Middlesbrough 8 Manchester City 1
Outcome: Won
Date: 5/11/2008
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Attendance: 27613
Competition: Premier League
Played at: Riverside Stadium
Goals:
| Goals | Time | Assists | |
| Stewart Downing | 16 [Pen] | ||
| Afonso Alves | 37 | ||
| Stewart Downing | 58 | ||
| Afonso Alves | 60 | ||
| Adam Johnson | 70 | ||
| Fabio Rochemback | 80 | ||
| Jeremie Aliadiere | 85 | ||
| Afonso Alves | 90 | ||
Team
| Player | Yellow | Red | Subbed |
| Mark Schwarzer | |||
| David Wheater | |||
| Emanuel Pogatetz | |||
| Luke Young | |||
| Chris Riggott | |||
| Stewart Downing | |||
| Julio Arca | |||
| George Boateng | |||
| Fabio Rochemback | |||
| Tuncay Sanli | |||
| Afonso Alves |
Subs
| Player | Yellow | Red | Subbed |
| Tony McMahon | |||
| Jeremie Aliadiere | |||
| Adam Johnson |
Generated by AI
Match Report
Premier League (Matchweek 38)
Middlesbrough 8–1 Manchester City
Riverside Stadium, 11 May 2008
Attendance: 27,613
Referee: Phil Dowd
Middlesbrough signed off the 2007/08 Premier League season with one of the competition’s most astonishing scorelines, overwhelming Manchester City 8–1 in a match shaped decisively by an early dismissal.
After a relatively even opening, City’s afternoon unravelled on 15 minutes when captain Richard Dunne was sent off and, in the same incident, conceded a penalty. Stewart Downing converted from the spot on 16 minutes to put Boro ahead.
With City down to ten, Middlesbrough began to find space and control the tempo. They doubled the lead before half-time when Afonso Alves finished on 37 minutes, giving Gareth Southgate’s side a commanding 2–0 interval advantage.
The second half became increasingly one-sided. Downing struck again on 58 minutes to make it 3–0, and within two minutes Alves added his second on 60 for 4–0. Middlesbrough’s substitutions only increased the momentum: Adam Johnson, introduced just after the hour, made it 5–0 on 70 minutes.
The highlight arrived on 80 minutes, when Fábio Rochemback unleashed a spectacular long-range free-kick to make it 6–0. Jérémie Aliadière added the seventh on 85. City did manage a late consolation through Elano on 87 minutes, but Middlesbrough had the final word as Alves completed his hat-trick on 90 minutes for 8–1.
Manchester City Line Up
| Formation | Player | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Andreas Isaksson | Goalkeeper | |
| — | Vedran Ćorluka | Defender | |
| — | Richard Dunne | Defender | Red card (15') |
| — | Sun Jihai | Defender | Yellow card (54') |
| — | Michael Ball | Defender | |
| — | Javier Garrido | Left back | |
| — | Gelson Fernandes | Midfielder | |
| — | Stephen Ireland | Midfielder | Assist (87') |
| — | Benjani | Forward | Off (13') |
| — | Martin Petrov | Forward/Winger | Off (71') |
| — | Darius Vassell | Forward | Off (62') |
| Sub | Nery Castillo | Forward | On (13') |
| Sub | Dietmar Hamann | Midfielder | On (62') |
| Sub | Elano | Midfielder | On (71'), Goal (87') |
Note: A precise on-paper formation is not consistently published across the available sources for this match; the personnel and substitutions above are confirmed.
Match Statistics
- Possession: Manchester City 52% – 48% Middlesbrough
- Shots (on target): Manchester City 8 (2) – 13 (7) Middlesbrough
- Corners: Manchester City 0 – 7 Middlesbrough
- Fouls: Manchester City 12 – 9 Middlesbrough
- Cards: Manchester City 0 yellow, 1 red; Middlesbrough 1 yellow, 0 red
Source note: the above statistical set is taken from a single compiled match-stat provider; other outlets may list slightly different totals for certain categories.