Derby County handed potential survival boost v QPR that goes beyond three points: View | OneFootball

The Rams cruised to a 2-0 victory on Saturday at Pride Park, but the performance of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing will ease any worries.

Derby County's impressive start to the season at home continued on Saturday afternoon as they eased past Queens Park Rangers in a 2-0 victory.

29,305 packed out a sunny Pride Park, as the Rams picked up their fourth win of the campaign, allowing them to head into the second international break of 2024/25 12th in the Championship.

Curtis Nelson's spectacular header, and an extremely impressive curling finish from Marcus Harness within a minute of each other, early in the second half, were enough to see past QPR, who have struggled to find any form so far this season, and currently occupy final place in the relegation zone.

Nevertheless, Derby's supporters and Paul Warne himself will be delighted with how they have begun the campaign, despite one of their key performers from the last two years failing to match the standards that he has set previously.

Yet, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing showed against the Rs that he is starting to find his feet in the Championship, a significant boost for the Rams' chances of maintaining their current mid-table position.

Mendez-Laing's QPR performance could be a sign of things to come

After registering two assists in Derby's first game of the season against Blackburn Rovers, it has been a quiet spell for the Guatemala international, but his corner delivery for Nelson's thunderous headed effort was inch-perfect.

The Rams have been excellent from set-pieces since the start of last year, and have netted seven of their 12 goals in 2024/25 from deadball scenarios, giving Mendez-Laing ample opportunity to rack up the assists as the season wears on.

Despite it being a quiet campaign on the goal front for the 32-year-old, there is plenty of time for him to start finding the back of the net. Derby have had to alter the way they play this season, with the calibre of their opposition much higher than that of their time in League One.

It has meant that Mendez-Laing has struggled to have the same quality of opportunities to score, instead firing from distance.

He had just one shot against QPR, with his third minute strike from outside the box being blocked, but he did find a lot of space down the wing, and would have been extremely frustrated to see his cross fire across the goalmouth without a touch on it in the first half.

In total, he created three chances, won five duels, successfully completed both of the tackles that he put in and made two recoveries in the 66 minutes he played, before making way for Kane Wilson.

Mendez-Laing scores goals in batches

Although it has been a struggle in front of goal so far, when he gets his first, it is likely that goals will come quickly for Mendez-Laing.

The former Sheffield Wednesday man scored nine times in 2023/24 in League One, with five of those coming in a seven-match spell.

If he can find a similar run of form following the October international break, then any fears about his goal involvements will slip out of the minds of Rams fans, especially as their fixtures start to get a little bit easier.

Following his games with Guatemala, Mendez-Laing and the rest of his Derby team return to Championship action against Millwall, a team who have struggled for consistency. A first win away for them and a first goal of the season for the Rams captain potentially await in less than two weeks, and it could prove their credentials as a side that will survive comfortably.