Derby County climbed into the Championship play-off places by dismantling Bristol City in an eye-catching 5-0 win away at Ashton Gate.

The Rams were out of sight at 3-0 up within the first 36 minutes and ended the contest with five different goalscorers, as they jumped from 11th in the table to sixth. 

Rhian Brewster got the ball rolling in the 13th minute, getting ahead of his marker to flick Callum Elder's left-wing delivery past Radek Vitek.

It was 2-0 only three minutes later as Ben Brereton Diaz squeezed a shot home from the right side of the area, following some loose play at the back from the Robins, whose hopes were all but over when Bobby Clark rounded off a 36th-minute counter-attack.

Sam Bell saw a goal disallowed for the hosts due to an offside earlier in the move, then Derby pulled further clear via Patrick Agyemang's header in the 66th minute.

Lars-Jorgen Salvesen then put the icing on the cake in the 88th minute, finding the roof of the net from Andreas Weimann's cross to cap a terrible outing for Bristol City, who remain ninth in the congested table.

EMPHATIC AT ASHTON GATE.  pic.twitter.com/yUfvwlW6s8

— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) January 30, 2026

Data Debrief: Rams run riot

This was Derby's biggest Championship victory since March 30, 2019, when they beat Rotherham United 6-1. 

It was also just the ninth time they had scored at least five goals in a league game in the last 15 years, and their fourth 5-0 victory in that time. Their last 5-0 win away from home, meanwhile, came against Plymouth Argyle in September 1959.

Eustace had previously lost three of his four away matches against Bristol City in the Championship (one win), including his only five-goal defeat as a manager in the competition (0-5 with Blackburn Rovers in April 2024), so he might view this result as a measure of revenge.