A dodgy digital likeness & other things you may have missed from the EFL

Published on: 23 September 2018

Leeds United striker Tyler Roberts after his side fell to their first league defeat of the season

Nine games into the season and we're left with just two unbeaten teams in the whole of the English Football League.

After Saturday's games, League One promotion hopefuls Portsmouth and League Two side Forest Green are the only teams yet to taste defeat in the league this campaign.

BBC Sport takes a look at five things you may have missed on a day when one side's unbeaten run was ended, one striker probably saw himself taken off penalties for the foreseeable future and someone lost their teeth.

Monk's prayers answered at Elland Road

It was a day of firsts for Birmingham City and boss Garry Monk at Leeds United.

Blues registered their first league win of the season - a 2-1 victory thanks to a Che Adams double - and Monk ended his run of failing to beat a team he has previously managed.

Before Saturday, Monk had seen his Middlesbrough team lose to Leeds and his Birmingham side lose to Middlesbrough (twice) and draw with Swansea.

"We've deserved that win for a long time now. To do it against the best team in the league so far this season is testament to the players," he told BBC WM 95.6.

"It's been a long time coming, but we need to make sure we build on it."

However, while those runs have come to end another statistic continued. For the 13th straight time, Birmingham City have faced a different Leeds boss to the man who was in charge on their previous league trip to Elland Road.

*If you think you can name all 13 men to manage Leeds against Blues at Elland Road, league only, since 1988 then the answer is at the bottom of this piece.

Garry Monk spent one season as Leeds United boss, leading them to a seventh-placed finish in 2016-17Silkmen's wait goes on... and on... and...

Birmingham City might have ended their winless run but spare a thought for the four teams in the EFL who are still waiting for that winning feeling in 2018-19.

In the Championship, Ipswich failed to find a way past 10-man Bolton at Portman Road, League One strugglers Plymouth conceded a late winner at Charlton, and in League Two Notts County could only draw at Northampton, while Macclesfield fell to a 2-1 defeat at fellow strugglers Morecambe.

It's been a miserable return to the EFL for the Silkmen, who were winning 2-1 going into injury time of the first game of the season, only for Swindon to score two penalties to consign them to a 3-2 defeat.

It gets worse for the Moss Rose side, as Saturday's loss means last season's National League champions have now failed to win any of their past 32 matches in the EFL, since a 2-1 win over Port Vale on 31 December 2011.

Next up for the Cheshire side? A trip to Premier League West Ham in the Carabao Cup.

Mixed day for Berahino Saido Berahino was fouled for Stoke's penalty but missed the chance to level from the spot

On the subject of long waits, Saturday saw Stoke striker Saido Berahino end a two-and-a-half-year goal drought in the league.

The Burundi international, who scored in the EFL Cup earlier in the season, came off the bench to score his side's first in their 3-2 defeat by Blackburn.

However, while he may have ended one wait he continued another unwanted record.

The Potters, who had been 3-0 down just after the break, were awarded a last-minute penalty to secure an unlikely point - but Berahino saw his effort come back off the crossbar.

The miss means Berahino has now failed to score any of his last four penalties. Maybe time to let someone else have a go Saido?

Is that what I look like? How John McGinn looks on the new Fifa game...

The new Fifa game comes out on Friday and some players are happier than others with how the game has captured their likeness.

One player who was not best pleased was Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn.

The former Hibernian man made a point of sharing a photo of his digital self on Twitter on Friday, prompting Villa to reply "we're ready for your first goal" with the above graphic.

Needless to say, McGinn then popped up with his first goal in English football, an absolute stunner to level for his side against Sheffield Wednesday, and Villa stayed true to their word.

Sadly for the Scotland international it counted for nothing as his side fell to a 2-1 defeat.

... And how he looks in real life.Appeal of the day Accrington Stanley tweeted to alert fans to a pair of lost dentures after their 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon

The most unusual tweet of the season so far?

Accrington Stanley posted the above on Twitter after their 2-1 win over a toothless AFC Wimbledon... No? Nobody? I'll get my coat.

*Billy Bremner, Howard Wilkinson, Terry Venables, Peter Reid, John Carver, Simon Grayson, Neil Warnock, Brian McDermott, Neil Redfearn, Uwe Rosler, Garry Monk, Thomas Christiansen, Marcelo Bielsa.

Source: bbc.com

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