Manchester United jumped to fifth in the English Premier League table after defeating relegation-threatened Middlesbrough 3-1 on Sunday at the Riverside Stadium.
United got off to a lively start and were comfortable in possession, and took the lead through Maraoune Fellaini’s header at the far post from an Ashley Young cross. The second goal came early in the second half through Jesse Lingard, who scored from a thumping long-range drive.
The home side, who, only days ago sacked manager Aitor Karanka experienced a good spell in the final quarter of the game after pulling one back through a scrappy effort from Rudy Gestede. United defender Chris Smalling, embarrassingly lost his footing at a crucial moment, which left the Middlesbrough attacker free in the box.
Just when Boro were applying pressure in the United area, their keeper, Victor Valdes, slipped while trying to kick the ball. Antonio Valencia capitalised and rolled the ball into the vacant net to seal the victory, which was United’s 600th in the Premier League.
Middlesbrough stay at 19th place with just 22 points on the board. United, with 52 points, have jumped above Arsenal, who slipped to sixth. This fixture was a rare occasion where midfielder Paul Pogba or striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t feature in the game for Jose Mourinho’s side.
The score
- Middlesbrough 1 (Rudy Gestede) lost to Manchester United 3 (Maraoune Fellaini, Jesse Lingard, Antonio Valencia).