Yakubu double strike puts Middlesbrough’s post-European hoodoo to rest

Aston Villa 2 Middlesbrough 3

Boro had managed only one win in nine games immediately after playing a European tie in midweek - and that was a 3-0 triumph over Villa at the Riverside Stadium last season.

But Yakubu’s double enabled them to move into the top half of the Barclays Premiership at the expense of a Villa side who paid for some dreadful defending.