Championship round-up: Reading pair excel in triumph over Millwall

Middlesbrough moved to the top of the Championship this weekend as their 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night secured them a key three points. Sheffield United’s 2-1 loss at Derby in Saturday evening kick off ensured Boro will head into the midweek round of fixtures top of the table on goal difference with Muhamed Besic playing a key role in the hard fought victory at Hillsborough. 

Indeed, the 26-year-old scored one and assisted another in the 2-1 win, those coming from returns of six shots and one key pass, while two tackles and one interception ensured that Adam Reach’s super strike late on was nothing more than a mere consolation. An additional three successful dribbles saw Besic come away with the WhoScored man of the match award as he gained a 9.23 rating, better than any other player this week. 

Saturday marked Anssi Jaakkola’s sixth league start for Reading since the start of last season, and his first of the current campaign, and he marked that with a man of the match display as the Royals frustrated Millwall at the Madejski Stadium to land a crucial 3-1 win, bringing an end to a three-match winless run. The 31-year-old made 10 saves in the victory, that a record in a Championship game this season, while two aerial duels won and one successful cross claim saw the Finland international come away with a WhoScored rating of 9.11. 

It meant that teammate Yakou Meite’s brace on home turf wasn’t in vain as the striker rounds off the top three performing players from gameweek 13. The striker gained a WhoScored rating of 8.88 as he netted his first and second league goals of the campaign, with those coming from five shots. Five aerial duels won and one tackle capped off a solid display from the 22-year-old. 

Conversely, it was a weekend to forget for Jake Livermore, whose WhoScored rating (5.03) was the worst of all players in gameweek 13. As West Brom fell to a 1-0 loss at Wigan, a defeat that saw them drop to third, Livermore’s ineffective display in the middle of the park was compounded by his late red card for a second bookable offence. He also made just one tackle and failed to make an interception in the narrow defeat at Wigan to round off a miserable Saturday afternoon for both player and club.