Middlesbrough 2-0 Burton Albion
- Published
Middlesbrough had scored just once in their opening two matches
Middlesbrough's record signing Britt Assombalonga scored his first goals for the club as Garry Monk's side beat Burton Albion at the Riverside.
The £15m summer signing from Nottingham Forest fired home in the first half from Rudy Gestede's pass.
He then slotted in his second after the break, following up after Gestede's shot was saved.
Burton substitute Hope Akpan was sent off for a lunging challenge in the 78th minute.
Victory for Boro made it back-to-back home wins, while Nigel Clough's Burton remain without a point after three games.
Boro have spent about £30m on strikers this summer following their relegation from the Premier League, with Assombalonga, Martin Braithwaite and Ashley Fletcher all moving to Teesside.
Assombalonga, the second most expensive player in Championship history, is the first of that trio to open their account this season.
The 24-year-old finished excellently at the near post for his first goal and showed a striker's instinct for his second to react first and put away the rebound.
Assombolanga could have had his second much earlier, but he shot horribly wide when one-on-one with Burton goalkeeper Stephen Bywater just after half-time.
Middlesbrough manager Garry Monk: "It's always good to put back-to-back wins together.
"Overall, I didn't think we started too well and gave Burton a little bit too much confidence but once we got that first goal we stepped it up a gear. We are playing in patches at the moment, but we look incredibly dangerous in those good patches.
"We are striving for a complete performance, but it's still early days. It's nice to be winning when we are striving for that."
Burton manager Nigel Clough: "We are delighted with how they played. We can take so much encouragement from that.
"We kept going and I thought, considering the opposition and the team we had, we played well."
- Published10 August 2017
