Man United defeat Boro, climb to 5th spot in EPL

Manchester United snatched an important 3-1 away win against Middlesbrough to jump to the fifth spot in the English Premier League (EPL) at Riverside Stadium here on Sunday.

Belgian Marouane Fellaini opened the scoring for Manchester United 30 minutes into the first half, before Jesse Lingard scored again for the visitors at the 62-minute mark, reports Efe.

Middlesbrough's Rudy Gestede hit back 15 minutes later, before Antonio Valencia scored the decisive third goal in the third minute of added time.

The injured Wayne Rooney was again unavailable for the visitors as Mourinho made seven changes from the midweek Europa League victory over Rostov.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended and Paul Pogba ruled out by a hamstring problem, it was only the third time this season neither had featured on the team-sheet.

United made light of their absence as Lingard doubled the lead in spectacular style in the 62nd minute.

The England international picked up possession just inside the Middlesbrough half, and as Bernardo stood off inviting the midfielder to advance, he did just that to send an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 20 yards. Negredo went close with two second-half headers, before Gestede made the most of an error from Chris Smalling to reduce the arrears from close range with his first league goal since a move from Aston Villa in January to end his side's eight-and-a-half hour wait for a league goal.

It gave the hosts hope of salvaging a point in the final 13 minutes, but Mourinho's side held out without further alarm, Valencia pouncing on a slip by Valdes to walk the ball into an unguarded net to embellish the margin of victory.

Currently, Manchester United hold the fifth position in the EPL with 52 points from 27 games, after spending a few weeks stuck in sixth position, despite a good winning streak.

"I think we started the game really well; (Middlesbrough goalkeeper Victor) Valdes made three fantastic saves before our first goal. We controlled everything before our second goal and they then changed to play with (Rudy) Gestede and (Alvaro) Negredo," Mourinho said, according to United's website.

"They started putting long balls in to the box. We decided to defend with an extra defender, but I think with the mistakes of letting them push us too much into our box.

"Then it was a fighting 15 minutes where they didn't have chances but they were close to the dangerous areas, so the game was alive until the last seconds."

Jose Mourinho-coached United have therefore revived their chances to end the season within the big four, and secure a direct ticket to the Champions League.

On the other hand, Middlesbrough seem to have settled for relegation as the season approaches its final stretch, as they currently hold the 19th position with 22 points.