A remarkable hat-trick by Borja Sainz secured Norwich City's 3-2 victory at Derby, but the central focus at Pride Park was a contentious opening goal. Norwich seized the lead in the third minute of first-half stoppage time through a spectacular finish by Sainz, who executed an acrobatic backheel to score from close range following Josh Sargent's cross. Sargent's initial attempt was blocked, and the rebound appeared to have gone out of play before he crossed—a suspicion reinforced by television replays. It seemed the ball had crossed the line by a significant margin, but Derby's vehement protests had no impact on referee Oliver Langford and his assistant. The crowd's reaction—jeering the officials at halftime—was expected, especially given Derby's seven and a half game home league streak without conceding. The nature of the goal is likely to reignite debates about whether the second tier should implement VAR.
There was further controversy surrounding Sainz's hat-trick goal, which began when the ball appeared to go out for a Derby corner, but Jack Stacey cleared it upfield. Derby's Craig Forsyth equalized in the 60th minute. A corner from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was headed back across goal by Curtis Nelson, and Forsyth finished well from eight yards. However, Norwich regained the lead just five minutes later, with Sainz again exploiting the home defense. He received a pass from Kenny McLean, cut between two defenders, and fired a right-footed shot from inside the area that beat Jacob Widell Zetterstrom. Sainz completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute as Derby pushed forward for an equalizer. Norwich broke upfield through Sargent, whose cross was met by Sainz on the six-yard line. Widell Zetterstrom failed to stop the shot, which slipped under his body and crossed the line. Derby substitute Corey Blackett-Taylor pulled a goal back in the first minute of added time, running half the length of the field and cutting in from the left wing to beat Angus Gunn, setting up a frantic finish.
Substitute Anthony Musaba scored an 86th-minute winner to secure Sheffield Wednesday a dramatic 3-2 victory at home against high-flying West Brom, who started the day at the top of the table. The Baggies had fought back from two goals down, with second-half efforts from Josh Maja and Alex Mowatt canceling out Darnell Furlong's own goal and a Josh Windass header. However, Musaba's late strike ended their unbeaten start to the campaign. The win was Wednesday's first in the league since the opening day.
Lewis Travis scored on his 200th career league start as Blackburn Rovers defeated 10-man QPR 2-0, maintaining their unbeaten start to the season. The first half saw little to separate the teams, with QPR missing the best chance through Paul Smyth. The game's complexion changed in stoppage time when Jonathan Varane was sent off for a reckless tackle. This spurred Blackburn, who came out strong in the second half. Travis's deflected strike seven minutes after the restart set them on their way, and Danny Batth's first goal for the club just after the hour settled the match, continuing Blackburn's strong start to the season.
Wayne Rooney lauded Plymouth Argyle's 'togetherness' following their 3-1 win over Luton at Home Park on Friday night. Rami Al Hajj marked his first start with a goal after eight minutes. Substitute Ibrahim Cissoko scored twice in the second half, either side of Victor Moses's reply. 'Everyone at the club—staff and fans—is buying into what we're trying to achieve,' said Rooney. 'There's a really good feeling around the club.' Luton manager Rob Edwards admitted his side were outplayed. 'We are trying,' he said. 'I don't want to make excuses. They were better than us at both ends. I am convinced we are heading in the right direction and things will go our way soon.'
