Late Christmas present for Boyata as City see off Boro

MANCHESTER CITY defender Dedryck Boyata received the perfect compensation for missing a family Christmas when he was handed his senior debut at Middlesbrough.

The 19-year-old was drafted into Roberto Mancini’s starting line-up for Saturday’s FA Cup third round trip to the Riverside Stadium after being told to cancel a planned trip back to his native Belgium over the festive period.

Having spent the previous two games of the Italian’s reign to date sitting on the bench, he played a significant part in a third successive clean sheet as City edged their way past Championship Boro and into the hat for the fourth round draw.