It is Middlesbrough who go into Christmas in good festive spirit after this routine walkabout against a Swansea side remaining rooted in the relegation spots.
The fact that the Teesiders had only scored a meagre 13 goals before kick-off, the lowest in the Premier League, shows just how woeful the visitors were. It was never supposed to be this easy. After all Swansea were only three points below their hosts but here they were simply ripped apart with consummate ease. These are worrying times for their manager Bob Bradley. They have now conceded 17 goals in their six away from Wales, and there was no hint here of happier times ahead.
It was all over within 3o minutes as Alvaro Negredo registered a rare brace. The first came courtesy of a pin-point cross from Adam Clayton, calmly swept home just inside the penalty area. The second was just calamitous: Jordi Amat clumsily tripped Adam Forshaw for the easiest of spot-kick decisions and the chance for Negredo to neatly side-foot to the left of the goal, with goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski diving in the opposite direction.
“Swansea have now conceded 17 goals in their six away from Wales, and there was no hint here of happier times ahead
In between, Gaston Ramirez fired a fierce free kick just over the bar. All the points were wrapped up like a nice present shortly after, with Marten de Roon tucking away Ben Gibson cross after a lovely ball from the impressive Ramirez dissected the defence.
By now Swansea had raised the white flag and it seemed entirely appropriate they were wearing all white. It was an afternoon of timid surrender. Indeed Victor Valdes, in the home goal, could have gone Christmas shopping. He was just a spectator, his only real intervention coming on three minutes when he spectacularly palmed away Gylfi Sigurdsson’s effort to safety. It looked then as though he could be for a busy afternoon but it proved to be a false dawn as they barely registered another effort anywhere near the target in the first period.
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Events in the second half were just as one dimensional. Only a looped header from Alfie Mawson that sailed over the target came anywhere near troubling the scoreboard while there was a late header from the virtually anonymous Fernando Llorente that forced Valdes into belated action.
This was the first time Middlesbrough have scored three games in a game this season. The drought was well and truly ended. For Swansea it looks like a bleak winter.