Sheffield United remained three points clear at the top of English football's second-tier Championship after a 2-0 win away to Cardiff on Saturday where Kieffer Moore scored twice against his old club.
"We're getting stretched a little bit at the moment with six senior players out, but this young team keeps doing what they do," said Blades manager Chris Wilder.
🔝🎄 @SheffieldUnited top of the tree at Christmas!#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/U74eWlMKVE
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It was a valuable victory given all of the Blades' three nearest challengers also won as well on Saturday.
Leeds stayed within three points of their Yorkshire rivals after overwhelming Oxford 4-0 thanks to goals from Dan James, Jayden Bogle, Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon.
🔥 Goals galore!#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/BsVy5IdviL
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Burnley, meanwhile, remained a point further back after edging out fellow promotion hopefuls Watford 2-1.
Jaidon Anthony and Josh Brownhill put Burnley on top before Kwadwo Baah's 80th-minute goal threatened a Watford revival.
Fourth-placed Sunderland stayed in touch in the hunt for automatic promotion – only the top two at the end of the regular season are guaranteed places in the lucrative Premier League – by coming from behind to beat 10-man Norwich 2-1
🙌 The goal that earned Rubén Sellés his first win as @HullCity boss!#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/QJhUS4wTSO
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Anis Ben Slimane gave the visitors a halftime lead at a windswept Stadium of Light but Daniel Ballard and Jobe Bellingham struck either side of the 72nd-minute dismissal of Jose Cordoba.
At the other end of the table, Callum Lang scored all four goals for Portsmouth as they climbed out of the relegation zone with an extraordinary 4-1 win over Coventry at Fratton Park.
Norman Bassette gave visitors Coventry, managed by former England midfielder Frank Lampard, the lead inside 150 seconds.
But Lang, who had never previously scored a professional hat-trick, turned the game on its head with a superb individual display.
"Since Callum has come to the football club he has scored some big goals and he has been our outstanding player this season," said Portsmouth manager John Mousinho.
"The energy he puts in, the amount of running he does, his physical presence and it is about adding quality for him – today he added the quality and was superb."
Hull, who started the day bottom of the table, enjoyed a much-needed 2-1 win at home to Swansea – their first victory in 14 matches.
Mason Burstow's 80th-minute strike earned new boss Ruben Selles his maiden Hull victory, after Harry Darling's fine header cancelled out Joao Pedro's deflected opener for the hosts.
Those results helped drop Plymouth to the bottom of the table after Wayne Rooney's men were involved in a thrilling 3-3 draw with a Middlesbrough side managed by his former Manchester United teammate Michael Carrick.
Plymouth ed three times through Lewis Gibson, Darko Gyabi and Mustapha Bundu but Boro hit back on each occasion with goals from Jonathan Howson, Hayden Hackney and Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Elsewhere, Millwall edged out Blackburn 1-0, QPR continued their rise up up the table with a 2-1 win at home to Preston and Sheffield Wednesday defeated Stoke 2-0.