Middlesbrough took on Leeds United in the League Cup on Wednesday evening, securing a 3-0 win.
Middlesbrough got their 2024/25 Championship season off to a great start last weekend.
In what was their first win on the opening day in 10 years, Middlesbrough beat Swansea City 1-0, handing them a boost ahead of taking on Leeds United.
The Peacocks finished third in the Championship last term and were among the promotion favourites at the start of the current campaign.
However, Daniel Farke saw his side forced to settle for a 3-3 draw with newly-promoted Portsmouth in their opening fixture.
Despite this, it was the home side who dominated proceedings in the first half at Elland Road, though Boro still had their fair share of chances.
The early stages of the second 45 belonged to the away outfit, however, with Middlesbrough taking the lead after 49 minutes via Anfernee Dijksteel.
Boro’s dominance continued and they doubled their lead on the hour mark when Josh Coburn slipped in Delano Burgzorg who finished well.
Coburn got on the scoresheet himself seven minutes later, seeing Middlesbrough beat Leeds 3-0.
Middlesbrough star stole the show versus Leeds United
Michael Carrick made seven changes to the eleven that beat Swansea on Saturday afternoon, with a number of fringe stars given a chance to prove themselves.
With a second-string side on the field, most Boro fans probably did not expect an awful lot out of this game.
However, there were are couple of Middlesbrough players who impressed on Wednesday evening.
New signing Aidan Morris put in another stellar shift despite his limited experience in England.
Fellow summer addition Burgzorg also got his first competitive goal for the club and was lively throughout.
However, it was a long-serving Boro star who stole the show on Wednesday. That man was Dijksteel.
As well as opening the scoring, the right-back was a constant threat down the right, causing Leeds’ backline all sorts of issues with his darting runs down the flank.
Anfernee Dijksteel gives Michael Carrick selection headache
Dijksteel’s display against Leeds came somewhat out of nowhere as he has been on the fringes of the Boro team for some time.
The defender has found regular football hard to come by under Carrick and his future at the club looked to be up in the air.
Reports emerged earlier this summer that Middlesbrough have made Dijksteel available for sale, which made some sense given he was third-choice right-back last season.
But Tommy Smith is still sidelined with an injury and after that display, it is obvious Dijksteel still has a big role to play at Middlesbrough.
Luke Ayling has been the club’s main right-back since he first joined on loan from Leeds in January.
But after Ayling’s quiet showing against Swansea, Carrick now has a big decision to make regarding who he will start against Derby County this weekend.
Ayling has been more consistent over the last six months but Dijksteel should be rewarded for his fine display in midweek.