EFL Championship Round 1 Roundup: Wolves Steal Late Point on Return and Ilias Chair Stars for R's to Kick Second Tier Off

EFL Championship Round 1 Roundup: Wolves Steal Late Point on Return and Ilias Chair Stars for R's to Kick Second Tier Off

After what has felt like an eternity, the English Football League has finally returned this weekend with an absolute goal fest.

Following almost a three-month break from the final playoff matches of the 2025/26, Wolves welcomed Blackburn Rovers in a Molineux thriller to kick off the 2026/27 Championship campaign, and the shocks didn’t seem to stop there.

Bolton Wanderers looked to kickstart their second tier return with a win against Preston North End, while promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough and Norwich City also set out for a positive start.

Here is everything that happened on the opening night and Saturday in the EFL Championship.

Wolves 2-2 Blackburn Munetsi (18’), Jimenez (90’+3 pen); McLoughlin (27’), Gudjohnsen (48’).

Wolves’ fate was known for much of the 2025/26 season, with their season one of the worst for quite some time before they kicked into gear towards the end. This game would have felt like a long-awaited one for many, as they returned to the second tier for the first time since 2018, hosting a Blackburn side that are very much tipped for relegation after a poor few previous seasons.

And this seemed rather prevalent from the outset. It took the hosts just 18 minutes to open scoring, and a smooth build up saw summer signing Fer Lopez master his way around his marker to find Marshall Munetsi who made no mistake with a superbly executed effort from the edge of the box into Balazs Toth’s far corner.

Rovers however, showed that even if they are one of the division’s weaker sides on paper, they would certainly never go down without a fight – and it showed. Just nine minutes after going down, Sean McLaughlin got onto the end of a Ryoya Morishita corner to net a leveller into the bottom corner.

After quite an even opening half of football to kick off the new Championship season, it was Blackburn who would soon find another to go ahead. Son of ex-Chelsea legend Eidur Gudjohnsen, Andri put the visitors ahead when he was on hand to place the ball in from close range to take a shock lead.

Raúl Jiménez receives an incredible reception from the Wolves fans as he makes his league return for the club 👏🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/mPE7pvTJZt

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 14, 2026

Even though Raul Jimenez’s emotional second debut for the club came and went, Wolves failed to find any substance to give them hope of levelling the scores once more – until the ball struck the flailing arm of Jackson Tchatchoua to give them one final chance from the spot deep into stoppage time. The Mexican veteran did what he does best and got his name back on the Molineux scoresheet to snatch a late point.

Up next for Wolves is a trip up to Lancashire to face Preston, who will hoping to bounce back from their opening day defeat to Bolton, before facing a trip to Sheffield Wednesday in Round 2 of the EFL Cup in the week. As for Blackburn, their tough start continues as a game against promotion favourites Middlesbrough is followed by a tough Round 2 tie in the EFL Cup to Sheffield United.

Bolton 2-1 Preston Dalby (14’), Gale (25’); Erabi (86’).

Seven years in the making, Bolton’s long-awaited return to the second tier of English football finally came to an end on Saturday morning as they welcomed Preston North End to the Toughsheet Community Stadium in the early kick-off.

Following a narrow defeat in Round One of the EFL Cup, Stephen Schumacher’s focus would have mainly been on getting his side off the ground and making an opening day statement – and that is exactly what they did.

The Trotters looked ever so good from the first whistle, and it took them just a quarter of an hour to take a deserved lead – albeit against the run of play. The hosts pounced mercilessly on a Daniel Iversen goal kick. The Dane’s drop kick was intercepted on the halfway line by a header which found Sam Dalby. The 26-year-old then took a good first touch before firing a ball over and into the path of John McAtee – the attacking midfielder then fired a ball at Iversen, who parried it out, but only into the oncoming Dalby who placed the ball into the left-hand side of the Preston net.

Bolton then entered dreamland not long after. Much like the opener, it was another lapse in concentration from the visitors, as Bolton strung together a rapid and precise counter-attack from the hosts ended with Thierry Gale expertly giving the newly promoted side breathing room heading into the interval.

Their lead wasn’t fended off with ease however, as Preston looked for a way back into the game during the second half; despite chances falling to talisman Milutin Osmajic, they couldn’t figure out a way to get past Jack Bonham in the Bolton goal. Until the 86th minute, when Preston found themselves on an attack once more before Jusef Erabi timed his run to perfection to get on the end of Andrija Vukcevic’s cross to give his side hope.

Defeat on the opening day.#pnefc pic.twitter.com/X5XgWOm5Fj

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) August 15, 2026

Despite many chances to get back into the game, the points stayed in Bolton, and the hosts look to continue their good start with a trip to QPR next weekend, while Preston gear up to bounce back against Wolves before hosting Everton in the EFL Cup during the week.

Bristol City 0-2 Millwall Coburn (41’), (50’).

After narrowly missing out in the playoffs last season, Alex Neil’s Millwall looked to build upon what was a fantastic campaign overall. Heading to Ashton Gate on the opening day to face a Bristol City side who are always up and around the playoff picture, it wasn’t going to be an easy test for either side.

The Lions carried on their raucous last season form from the outset in Bristol, piling on the pressure early on in a search of an opener. The Robins survived the early cluster of chances before referee Lewis Smith was called into some tough decisions.

Fearless to go to his book, he stamped his authority on the clash early on, booking the visitors’ Josh Coburn for a dive before sending off City’s Adam Randell with a second yellow – all before the break. His action didn’t stop there either as five minutes prior to the interval, Smith pointed back into the direction of centre circle after Coburn restored his pride, netting home from close range.

Coburn would soon be forgetting all about that yellow card in the second half, as he took advantage of a hesitant Sam Tickle, rising above his markers to double their lead from debutant Jenson Metcalfe’s superb cross.

Bristol City 0 Millwall 2
Coburrrrrrrrnnnnn!!!!!!!#MSCawaydaytravels pic.twitter.com/ogwURiYRRb

— Millwall Supporters’ Club (@TheMillwallFans) August 15, 2026

Neil’s side missed chances to add to the scoreboard further, with shots hitting the woodwork and a late strike from Kyrell Lisbon ruled out to leave City rather relieved at such a modest result.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Robins, who will have to get back on their feet ready to go to Birmingham next Saturday lunchtime, while Neil readies himself to welcome his old outfit in Norwich City at the same time, before heading back on the road to Cambridge United in the EFL Cup just days later.

Charlton 2-1 Derby Jones (61’), Campbell (80’); Szmodics (23’).

After two quite parallel seasons just months ago, the Addicks will hoping to turn their fortunes around and make a real push up in the second tier this campaign; meanwhile, the Rams, under the guidance John Eustace, will be looking to repeat last season knowing another eighth placed finish will this time earn themselves a spot in the revamped playoffs.

The Londoners began the game in very promising style, but their failure to double down on their dominance soon came back to bite them 20 minutes into proceedings as Derby used some pressure of their own and executed perfectly.

It was Carlton Morris and Sammie Szmodics who linked up for the opener, taking full advantage of a very good move to find a deserved lead. Charlton were soon able to settle back into the game and finally started to threaten the Derby goal before the break.

Tyreece Campbell was at the heart of it, whether it be from delivering in absolute pearling crosses or coming so close to getting them level. Eventually it was Lloyd Jones who stepped up to get his level, however, getting on to the end of Karlan Grant’s pinpoint cross to head home.

With 10 minutes to play, The Valley was sent into raptures as Campbell finally came up trumps and earned a well-deserved goal to put the cherry on top of what was already a spectacular performance – giving Charlton a brilliant opening day comeback win.

Up next for the Addicks is a mouth-watering trip to the London Stadium where they will take on West Ham before another London Derby sees them lock horns with Spurs in the EFL Cup. Derby’s winless start to the campaign continues, and they will be looking to bounce back at home to Cardiff City next Saturday.

Your goalscorers with our first tunnel jumps of 2026/27 🙌#cafc pic.twitter.com/3gTYqQsgMW

— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) August 15, 2026

Middlesbrough 2-1 Lincoln Lankshear (62’), (90’+1); Reach (12’).

Last year’s playoff finalists Middlesbrough were next up, facing what on the surface looked like a guaranteed three points against newly promoted Lincoln City at Riverside – although the Imps soon showed Boro they were going to be no pushovers.

After promotion-winning coach Michael Skubala left for Bristol City, Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw both stepped up to lead them into this campaign, where they had already found success in the EFL Cup. They soon started to believe they could take three points off the promotion favourites on the opening day too, when Adam Reach put the visitors in front inside just 12 minutes.

As expected, it didn’t take long for Boro to start piling up the pressure, but despite some strong chances falling to summer signing Will Lankshear and Kyle Wickens all got denied by George Wickens, who seemed to try everything in his power to sustain the lead.

His defences were finally breached just after the hour, as Lankshear managed to slot home from close range. The Imps were then holding on despite an abundance of relentless attacking chances falling the way of Middlesbrough, but eventually the hosts got what they were looking for.

Shortly after Lincoln found the back of the net before getting disallowed, Lankshear grabbed his second in second half injury time, snatching all three points at the death to leave Lincoln licking their wounds.

More late drama!! 👀

Middlesbrough secure victory in the 91st minute as Will Lankshear fires home his second of the afternoon ⚽️🔥 pic.twitter.com/WNr8NhW5hL

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 15, 2026

Middlesbrough now look to continue their strong start and will get ready for their first away trips of the season; first to Blackburn next week, before heading to Doncaster days later for Round 2 of the EFL Cup. For Lincoln, they will have a chance to redeem themselves against Portsmouth next Saturday before heading to Blackpool in the Cup during the week.

Norwich 1-2 West Brom Kvistgaarden (90’); Heggebø (75’), Morgan (87’).

Norwich City welcomed West Brom to Carrow Road to start the campaign as the Canaries geared up to fulfil their promotion dream as they set out to secure a Premier League return come May.

For much of the opening period, you could tell Norwich certainly looked somewhat worthy of their ambitions, but a goalless first half suggested they still lacked that ruthless, clinical attack that could help them secure their goals.

Max O’Leary was called upon a number of times throughout, picking up the call each and every time his goal was threatened. With 15 minutes to go, he was the one celebrating at the other end as Aune Heggebø sent the Baggies ahead.

It was very controversial, with Norwich players claiming the Nordic player used his arm to get the ball over the line, but the goal was awarded and the visitors did not complain. They soon had more to celebrate too, as youngster Jimmy-Jay Morgan doubled their lead with minutes left on the clock, driving into the box before firing into the far corner.

Aune Heggebø’s goal for West Bromwich Albion against Norwich City has fuelled controversy over an alleged handball.

Should the goal have stood? 💭 pic.twitter.com/TcKQ4ctV9N

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 15, 2026

Mathias Kvistgaarden did get one back for the hosts, but it was a poor start to their campaign, and a dampener after their emphatic cup win over Doncaster just one week ago.

As aforementioned, they will now gear up to head to London to take on Millwall, before heading to Cardiff for their second-round tie days later. The Baggies just carried on from their flawless preseason and Round One win over Rotherham – however, upcoming clashes with Burnley and Newcastle in both competitions will most certainly prove their toughest tests yet.

Portsmouth 1-3 QPR Devlin (15’); Chair (33’), (45’+2), Saito (40’).

Portsmouth began their 2026/27 Championship campaign at Fratton Park, welcoming Queen’s Park Rangers for what had all the tools to be a chaotic opening day.

After two mediocre seasons last time out, both sides would have hoped to start on the front foot and start this season with a bang; unfortunately, only one side would walk away with all three points.

It was Pompey who were early aggressors, even finding their way in front just 15 minutes into the game. Busy in the transfer market, loan signing of Chelsea’s Ryan Kavuma-McQueen really showed signs of them wanting to push on.

He started on the bench, but it was Terry Devlin’s screamer which showed the stadium what this team aimed to be about this term. Found by Ebou Adams around 30 yards from goal, his right-footed thunder strike seemed silly, but the hosts wouldn’t care one bit after they saw the net bulge.

Unfortunately, this was where Portsmouth’s momentum would rapidly come to a halt. They did continue the aggression for a few minutes after the opener, but a counterattack from the visitors soon turned the scoreline on its head. A woeful lapse in concentration from the home defence allowed Ilias Chair to take full advantage to equalise, and seven minutes later, Koki Saito’s strike deflected off Devlin and past a hopeless Nicolas Schmid to give the R’s the lead.

They soon made it three before the break to completely sink Pompey’s hopes. It was Chair at the heart of the action once again, finding himself in space to latch onto a brilliant Amadou Mbengue cross to send the visitors two goals up heading into the break.

Portsmouth never recovered in the second half and will now desperately need to find a win next weekend when they travel to Lincoln. For QPR, it is newly promoted side Bolton as they hope to continue their steady start.

Stoke 1-2 Swansea Bocat (10’); Opoku (22’), Idah (66’)

The last of the 3pm kick offs saw Wales introduce their first of three Championship contenders for the new season as Swansea travelled down to the iconic bet365 Stadium to take on Stoke City.

It was another quick start in this game too, with the opening goal heading the way of the hosts. The Potters struggled overall in the first half, but an early attack found an early goal from an unlikely source. It was Eric Bocat with his first goal for the club when he was on the end of a quick break before seeing his left-footed effort flash in off Ben Cabango and then off the underside of the crossbar.

In a difficult opening period where the result looked very tough to call for the most part, Swansea found themselves level just 12 minutes later. Jay Fulton and Marko Stamenic worked the midfield area well between them, before the former found a pass to Moussa Yeo which was destined for a cross into the box. The dangerous ball found Zan Vipotnik, but the golden boot contender couldn’t get enough on it to turn it goal bound, but Joseph Opoku was on hand to tie the game regardless.

Each goalkeeper was then forced into action although chances were harder to come by than expected. It wasn’t until Adam Idah came on to replace Vipotnik, that the winning goal edged nearer. Josh Tymon drove down the flank before fizzing across a ball which fell to Idah, who netted what turned out to be the game’s winner with his first touch of the game.

Stoke’s calendar doesn’t get any easier now, with a trip to Southampton up next before a home game to Hull City in the EFL Cup just days later. For Swansea, they will look to make it two wins from two when they host Sheffield United next weekend.

Sheffield United 0-0 Birmingham

To round off the first Saturday of the Championship season, we headed to Bramall Lane, where promotion hopefuls Sheffield United welcomed another contender in Birmingham as both sides set out to achieve their goals and start with three points.

In a very tense encounter, it was Sheffield United who won the early exchanges, finding more threatening chances than their visitors early on – notably Sam McCallum and Patrick Bamford both coming close to the game’s opening goal inside the first half an hour.

Birmingham did find a way into the game before the break, however, calving plenty of half chances before the break, but Paik Seung-Ho, Alex Cochrane, and Bright Osayi-Samuel all found their efforts either blocked or go narrowly wide.

It was the visitors who continued to threaten the opening goal heading into the second half too, with Seung-Ho and Tomoki Iwata having shots go wide, before Jay Stansfield had two efforts well saved by Michael Cooper shortly after the hour mark.

Bamford finally earned another opportunity for the hosts towards the end of the game, but James Beale was more than equal to it, as neither side was able to breach the defences of the other, and the game ended goalless to round off a frantic start to the campaign in the second tier.

The Blades will look to return to the scoresheet when they travel to south Wales to take on Swansea next weekend before travelling to Blackburn a few days later in the EFL Cup, while Birmingham will hope to earn their first league win of the season when they host Bristol City before welcoming Brentford to St Andrews in the cup.