Alex Mowatt’s brace, after Josh Maja became the Sky Bet Championship’s leading goalscorer, sent West Brom top of the table with a clinical 3-0 victory over winless Portsmouth.
The in-form Maja bagged his fifth goal of the season inside the first minute – with only Manchester City phenom Erling Haaland scoring more goals in the top four divisions this season.
Mowatt struck twice after the break to put the unbeaten Baggies a point ahead of Sunderland at the summit.
Albion, who were unchanged for a fifth match this season, led after 54 seconds after a quick throw-in down the right flank gave Tom Fellows space to outpace Connor Ogilvie and cut back to the heart of the box.
Maja met it to thump past Will Norris and make it five goals from just nine shots this season. For Fellows, it was his fourth assist, with no one setting up more goals in the Premier League or EFL so far this campaign.
It set the tone for a ding-dong opening 45 minutes, with both sides going at full throttle.
Pompey had more possession and plenty of threat, but their best chance of an immediate riposte was through their press, which caught West Brom out on a number of occasions.
Mowatt was the worst offender when he was picked off by Calum Lang, but the attacking midfielder’s effort was deflected narrowly wide.
At the other end, Fellows almost added a goal to his assist when he cut in and placed a daisy-cutting effort just past the post before Norris had his fingertips stung by a fierce drive from Karlan Grant from the other flank.
But it was the always lurking Maja who had the the best chance to make it 2-0. The striker snuck in at the back post to meet a long Darnell Furlong throw, which had evaded everyone in the middle, but was somehow denied by a flying Norris – with the goal decision system showing millimetres prevented the ball from crossing the line.
Fellows then beat Ogilvie for a second time before lifting to the back post, but Grant could not keep his header down.
Albion started quickly again in the second half and got their second goal through Mowatt’s seventh for the club, six minutes after the interval.
The midfielder started the attack on the halfway line before smart interplay between John Swift and Grant saw the ball return to Mowatt, who calmly found the top corner.
Murphy lashed across goal as Pompey’s attempts to find a way back into the match failed to muster a shot on target.
In stoppage time, Mowatt placed a free-kick into the opposite corner to his first goal to send the 2,159 Baggies fans home in great cheer.
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