The former Chelsea midfielder completed his first full game for Boro in the 1-1 Championship draw against Marcelo Bielsa’s side at the Riverside.
Middlesbrough played out a 1-1 draw with Leeds United in Saturday’s early Championship kickoff at the Riverside Stadium, with the visitors depriving Tony Pulis’s side of victory with an equaliser in the 11th minute of injury time.
After a goalless first half, Boro’s Lewis Wing broke the deadlock early on in the second half when he took possession of George Friend’s cutback, set himself up, and fired a shot into the bottom corner of the Whites net.
The hosts largely sat back after taking the lead as Leeds dominated possession but struggled to make it count until midway through the second half, with Kemar Roofe, Pontus Jansson and Patrick Bamford all testing Boro keeper Darren Randolph.
Play was held up late in the second half while paramedics tended to an incident on the visitors’ bench, 18-year-old Jack Clarke requiring medical help, and was carried off on a stretcher receiving oxygen and taken to hospital as a precaution.
The delay resulted in 12 minutes of stoppage time being added on by referee Darren England and, in the 101st minute of the game, Whites ace Kalvin Phillips sent a header beyond Randolph to deny the Teessiders victory.
John Obi Mikel, who completed his first full 90 minutes as a Boro player, spoke to the official club channel after the game, the clip published on their Twitter account:
Some Boro fans, who were impressed with his performance, responded on the social media platform:
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