Will Lankshear’s debut strike ensured Middlesbrough made a winning start to the season as they beat Wrexham 1-0 in the Carabao Cup first round.

Lankshear, a £10m summer signing from Tottenham, scored the only goal of the game in the 61st minute as he hooked home an excellent first-time volley.

Middlesbrough almost claimed a seventh-minute opener, but while Adilson Malanda prodded Sebastian Berhalter’s cross goalwards from close range, Danny Ward kept the ball out with a superb point-blank save.

Danny Imray wasted a decent chance for Wrexham when he failed to make a proper connection from Callum Doyle’s cross, and the visitors went close again six minutes before the break when Sam Smith fired a low shot into the legs of Sol Brynn after he was rolled into space by Nathan Broadhead.

Lankshear came close with an effort that was curled just over the bar at the start of the second half, but the 21-year-old did not have to wait too much longer for his first goal in a Boro shirt.

Leo Castledine headed Jeremy Sarmiento’s cross into Lankshear’s path, and the striker swivelled neatly before hooking a superb first-time volley into the far corner.

Boro almost doubled their lead with three minutes remaining, but Morgan Whittaker’s low strike rebounded off the post.

Wolves coast past Port Vale as Jimenez makes return

Wolves progressed with a comfortable 3-0 win over Port Vale in which all three goals came in the first half. Adam Armstrong, Andre and Fer Lopez took the game away from the League Two side as Cesar Peixoto marked his first game in charge with a win.

Jon Brady’s Port Vale had opportunities. Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel hooked an extraordinary chance away from the Wolves goal before the break, before Mo Faal’s low penalty was saved by the legs of Dan Bentley to deny the travelling fans a consolation.

The Wolves supporters among the crowd of 21,360 at Molineux were more interested in serenading their returning hero. Raul Jimenez, the club’s Premier League top scorer, re-signed this summer after three years at Fulham and came on as a late substitute.

The Mexican centre-forward did fire off one fierce shot on goal but he was unable to mark the occasion with a goal that would have been cruel on a competitive Port Vale side. But it is Wolves who take their place in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Stevenage strike late to beat Wycombe

New signing Josh Magennis headed the winner in the dying seconds to send Stevenage through to the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 victory at Wycombe.

It was a fitting start to the Boro’s 50th anniversary season as substitute Magennis, a summer capture from Exeter, rose to score from Phoenix Patterson’s left-wing corner in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.

The visitors had shaken off early pressure to take the lead against the run of play in the 27th minute.

Midfielder Dan Kemp took advantage of hesitancy in the Wycombe defence as he raced through to fire home a low shot.

That stung the home side into action and Ewan Henderson equalised in the 38th minute. Winger Silko Thomas crossed from the left and the Scot slipped through the visiting defence to score right-footed from just outside the six-yard box.

Stevenage scared their Sky Bet League One rivals again on the stroke of half-time when Kemp rattled the bar with a shot from the edge of the box.

Wycombe took control after the break but struggled to break through.

New boy Emre Tezgel, on for Cauley Woodrow, was thwarted by Boro skipper Carl Piergianni as he attempted to force home Thomas’ cross from the left in the 77th minute before Magennis settled the issue.

Watch any of 29 Carabao Cup ties on Saturday!

The Carabao Cup is back for the 2026/27 season, with every first-round tie available to watch live on Sky Sports!

West Ham, Burnley and Leicester are among those in action on Saturday – and you can follow the goals as they go in from all 29 ties on Soccer Saturday.

Every match from the opening round will be shown live on Sky Sports, with clubs from the Championship, League One and League Two entering the competition.