Bolton 1-5 Middlesbrough: Will Lankshear at the double as Kim Hellberg's Boro emphatically move top of the Championship

24.10.2026, 02:07 skysports.com

Middlesbrough moved to the Sky Bet Championship summit in emphatic fashion by thumping Bolton 5-1 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Will Lankshear continued his electric start to life in a Boro shirt with two more goals taking him to 11 in the league and 13 in all competitions.

Aidan Morris and Amario Cozier-Duberry were also on target, while Lewis Brunt scored an unfortunate own goal.

Kim Hellberg's side move two points above Swansea, who travel to QPR on Saturday, and three above West Ham, who take on Southampton.

It was clear from the off Middlesbrough were out to get their business wrapped up early. They had a corner inside the first minute, their first chance inside two and after 13, they had the lead, when former Bolton loanee Cozier-Duberry squared for Morris to sweep in.

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The shots kept flowing. Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made three excellent saves in quick succession, but there was only so much he could do. And just after the half-hour, it was 2-0 when Lankshear struck after exquisite teamwork in the build-up.

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Boro were dominating and added a third on 39 minutes, when Adilson Malanda rose to meet a corner from the right and headed onto the unfortunate Brunt, who could do nothing to prevent the ball crossing the line.

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Through sheer determination, Bolton reduced the deficit at half-time, when Theo Bair hit a shot through a crowd and, for almost 20 minutes after the break, they did not allow Boro a single shot.

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However, much like the first half, Bazunu made another couple of saves - then the visitors added the gloss.

Cozier-Duberry first fired high into the net after being picked out by Riley McGree, before Lankshear struck the fifth of the night rolling in McGree's unselfish square ball after a lethal breakaway.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in the second tier in 2021/22, when he scored a Championship-record 43 on the way to winning the title with Fulham.

And Lankshear's start is not a million miles away from the one the Serb made.

Mitrovic had taken 22 more touches in the opposition box, hit 10 more shots and scored one more goal at this point.

However, taking into account non-penalty goals only, the pair are level.

How many goals will Lankshear score this season? Have your say below...

Bolton's Steven Schumacher speaking to Sky Sports:

"The way Middlesbrough performed tonight, even if we were at our very, very best, it would've been a tough night for us because of the quality they've got and (the fact) they were at it.

"I'm pleased with some aspects of the way we played. We created some really good chances at times, but the gulf between the teams at this moment was evident. They were a lot more clinical than what we were and showed why they are a real top team.

"It's a tough one to take, but it's something to learn from."

Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg speaking to Sky Sports:

"It's absolutely up there, especially when you look at the team we played, who drew with Southampton and beat Wolves away. They are a very good team and a brave team we played against and we were at our best.

"We used the space behind the last line, which we did very, very well, then we played fluid football, which we are able to do.

"You know the crowd has almost given up when you go 3-0 up, but then they score that goal and that makes it a little bit tougher. You know the crowd are going to go quite hard at it in the first 15 minutes (of the second half) and the players are too.

"But we managed that in a very good way, didn't concede many chances. Of course you want to keep the clean sheet, but if you score five, it doesn't matter that much."

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