Ian Holloway suffered his sixth consecutive defeat as QPR were well beaten by new league leaders Brighton.

Sam Baldock opened the scoring after just 11 minutes as the Rangers defence seemingly performed the mannequin challenge to allow the hosts to run straight through.

Glenn Murray doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Dale Stephens was brought down by a robust challenge from Massimo Luongo.

It went from bad to worse as captain Nedum Onuoha was shown a straight red card after bringing down Baldock. The dismissal was harsh as there was a clear attempt to play the ball but it was only a footnote as Rangers were outplayed once again with Anthony Knockaert adding a third 20 minutes from time.

Ian Holloway made three changes from the side beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa as the injured Tjaronn Chery and Joel Lynch missed out while Conor Washington dropped to the bench.

In their place came Idrissa Sylla, Jordan Cousins and Ariel Borysiuk with Rangers opting for a 4-5-1 formation to try and contain the title challenging Seagulls.

Off: Nedum Onuoha

QPR could barely get out of their own half in the opening exchanges as Brighton looked to take advantage of Newcastle's home loss to Sheffield Wednesday.

Rangers are devoid of confidence and goals and they had the worst possible start as the defence stood still to allow the hosts to break through the middle.

Baldock picked up the ball, eased away from Onuoha and lashed the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty area.

The goal roused QPR and they started to lay pressure onto the home defence and Luongo forced a save from Stockdale.

That was as good as it got for the visitors as Albion started to come back into the game with Jake Bidwell making a crucial block to keep it at 1-0 before the break.

Massimo Luongo of QPR

If Rangers were to get anything from the game, they needed to see through the Brighton onslaught soon after half time.

They failed to do so when Luongo made a reckless challenge on Stephens in the penalty area. There were to be no heroics from Alex Smithies this time as Murray dispatched the spot kick with aplomb.

Things went from bad to worse as Onuoha saw red three minutes later and end any realistic chance of a fightback.

Brighton wrapped up the points with 21 minutes left on the clock as Knockaert capitalised on some disorganised defending to make it three.

Six defeats in a row is the worst run QPR have had for 26 years and, unless something changes quickly, this run is likely to go on.