic promotion places. Burnley moved above the Whites into second spot after a comfortable away win at Stoke City this afternoon.

Second half goals from Jay Rodriguez and Josh Brownhill (penalty) earned the Clarets maximum points as Scott Parker's team capitalised on the Whites losing at Blackburn Rovers. Had United won at Ewood Park, they would have reclaimed first position at Sheffield United's expense.

The results over the weekend mean the Blades are two points clear of Burnley, with United a further point back. Fourth-placed Sunderland trail the leaders by five points while Middlesbrough pushed themselves into fifth spot after recording a 3-1 victory over managerless Hull City.

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Head coach Michael Carrick said: “Today was a tough game, and we expected it to be that way. The type of team they are, the quality they’ve got and the way they play.

“The change in manager can go in different ways and adds an element of uncertainty as well, so I expected we’d have to really work for it. Those type of games can become quite hard because you’re chasing it and they have the quality to keep the ball off you.

“It can be a tough afternoon. But the boys stuck at it because it wasn’t easy to have an exact plan for it and we had to focus more on just what we could do in terms of our shape and distances and the feeling between each other.

“The boys stuck at it and did the good things to get the result. It was a tricky game but one we came through really well. We did a lot of things well – pressed well, scored good goals and probably could and should have scored more. All in all, it was good to bounce back from what will hopefully now prove just a blip in midweek.”