Mikel Obi made his fourth English Championship start for Middlesbrough in Sunday’s 1-0 win over ten-man Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park reports Completesports.com.
It was Mikel’s fifth game since he arrived on a free in January and he has helped Middlesbrough to two wins, two draws, and a defeat.
Britt Assombalonga poked in Ashley Fletcher’s deflected shot after 19 minutes to hand Middlesbrough maximum points from the encounter.
Derrick Williams was sent off on the stroke of half time for Blackburn Rovers.
Middlesbrough played in a 3-4-2-1 formation with the Super Eagles captain, Mikel playing the deep-lying midfield role for the Boro for the entire duration of the game.
Mikel’s presence added a lot of grit and perseverance to Middlesbrough’s midfield setup as they recorded their 14th win of the season.
Teessiders are now fifth in the Championship table with 54 points from 32 games- seven points off the automatic promotion place.
Middlesbrough will host 18th placed QPR in their next game on Saturday.
By Johnny Edward.
5 Comments
Indeed, the account of Mikel’s performance as described in the article above is in agreement with the Super Eagles Captain’s rating on gazettelive.co.uk below:
‘John Obi Mikel – 7
Slick, great positional sense, some lovely touches and strong tackles, barely broke sweat.’
We need some of that “slickness” in June please….
On the evidence of recent, I will play a 4-3-3 formation with one holding midfielder, two attacking midfielders, two wingers and one center forward.
My fantasy Super Eagles team is:
-. Uzoho. -.
Aina – Ekong – Omeruo – Collins.
-. Mikel. -.
-. Etebo. Iwobi. -.
Kalu. M.Simon.
-. Ighalo. -.
Subs:
-Ndidi for Mikel in 60 minutes.
-Chukwueze for M. Simon in 70 minutes.
-Iheanacho for for Ighalo in 80 minutes.
In the second match, Musa will start in place of Moses Simon while Onyekuru will be my starting center forward in place of Ighalo.
In that match, Ndidi will come in for Mikel while Agu will replace Etebo as I seek for more steel in the middle of the park – both substitutes in the second half. Ighalo will come in for a cameo in the dying minutes.
In the last group match. Onyekuru would have done enough to retain his place whilst Ndidi will start his first match to go all the way as Captain Mikel is related to the bench.
Musa stays but Kalu gives way to Chukwueze. Iwobi continues to be ever present as his partnership with Etebo continues to synchronise.
Unconvincing displays by Omeruo has led to a recall for Balogun whilst my favourite goalkeeper Akpeyi gets gain time because whatever happens, the Super Eagles are guaranteed a spot in the round of 16 even if they come 3rd on the group.
A decent fantasy Super Eagles team list.
First, permit me to comment on the awe-inspiring performance of Mikel for wonder filled Middlesbrough. Mikel’s eye catching performance with his dazzling movements and range passes have drawn alot of admiration for his football and has seen some section of the press drawing comparison of his game with the legendary Zinedine Zidane.
As regards the list, I think it would be nice to start with some steelness in the midfield with the introduction of either Mikel Agu or Wilfred Ndidi to pair imperial and ageing Mikel in the front of the centre half to wear down the opponent at opening exchanges before injecting flair in the closing stages with the addition of Iwobi.
Ndidi/Agu. Mikel
Etebo
Emem Uduok. Ighalo. Simon Moses
While I could easily have elected the choice of Musa and Onyekuru both big match players any day, the choice of little known Emem Uduok is partly based on reason of form and maturity. He’s one player who thirst and longs for SE desperately though slightly older compared with other competitors, he is matured with assured perfromamce and great passion.
Good job captain mikel
We should begin to look in the direction of Ovie Ejaria and Kelechi Nwakali as capable replacements for Mikel given their midfield quality play. These duo have so much in them that cannot be ignored or overlooked, as much as I know one game is not enough to write off the younger Nwakali, however,the youngster is not harming his chances with the advice to sign up for the Porto where he now features in the team’s B team.
The two as much as I know are have great future with the SE if given proper follow up with superior guidance.
One can not over emphasize the midfield creative ability of Ejaria who gave a vrry impressive account of himself at Rangers before he terminated his loan deal to join Reading fc in the championship, I hope he maintains his form and someone fron the Nigeria FA and the techical dept is keeping tabs on him.