Bournemouth maintained their position at the top of the Championship with a 3-1 victory at new-look Wigan.
Callum Wilson scored twice for the Cherries, either side of Yann Kermorgant's strike, as the visitors stormed into a three-goal lead inside an hour at the DW Stadium.
Latics boss Malky Mackay's starting XI featured three debutants, including Leon Clarke, who claimed a consolation goal for his new club.
The Cherries' nearest challengers Derby and Middlesbrough both collected three points too but a dominant showing from Eddie Howe's men kept them in pole position.
The Rams were 4-1 victors over Bolton as Tom Ince and Jeff Hendrick both helped themselves to braces.
Ince, formerly on loan with Derby's rivals Nottingham Forest this season, was not the only player to score on his first appearance as Wanderers midfielder Filip Twardzik came off the bench to grab a goal for the visitors.
Boro were unable to muscle into the top two despite a 3-1 success over Charlton, with Patrick Bamford, Jelle Vossen and Lee Tomlin all on target for the third-placed outfit.
Of the top four at the start of the day, only Ipswich slipped up, going down 2-0 away at Rotherham, for whom Matt Derbyshire and Conor Sammon, a former Town loanee, did the damage.
The Tractor Boys dropped into fifth because Alex Pritchard's solitary strike was enough to give Brentford three points in a 1-0 success against Leeds in Yorkshire.
Forest came from behind to win 3-2 at Brighton as new boss Dougie Freedman made the perfect start to life in the dugout at the club who used to employ him during his playing days.
The Reds were 1-0 down on the south coast but goals from Danny Collins, Henri Lansbury and Ben Osborn ensured the post-Stuart Pearce era opened on the right note.
The Seagulls would have dropped into the bottom three had Millwall won at home against Huddersfield, yet the 10-man Terriers recorded a 3-1 success on the road.
The game was level when Nahki Wells was dismissed six minutes after half-time but the Lions were unable to utilise their numerical advantage, with Jacob Butterfield edging the visitors ahead 16 minutes from time before James Vaughan's penalty made sure of the points.
Gary Hooper's hat trick and a Nathan Redmond free-kick guided Norwich to a 4-0 success over basement-dwelling Blackpool, who have conceded 13 times in their last three away fixtures.
Odion Ighalo's eighth goal of the embryonic calendar year was enough to give Watford a 1-0 victory over Blackburn at Vicarage Road, while Danny Williams' winner gave Reading a 2-1 triumph away at Wolves.
Elsewhere, Fulham drew 1-1 with Birmingham, which was the same scoreline which Cardiff recorded at Sheffield Wednesday.