DANIEL FARKE took the blame for Leeds United’s humiliating Carabao Cup home defeat at the hands of Championship rivals Middlesbrough.

“I’m responsible that we won’t win the Carabao Cup this season,” he said after his much-changed side crashed 3-0 at Elland Road.

All the goals came in a woeful 16-minute spell in the second half when the vibrant visitors took a pedestrian error-prone Leeds side apart.

The Whites manager made eight changes from the starting line-up which drew 3-3 with Portsmouth in Saturday’s Championship opener but the players who came in failed to take their chance to stake a claim for a first team slot.

He said: “I take it on the chin and the [fact] we changed so much, that was the reason we lost today.

“I risked a little bit this game with having eight or nine rotations. I was of course hoping that we still find a way in order to be successful.”

However, Middlesbrough also made seven changes to their starting line-up from the one which beat Swansea 1-0 at the Riverside so the game became a battle between squad players which Boro won hands down.

The game stated fairly brightly with Junior Firpo and Delano Burgzorg drawing saves for Leeds and Boro respectively but as the disjointed nature of the game wore on Michael Carrick’s side looked more likely to break the deadlock.

Five minutes after the interval Anfernee Dijksteel cut in from the right, brushed aside Brenden Aaronson. He steamed towards goal but neither Firpo or Joe Rodon failed to make a challenge and the Suriname international rolled the ball into the corner of Karl Darlow’s net.

That signalled a dramatic Whites collapse. Burgzorg almost doubled the lead after Max Wober was caught dawdling on the ball but the second Boro goal was not long in coming.

Patrick Bamford was harried off the ball in midfield and impressive young striker Josh Coburn played in Burgzorg who netted via a slight deflection off Rodon and the post.

With Leeds in disarray, Farke threw on five substitutes to try to rescue the game but they had barely set foot on the pitch when Coburn completed the scoring from close range after Leeds were opened up once again.

One of the men from the bench, Georgino Rutter, almost pulled a goal back near the end when his fierce left-foot shot hit and upright, Joel Piroe heading the rebound wide.

While Middlesbrough’s travelling support revelled in their first win at Elland Road in 13 years Leeds were booed off by fans who are becoming increasingly worried about their club’s prospects for the new season.

After being so dominant at Elland Road for the vast majority of last season they have now only won one of their last six competitive games on home soil and only recoded two victories in their last 11 games.

After the Boro debacle it was revealed that Brighton had triggered Rutter’s release clause and tabled a £40m bid for the French playmaker.