Mathias Jorgensen struck twice and Ryoya Morishita added a third as Blackburn Rovers claimed a 3-1 win away to Queens Park Rangers, giving new boss Michael O'Neill the ideal start to his tenure. Koki Saito's superb equaliser briefly dragged Rangers level, but Rovers' sharp finishing and the hosts' defensive lapses ultimately decided a lively Championship contest.
O'Neill, appointed this week and set to combine the Blackburn job with his role as Northern Ireland manager until the end of the season, inherited a side that had won just one of their previous 10 league matches and only two of their past 16. Yet his first match in charge ended with Rovers climbing out of the relegation zone and up to 19th, while QPR were left to ponder how a promising performance unravelled into a damaging home defeat.
QPR's Bright Start Meets Rovers' Clinical Edge
Rangers began on the front foot, carrying over the defensive confidence that had underpinned three consecutive away clean sheets into an assertive start. They pressed Blackburn back and almost took an early lead when Saito's delivery from the right was met by Richard Kone, whose looping effort was heading towards goal before Eiran Cashin intervened to clear.