Frank Onyeka is key to cementing Coventry’s place in the Premier League, stats vs Middlesbrough show why
Coventry returned to the top of the Championship table on Monday with a fantastic 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough.
Haji Wright will take the headlines for his performance as the striker netted an emphatic hat-trick against Boro.
However, another star performer was Frank Onyeka, who made his debut for Coventry after his deadline day move to the Sky Blues from Brentford on loan.
Against Middlesbrough, the 28-year-old was fantastic in central midfield, and may now be the difference-maker between promotion and relegation.
Frank Onyeka is key to Coventry’s promotion to the Premier League
Going into the Middlesbrough match, Coventry were well out of form.
Frank Lampard’s side were leaking goals left and right, and had not won a match in three straight games.
As a result, after the uninspiring draw to Oxford United, Onyeka was brought into the side and was simply magnificent.
The midfielder covered every blade of grass and was quick to neutralise any of Middlesbrough’s threats.
According to Fotmob on 16 February, he made two blocks, two clearances, two interceptions, five recoveries and one tackle before he was subbed off in the 75th minute.
On top of this, he won the most free kicks in the match at five, which was key to relieving pressure on Lampard’s side.
| Frank Onyeka’s stats vs Middlesbrough | |
| Minutes | 75 |
| Fouls won | 5 |
| Blocks | 2 |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Tackles | 1 |
As a result, if he can keep this level of performance up going into the second half of the campaign, he will be the key to getting Coventry into the Premier League for next season.
The Sky Blues have long needed someone to help them control the midfield and put an end to any threats to their goal, and it looks like they have found the perfect player.
What did Frank Lampard say after Coventry’s win vs Middlesbrough?
Obviously, Lampard was delighted to have beaten Middlesbrough on Monday.
The result ended their inconsistent form and put them back in the driving seat to win promotion this season.
It also damaged Middlesbrough’s hopes, the Sky Blues’ closest promotion rival at this stage of the season.
As a result, Lampard was quick to express his delight with the display to Sky Sports on 16 February as Coventry returned to the top of the table.
🔙🔛🔝 @Coventry_City #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/MXo7YmsgeK
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) February 16, 2026
He said: “Massive performance from the lads. What a high class opposition as well by the way. Good football team, that’s why they’ve done what they’ve done recently.
“But the performance, the effort, the tactical way we played off the ball, we worked all week off the ball.
“I told them it was an important thing for us to get back on our game and the way we played the first half where we wanted to be very pressy, very high.
“The lads just followed that brilliantly. Second half I felt the energy as we go on would be hard so we went back into more of a block and gave them problems.
“Really delighted with the result. It’s a big one tonight.”