Michael Carrick shared his delight for Chuba Akpom as the Middlesbrough striker scored a superb second-half hat-trick to fire Boro to victory over Wigan Athletic.
Akpom moved to 12 goals for the season as he netted three times in front of a sold-out Riverside Stadium on Boxing Day, adding to Marcus Forss first-half strike to seal a memorable win for Boro that pushed them up to tenth in the Championship table. With a great partnership forming, left-back Ryan Giles provided all three assists for his team-mates' goals.
Carrick said after: "I'm delighted for him. He's on a right purple patch at the minute and long may it continue. We spoke at half-time about the key positions in the game and trying to work more space, especially Duncan and Chuba, We felt we could cause them more problems than we did in the first half, and the boys did well, especially in possession.
READ MORE: How the Middlesbrough players rated in their clash with Wigan Athletic
"We know what Gilo is capable of and we try to get him in those positions. It's important we play to our strengths. Gilo's game is getting forward. His delivery and left foot is top quality.
"We played some terrific football and Chuba got on the end of it. He'll get the headlines and praise for the goals but it was more the link-up play and the problems he caused them."
The three goals saw Akpom make amends for his penalty miss at Burnley last weekend and saw his fine run of form continue, with nine goals in his last ten games. With 12 overall for the season, he is the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Coventry City's Viktor Gyokeres who Boro targeted in the summer.
But after a knee injury earlier in the season, Akpom's goalscoring rate is more impressive than the Swede, with the Boro striker scoring at a rate of a goal every 103 minutes currently. Despite that, winning the Championship golden boot isn't something Carrick has discussed with the 27-year-old about.
"I've not spoke to him about that, for me it's all about the team," Carrick said. "Of course I'd love him to finish top scorer, it would mean as a team we're playing well and getting the benefits from it. It would be an added bonus if he can do that. As long as we're winning, whether he's scoring one, two or three, as long as he's contributing to us winning I'm happy with that."
Carrick is now hoping Akpom and Boro can carry such form into Thursday evening's trip to Blackburn Rovers. Just two points off the play-offs after the victory over Wigan Athletic, they could end 2022 in the top six with three points at Ewood Park.
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