Results - Men's First Team v Queens Park Rangers - 2025/10/25

A dominant Derby County clinched all three points in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Carlton Morris’ fifth goal of the season put the Rams ahead after 11 minutes at Pride Park Stadium with defender Sondre Langås, who made his first start of the season after returning from a long-term knee injury, getting the assist.

John Eustace’s side were in charge throughout the game, with further chances for Morris, Patrick Agyemang and Ben Brereton Díaz coming close to doubling the advantage, but Rangers held them at bay despite multiple advances.

Despite late pressure from the visitors, the Rams defended well to secure the win.

The win is Derby's second in a row on home turf after Tuesday night's 1-0 success against Norwich City.

Key Moments

Derby began sharply at Pride Park, with Agyemang winning a corner down the left for the Rams after two minutes, but it was well marshalled by the QPR defence.

Bobby Clark, Callum Elder and Brereton Díaz combined to construct a smooth attack a minute later. The move began down the left and found Max Johnston to cross into the box from the right flank, but his delivery was cleared away from danger.

Morris was on the spot to tap in from close range in the 11th minute, after Johnston’s hooked high ball at the second phase of a corner was steered towards goal by Langås and tucked away by the striker.

Derby were on the attack moments later, with Agyemang charging down the left looking to double their advantage. He cut inside and laid the ball off to Elder, who went to shoot but was strongly blocked by Rangers’ Nicolas Madsen.

A prolonged spell of dominance nearly fashioned the second goal in the 20th minute after David Ozoh’s counter-pressing launched an attack. He won the ball back and saw it worked to the right flank, where Johnston teed up Morris for a header that went just over the crossbar.

Brereton Díaz came close a minute late when he flicked a low cross from Elder towards the bottom corner. The Chilean international had goalkeeper Paul Nardi scrambling to save, with the ball pushed behind for a corner.

Rangers aimed to get in behind with a move down the left that found Richard Kone inside the penalty area, but Derby’s defenders smothered the ball quickly to see the danger cleared.

They looked to be in down the opposite wing as Harvey Vale charged with the ball, but Clark intercepted and unleashed Agyemang with a pacey counter-attack. He carried the ball to the byline and saw his shot from a tight angle crucially blocked by QPR defender Jimmy Dunne.

Kone put Jacob Widell Zetterström into action for the first time after 34 minutes, when the striker found space down Rangers’ right side to deliver a low cross that the Derby goalkeeper was able to claim.

A spell before the break saw Derby forced to dig deep as the visitors took some control of the match. They held the ball and threatened to attack, but disciplined work from the Rams saw them off with Matt Clarke, Langås and Sanderson clearing the danger on multiple occasions.

Langås proved pivotal in the 55th minute when Rangers saw a through ball thread aim to play Kone into a one-on-one scenario, but the Norway international made a well-timed sliding challenge to thwart the visitors.

Derby were once again in control, but couldn’t quite eke out a clear-cut chance as the opposing defence stayed strong.

Rangers had the chance to level when Ilias Chair played a measured pass onto the head of Kone, who found space in the box, but he saw the ball fly wide from his attempt.

Down the other end, Johnston tried for the target from a free-kick at a tight angle on the left and saw his right-footed attempt clatter off the frame of the goal and bounce behind for a goal-kick.

The goal frame was hit once more as Derby went close when Elder hit a free-kick delivery into the box in the 66th minute that found Brereton Díaz’s head and steered onto the post.

Eustace made his first two changes of the match in the 72nd minute, when Rhian Brewster and Kayden Jackson came on to replace Brereton Díaz and Agyemang.

Jackson came close to providing an assist in the 77th minute after some tenacious work on the left saw him hold the ball up and whip a cross towards Morris, but the striker could only meet the ball with a glancing blow and saw the ball go behind for a goal kick.

QPR huffed and puffed for an equaliser in the final ten minutes of the match but couldn’t convert - Jonathan Varane’s 82nd-minute effort flying over the crossbar.

Ryan Nyambe came on with three minutes to go, after Johnston was forced off through injury, with Derby looking to hold out for maximum points.

Jackson and Morris were pivotal in the closing stages as they held the ball up to see the game out. Morris was replaced by Lars-Jørgen Salvesen in the second minute of added time, and the Norwegian continued this role well, seeing Derby take the win.

The Teams

Derby County: Zetterström (GK), Clarke, Langås, Agyemang (Brewster 72), Morris (C) (Salvesen 90+2) Ozoh, Elder, Johnston (Nyambe 87), Brereton Díaz (Jackson 72), Sanderson, Clark.

Unused Substitutes: Vickers (GK), Batth, Weimann, Thompson, Ward.

Queens Park Rangers: Nardi (GK), Dunne (C), Cook, Saito (Dembélé 46), Burrell, Norrington-Davies (Field 75), Vale (Chair 46), Kone (Frey 65), Madsen (Smyth 65), Mbengue, Varane.

Unused Substitutes: Hamer (GK), Morrison, Chair, Hayden, Morgan.