Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is delighted with the way Emanuel Pogatetz has tackled his new club captaincy role.
"He is such a strong character and has lots of qualities. He's an organiser on the pitch. He missed some of the pre-season games but I knew, fitness-wise, it wouldn't be too much of a problem with him.
"He got a cut in the first half but there was never any question that he would not be back out for the second half.
"He's a very important player to us."