Middlesbrough's shooting, not their possession, sank Bolton 5-1

Middlesbrough won 5-1 at Bolton after taking 31 shots, far more than their away habit, while Bolton's chances were of poorer quality than usual.

Middlesbrough had 31 shots at Toughsheet Community Stadium, and that figure says more about this 5-1 win than anything else in the match. Away from home they usually take 17.9 shots a match, and the league average is 13, so this was well beyond both their own habit and the level of the division as a whole.

Middlesbrough had 60% of the ball, a little above their away average of 58.9%, so that part was ordinary for them. Bolton's 40% was the real departure: at home they normally keep 50.9% of possession, so they had less of the ball than usual.

Expected goals, which scores each chance by how often that kind of chance tends to go in, shows the gap more clearly. Middlesbrough's 4.16 is more than double their away average of 1.81, while Bolton's 0.91 sits below their home figure of 1.31. Bolton were not just short of shots; the chances they did get were of poorer quality than their normal ones.

Bolton's shot count was close to normal, 12 against a home average of 12.4, but only seven of those came from inside the box. Middlesbrough had 20 from inside the area. G. Bazunu made eight saves and still conceded five, when Bolton usually concede 1.5 goals a home match.

The first half turned on three goals in 26 minutes. Aidan Morris opened the scoring at 13, will Lankshear doubled the lead at 31, and an own goal at 39 made it three before Thelonius Bair pulled one back at 45. Amario Cozier-Duberry and Lankshear added two more in the final quarter of an hour.

Lankshear finished with two goals and a rating of 9.2, the best mark in the match, but Cozier-Duberry, who scored and also set up another, was close behind. Riley McGree had two assists and six key passes, which is why Middlesbrough kept creating chances even once the game was settled.

Middlesbrough are third on 22 points from 11 matches. Bolton sit 15th on 14 points from the same number of games.

Player of the matchW. Lankshear2 goals9.2

A. Cozier-Duberry1 goal · 1 assist8.8

R. McGree2 assists8.6

A. Morris1 goal8.2