Garry Monk says that the display from Middlesbrough on Tuesday night was ‘excellent’ and praised his much-changed team that overcame Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.

Boro go into the fourth round of the competition, beating Villa 2-0, but that was only after skipper Tommy Elphick was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Patrick Bamford capitalised on Villa being down to 10, with the Englishman scoring two goals.

His first one coming from the spot and the second nine minutes later courtesy of a Marcus Tavernier cross.

Monk was pleased with his team’s display saying it was a real team performance.

Speaking on Middlesbrough’s official website, Monk said:

“It was excellent – a real team performance and we were good from start to finish,” he said.

“Good goals, a clean sheet and into the next round. That’s exactly what we were looking for.

“People talk about making a lot of changes but when you know your players you know what they are capable of.

“It’s about trust, whoever we put out on to the pitch knows what’s expected and I had no doubt they would perform.

“We wanted to keep that confidence and momentum building and I think you saw that tonight.”