MIDDLESBROUGH’S young guns are dreaming of a date with Barcelona or Real Madrid in the New Year after completing a fantastic victory over Italian side Torino in the UEFA Youth League.

Boro completed a two-legged victory in Turin after coming from behind to claim a 3-3 draw in the Stadio Olimpico, just two weeks after recording an impressive 3-0 victory at the Riverside Stadium in the first meeting.

There were a few nerves just after the hour when Leonardo Candellone’s opening goal for the home side was followed up by a second from Simone Edera when it looked like Middlesbrough’s handsome first leg lead could be eradicated.

But Middlesbrough responded impressively by grabbing a crucial away goal through Harry Chapman - the forward who scored one of the goals of the tournament a fortnight earlier – even though Torino captain Valerio Mantovani added to the excitement with a third less than 60 seconds later.

When Torino pressed in search of another that merely played in to Middlesbrough’s hands. The Championship club hit the decisive final goals of the night when Alex Pattison and Junior Mondal pulled the scoreline level again to secure a 6-3 aggregate advantage to the Teessiders.

Middlesbrough’s Under-19s, coached by Craig Liddle and Mark Tinkler, have sealed a place in the last-16 of the reputable UEFA competition and are now looking ahead to an exciting tie to be played February 9/10.

Middlesbrough will find out who they will face when the draw is made on December 14 in Switzerland, when they will join the other seven remaining domestic European champions along with the runners-up in the Champions League groups such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

The performances of Middlesbrough’s teenagers have been an added bonus in a season which has already started well at senior level.

Aitor Karanka, the Boro head coach, has readily admitted that Liddle’s players still have plenty work to do to work their way in to the first team but that is keeping a close on eye on things.

While impressed with the performances of Chapman and Co in Torino and before that, Karanka is trying to steer his senior group in to top gear to secure promotion this season.

Middlesbrough have climbed to within two points of the top two after winning three of their last four matches despite criticism from some fans centred on a lack of potency and creativity in front of goal.

That was evident against Queens Park Rangers on Friday night when Karanka accused supporters of having a “small memory” after watching Grant Leadbitter’s 93rd minute penalty deliver three points following a tight night’s football.

The need to be patient is the message being stressed by Karanka and his players as Middlesbrough press to stay in the mix for a top two spot – but the Spaniard has warned his team will not have it all of their own way between now and the end of the season.

The Middlesbrough boss said: “It seems like it was a month ago that we faced Hull and lost but after our defeat there it was good to know what happened and fix the mistakes.

“When you watch that game again it felt we played well, especially the first 15-20 minutes, and the second half we didn’t play as we usually play but it was difficult to concede a goal in the last minute.

“But we are all going to lose three or four games in a row in this division. We will lose because we cannot win every single game. I prefer to work in our way to be focused on my team and I am really confident this season because I have an amazing squad.”

Middlesbrough have revealed more than 27,500 tickets have already been sold for Tuesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final with Everton. The Toffees have sold their 4,830 allocation.

Tickets for the game are priced £25 for adults, £18 for over 65s and £10 for under-18s. Season card holders receive a £5 discount on all categories and have until 5pm on Monday, November 30 to take advantage of the reduction.