West Bromwich Albion have edged up to third in the Championship table thanks to a 7-1 hammering of Queens Park Rangers at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies dominated throughout the encounter and took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Matt Phillips drilled home from 10 yards.

Although QPR struck back five minutes later through Joel Lynch and stayed level until the break, West Brom seized control after the restart and ended up running riot.

Kieran Gibbs grabbed his first Albion goal on 53 minutes and Jay Rodriguez scored two penalties, either side of Dwight Gayle's first strike for the club.

Phillips then slotted home Hal Robson-Kanu's knockdown before the provider turned goalscorer as he latched on to a James Morrison pass to score in injury time.

Middlesbrough's unbeaten start to the season, meanwhile, continued with a 2-0 victory at Bristol City, Martin Braithwaite and Britt Assombalonga scoring in the first half.

The result keeps Tony Pulis's side top of the table with 10 points from four games, with Leeds United hot on their heels with a perfect three wins from three games so far.

Marcelo Bielsa's side ran out 2-0 winners over Rotherham United at Elland Road, with Luke Ayling nodding home the opener just after the restart and Kemar Roofe adding a second on 71 minutes.

Alongside West Brom in the playoff positions sit Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Swansea City, all four teams level on seven points.

The Villans were held to a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, Bolton ran out 1-0 winners at pointless Reading and the Swans played out a stalemate at Birmingham City on Friday night.

Nottingham Forest played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Wigan Athletic to edge up to seventh place, with Sheffield United just below thanks to a 2-1 win over Norwich City.

Elsewhere in the division, Blackburn Rovers ran out 1-0 winners at Hull City and Millwall triumphed 2-1 over Frank Lampard's Derby County.

Results in full: Bristol City 0-2 Middlesbrough, Hull City 0-1 Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich Town 1-1 Aston Villa, Leeds United 2-0 Rotherham United, Millwall 2-1 Derby County, Reading 0-1 Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield United 2-1 Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion 7-1 Queens Park Rangers, Wigan Athletic 2-2 Nottingham Forest