Joe Rothwell’s spectacular double helped Southampton recover from 2-0 down to beat Huddersfield 5-3 in a thrilling contest at St Mary’s. Saints’ 24-game unbeaten run appeared to be falling apart when goals from Sorba Thomas and David Kasumu put relegation-battling Huddersfield in charge at the break. Rothwell’s brilliant strikes levelled things up soon after half-time but Town reclaimed the lead in the 65th minute through Alex Matos. However, a Tom Lees own goal in the 80th minute restored parity, and Saints went on to claim the points thanks to late strikes from Sékou Mara and Samuel Edozie, keeping them second in the table. Patson Daka set Leicester on course for a 2-1 win at Watford that maintained their 11-point lead at the top. Enzo Maresca’s side were grateful for the cushion provided by Ricardo Pereira’s second-half strike after a Harry Winks mistake gifted Emmanuel Dennis the chance to fire up hopes of a Hornets comeback. Daka had earlier converted a 10th-minute penalty for his third goal in three games since returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Zambia. And the Foxes stood firm to protect their lead after Winks’ misplaced pass allowed Dennis to score his first goal since returning to Watford on loan from Nottingham Forest last month. Leeds maintained their promotion charge with a comfortable 3-0 win in their Yorkshire derby against Rotherham. Patrick Bamford put Leeds ahead in controversial circumstances at Elland Road as a deflected cross appeared to brush his arm on its way in. Crysencio Summerville added a second after the break for the dominant Whites and later scored his second from the spot as the hosts made it six Championship wins in succession. Substitute Omari Hutchinson rescued a late point as Ipswich equalised twice to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to West Brom. The result dented Town’s bid to climb back into the automatic promotion spots as their recent run has featured just one win from their last nine in the league. The Baggies – who were depleted from a series of injuries along with Semi Ajayi and Grady Diangana on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations – opened the scoring through Tom Fellows in the first half, with Nathan Broadhead replying for Ipswich just after the start of the second. A wonderful strike by John Swift from nearly 30 yards was then cancelled out by Hutchinson in the third minute of second-half stoppage-time when he fired home through a crowd of players. Sunderland climbed into the playoff places with an inspired 3-1 comeback victory against Plymouth, who lost for the first time in the league under Ian Foster. Argyle were unbeaten in three Championship games since Foster replaced Steven Schumacher and looked well positioned to continue their fine run when Ryan Hardie fired them into a half-time lead at the Stadium of Light. But the Black Cats were a team transformed after the break, with Pierre Ekwah, Jack Clarke and substitute Jobe Bellingham all on target as Michael Beale’s improving side extended their own unbeaten league run to three games. Hull’s playoff hopes suffered a setback with a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Swansea at the MKM Stadium. The Tigers had gone into the game in the top six, but it was the visitors who eased their relegation fears by claiming all three points. Swansea went ahead after 10 minutes as Liam Cullen got on the end of a corner from the left to steer a low shot into the bottom-left corner, and the home side struggled to create clear scoring chances in response. Michael Frey rescued a point for struggling QPR and put a dent in Norwich’s playoff aspirations in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Loftus Road. Second-half goals from Kenny McLean and Josh Sargent looked to have sealed the points for the visitors after Jack Colback put Rangers in front midway through the first half. But Frey diverted a cross from fellow new boy Lucas Andersen past goalkeeper Angus Gunn to extend QPR’s unbeaten run to four matches. Preston moved to within two points of the top six thanks a 2-0 win at Cardiff. Emil Riis Jakobsen scored his first goal since October 2022 in the 30th minute before Ben Whiteman struck his third of the campaign to double the away side’s lead 10 minutes later. Cardiff struggled to create clear-cut openings and have now lost three home games in succession, while Preston stretched their unbeaten run to three. Tyrhys Dolan’s double helped Blackburn begin their new era with a 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Stoke to ease their relegation worries. After a turbulent week that saw John Eustace replace Jon Dahl Tomasson as head coach, Blackburn put in an encouraging display, scoring three goals in the first 37 minutes. Dolan converted a seventh-minute opener from close range before Sammie Szmodics headed in his 22nd of the campaign 13 minutes later. Dolan’s composed finish seemingly put the game beyond Stoke, but Niall Ennis marked his full debut after his deadline-day move from Blackburn by scoring his first for the club before half-time. Two goals in two first-half minutes earned Bristol City a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough – their first league victory of 2024. Jason Knight’s cool finish in the 16th minute was followed by Matty James’ drive in off the woodwork as Boro failed to get going. City’s first league win since Boxing Day was enough to lift Liam Manning’s side level on points with the Teessiders in mid-table. Boro have now won only one of their last seven home league games, and have picked up just five points from the last available 15.