Middlesbrough bounced back from their defeat against Sunderland on January 22 with an authoritative 3-0 dismantling of strugglers Blackpool.

It was ultimately a comfortable ride for Michael Carrick’s men, who ruthlessly forced openings in the Tangerines’ low block time and time again. They defended well too, limiting Mick McCarthy’s team to just one shot on target.

Following this victory, Middlesbrough remained third in the table. They gained ground on Sheffield United too, as the Blades failed to beat local rivals Rotherham United in a goalless draw. It was a classic derby game – it was extremely scrappy, with little in the way of quality. Ultimately, the Millers came away the happier side.

League leaders Burnley, on the other hand, did not miss their chance to win. They defeated Norwich City at Carrow Road by a score of 3-0, thanks to goals from Anass Zaroury, Vitinho and Hjalmar Ekdal.

Elsewhere, Watford missed the chance to gain ground on their rivals as they slipped to a 2-2 draw at home to Paul Ince’s Reading. Despite being 2-0 up, the Royals fought back – it was Jeff Hendrick who scored the equalising goal with a decent volley, forcing the Hornets to share the spoils.

As well as this, Birmingham and Swansea played out a seven goal thriller as the Blues took home a hard fought 4-3 win. Swansea looked set emerge victorious late on, but two goals at the death from Lukas Jutkiewicz and Auston Trusty turned the tables on the Swans – instead, it was Birmingham who would be leaving with all three points.

Additionally in the Championship, Millwall drew 1-1 with Sunderland after the London team looked dominant in front of a full-house at home, West Brom picked up a 1-0 win over Coventry and Luton beat Stoke City by a score of 1-0 at home.