'Quality' Lankshear stars for Middlesbrough on goal-laden second-tier Saturday

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ShareOn a day full of goals in the Championship, Middlesbrough remained at the top of the table with a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic.Sebastian Berhalter is building a strong relationship with the in-form Will Lankshear after he scored twice in Middlesbrough's 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic. Middlesbrough continued to set the pace at the Championship summit with a comfortable win at the Riverside Stadium, with Lankshear's impressive scoring streak continuing. Berhalter opened the scoring in the 12th minute after combining with Amario Cozier-Duberry before the American teed up Lankshear's first goal a minute before half-time. Kim Hellberg's team needed to wait until late in the second half to get the third goal their performance deserved, and it was Lankshear who added further gloss to the scoreline with a stunning strike that picked out the top-left corner. Lankshear has now scored 13 goals in the Championship since his switch from Tottenham in the summer, more than any other player in England's top four tiers this season."It wasn't clicking at first, and I think the fans kept us going – it didn't matter if we messed up, they believed in us," Berhalter said of Middlesbrough's performance. "They [Charlton] were direct and have two guys up top that do a fantastic job, and it was for us to stay strong, weather that storm, and be ready to strike when we're ready."He [Lankshear] is such a quality player, and it's his movement too – before I even had the ball he started running across the line and that's something we talk about all the time."We trust each other. He's a competitor, he makes sure he wins in training every time, and he loves scoring goals."But on a day filled with goals in the Championship, Swansea City and Wolves remain in touching distance of Middlesbrough after they breezed to their own respective wins. Swansea thumped Blackburn Rovers 4-0, with Vitor Matos' side cruising into a three-goal lead after just 36 minutes. Wolves, meanwhile, secured back-to-back league wins following a 3-0 win over Cardiff City. Fer Lopez, Adam Armstrong and Ladislav Krejci were all on target for the hosts. Norwich City came from two goals down to win a league game for the first time since September 2024 as they beat Watford 3-2 to move up to 15th in the standings. It was a day to forget for West Ham, who dropped down to eighth after suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat to West Brom. The Hammers have now lost consecutive home games within the same Championship campaign for the first time since January 2005.Derby County remain without a win in their last nine league games after a 4-1 defeat to Millwall, with a first-half blitz from Alex Neil's side ultimately doing the damage.Millwall were three goals ahead after 17 minutes, the earliest they have scored three goals in an EFL match since the 2004-05 rebrand, with Jake Cooper scoring their fourth in the 84th minute before Filip Bilbija netted a late consolation. Overall, this is the first Saturday with not every team playing to see as many as 40 goals since October 2006 (40 goals in 10 games), with the only game to see no goals coming at Turf Moor, between Burnley and Portsmouth.On a day full of goals in the Championship, Middlesbrough remained at the top of the table with a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic.Sebastian Berhalter is building a strong relationship with the in-form Will Lankshear after he scored twice in Middlesbrough's 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic. Middlesbrough continued to set the pace at the Championship summit with a comfortable win at the Riverside Stadium, with Lankshear's impressive scoring streak continuing. Berhalter opened the scoring in the 12th minute after combining with Amario Cozier-Duberry before the American teed up Lankshear's first goal a minute before half-time. Kim Hellberg's team needed to wait until late in the second half to get the third goal their performance deserved, and it was Lankshear who added further gloss to the scoreline with a stunning strike that picked out the top-left corner. Lankshear has now scored 13 goals in the Championship since his switch from Tottenham in the summer, more than any other player in England's top four tiers this season."It wasn't clicking at first, and I think the fans kept us going – it didn't matter if we messed up, they believed in us," Berhalter said of Middlesbrough's performance. "They [Charlton] were direct and have two guys up top that do a fantastic job, and it was for us to stay strong, weather that storm, and be ready to strike when we're ready."He [Lankshear] is such a quality player, and it's his movement too – before I even had the ball he started running across the line and that's something we talk about all the time."We trust each other. He's a competitor, he makes sure he wins in training every time, and he loves scoring goals."But on a day filled with goals in the Championship, Swansea City and Wolves remain in touching distance of Middlesbrough after they breezed to their own respective wins. Swansea thumped Blackburn Rovers 4-0, with Vitor Matos' side cruising into a three-goal lead after just 36 minutes. Wolves, meanwhile, secured back-to-back league wins following a 3-0 win over Cardiff City. Fer Lopez, Adam Armstrong and Ladislav Krejci were all on target for the hosts. Norwich City came from two goals down to win a league game for the first time since September 2024 as they beat Watford 3-2 to move up to 15th in the standings. It was a day to forget for West Ham, who dropped down to eighth after suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat to West Brom. The Hammers have now lost consecutive home games within the same Championship campaign for the first time since January 2005.Derby County remain without a win in their last nine league games after a 4-1 defeat to Millwall, with a first-half blitz from Alex Neil's side ultimately doing the damage.Millwall were three goals ahead after 17 minutes, the earliest they have scored three goals in an EFL match since the 2004-05 rebrand, with Jake Cooper scoring their fourth in the 84th minute before Filip Bilbija netted a late consolation. Overall, this is the first Saturday with not every team playing to see as many as 40 goals since October 2006 (40 goals in 10 games), with the only game to see no goals coming at Turf Moor, between Burnley and Portsmouth.