Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has backed summer signing Emmanuel Latte Lath to continue finding the net after scoring in the 2-0 win over Cardiff.
Since signing from Atalanta in the summer for a fee believed to be around £4million, the Ivorian has been in and out of the side and this was only his second Championship goal.
But the substitute’s cool finish with six minutes remaining put the finishing touches to Boro’s third league win in a row to climb up to 16th, leaving them five points shy of a play-off place.
And Carrick, who watched Latte Lath find the net in the Carabao Cup win at Bradford a week ago, said: “Emmanuel, that’s two in two for him and we know he has goals in him.
“Between him and Josh Coburn we have very different number nines. Josh did a lot of good things and then Emmanuel came on and had a big impact on the game.
“I’m really pleased, overall there were a lot of good things in the game. We had to make changes for different reasons before the game and we improved as the game went on.
“We managed the game really well second half, the boys came off the bench and made an impact.
“We could sense the frustration in the stadium first half and that doesn’t really help the players, but they stuck to it, believed in what we were doing.
“Cardiff were always going to make it difficult and they were on a good run, we knew it would be a tough game. The boys were calm enough and I felt the improvement during the game.”
Cardiff boss Erol Bulut was angered by Isaiah Jones’ 56th-minute opener because he claimed the winger was standing in an offside position when Danish full-back Lukas Engel crossed to him.
That arrived at a time when both teams struggled to create openings and the game could have gone either way.
Once Latte Lath had slotted in the second there was no way back for Cardiff, whose four-match winning run in the league came to an end.
Bulut, whose side slipped out of the top six with this defeat, said: “For both teams in the first half it was a tactical game.
“The second half we showed tiredness from the travelling from the last games, and also today we had to change a few positions because of injuries. This is not an excuse.
“But I can say tiredness was a little bit (apparent) second half. The first goal changed the game, and if you watch the first goal it was a clear offside.
“After the first goal we had to push more to score. We couldn’t manage to score. In the first half we had that Karlan Grant chance, if that goes in it would have been much different.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground regardless. This loss is not the end of the world. We will have a good rest and 100 per cent we have to be on the field again.”
Hoffenheim 4-2 Bayern Munich: Tuchel bows out on defeat thanks to Kramaric hat-trick
Bayern Munich squandered a two-goal lead to slump to a 4-2 loss at Hoffenheim courtesy of a second-half Andrej Kramaric hat-trick in Thomas Tuchel's final game.
Early goals from Mathys Tel and Alphonso Davies saw the injury-depleted Bavarians go 2-0 up by the sixth minute.
Hoffenheim, however, pulled a goal back through Germany international Maximilian Beier just two minutes later, with the hosts gradually taking some of the early pace out of the game.
Bayern's injury troubles were further compounded when they lost Aleksandar Pavlovic to injury in the 35th minute, and struggled to cope with Hoffenheim's threat in the second half.
Kramaric then delivered a stunning 19-minute hat-trick with the Bayern defence in ruins, ending a disappointing season in third place with 72 points.
Bayer Leverkusen finished in top spot on 90 points. VfB Stuttgart finished runners-up on 73 with a 4-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach, while Hoffenheim finished seventh, in the Europa Conference League place.
Data Debrief:
Thomas Muller made his 473rd Bundesliga appearance for Bayern on Saturday, drawing level with Sepp Maier as the club's record appearance maker in the competition.
Bayern failed to have a single shot on target in the second half, while Kramaric ran riot to subject Bayern to their worst league finish since 2011.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Augsburg: Bundesliga champions make history with unbeaten season
Bayer Leverkusen became the first team in Bundesliga history to complete a full season unbeaten after beating Augsburg 2-1 on the final day.
Xabi Alonso's treble-chasing team also stretched their European record unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 51 matches.
Victor Boniface intercepted a ball from Augsburg keeper Tomas Koubek to tap in for the lead in the 12th minute before Robert Andrich, part of Germany's Euro 2024 preliminary squad, doubled the advantage from close range.
Augsburg cut the deficit when Mert Komur scored just after the hour.
Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky made a smart stop to maintain Leverkusen's clean sheet, as the Bundesliga champions held on to make history.
Alonso's team, who face Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday and also take on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final on May 25, finished on 90 points, 17 ahead of second-placed Stuttgart and 18 ahead of Bayern Munich, who lost 4-2 at Hoffenheim.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen's remarkable run rolls on
What an incredible season it has been for Leverkusen, and Alonso's men are now just two wins away from unprecedented success.
Leverkusen have become only the second team in Bundesliga history to not lose a single point from winning positions in a season, matching a feat Bayern managed in 2011-12.
They have won 45 points (W13 D3) in their 17 home games in the Bundesliga this season and have remained unbeaten at home for only the second time, after 1999-2000.
Leverkusen are the second club in league history to reach the 90-point mark, following Bayern (90 points in 2013-14 and 91 points in 2012-13).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
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