Middlesbrough came out on top against Swansea City with an impressive 3-0 victory after Alvaro Negredo struck twice at the Riverside.
The Teessiders were a couple of goals ahead inside half-an-hour, Negredo on the end of Adam Clayton’s cross and then converting a penalty when Adam Forshaw was tripped by Jordi Amat.
Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon later added a third from Gaston Ramirez’s assist following the interval.
Home keeper Victor Valdes had denied Gylfi Sigurdsson during the initial exchanges while team-mate Viktor Fischer was replaced by Stewart Downing after taking an early knock.
However, Boro were soon in front with Ramirez and Clayton offering Negredo the opportunity to find the bottom corner from around twelve-yards.
Ramirez was then narrowly over from an edge-of-the-box free-kick before Forshaw was brought down nearer to goal and Negredo wrong-footed Lukasz Fabianski with his penalty – Boro’s first of the season.
Both Downing and Forshaw saw efforts from distance following the break and de Roon turned in Ramirez’s low delivery to further extend the lead.
Midfielder Sigurdsson had a couple of later attempts for the visitors and ex-Juventus striker Fernando Llorente’s header was thwarted by Valdes.
Meanwhile, returning substitute George Friend had already combined with Fabio to threaten additional reward at the other end.
Middlesbrough: Valdes, Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Fabio (Traore 87), Forshaw, Clayton, de Roon, Ramirez (Friend 62), Negredo, Fischer (Downing 12)
subs (unused): Bernardo, Leadbitter, Rhodes, Guzan
Goals: Negredo (18, pen 29), de Roon (58)
Swansea City: Fabianski, Rangel, Mawson, Amat, Taylor, Fulton, Britton (Fer 70), Barrow (Baston 59), Sigurdsson, Routledge (Montero 77), Llorente
subs (unused): van der Hoorn, Nordfeldt, Cork, Naughton
Ref: N. Swarbrick
Att: 28,302
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