Derby County beat Portsmouth 0-2 in the Championship, taking the points despite spending long spells on the back foot. Sammie Szmodics put Derby ahead in the 16th minute, and Lars-Jørgen Salvesen doubled the lead in the 62nd. Portsmouth controlled possession and had far more shots, but Derby's finishing made the difference.
Szmodics scored from Bobby Clark's assist to give Derby an early lead. After the break, Salvesen finished Oscar Fraulo's pass to make it 0-2. Portsmouth pushed for a way back but couldn't convert their pressure; the only bookings were a yellow card for Derby's Sondre Klingen Langås in the 51st minute and for Portsmouth's Terry Devlin and Charlie Taylor in the 69th and 83rd.
The shot count underlined how much territory Portsmouth had: 21 shots to Derby's eight, with ten off target and only two on target. Derby had five shots on target and scored twice, while Portsmouth's expected-goals total of 0.83 went unconverted. Despite 65% possession and 11 corners, Portsmouth had nothing to show for it.
