Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka has described the Everton XI that dumped his side out of the League Cup as "really good players in a really good team with a really good coach".

The Spaniard was full of praise for the opposition following his team's 2-0 defeat in the quarter-finals of the competition, acknowledging their superiority.

"It reminds me of playing against Arsenal last season," BBC Sport quotes Karanka as saying.

"They played with their best starting XI and Everton did the same, I take that as a compliment. They were better than us, really good players in a really good team with a really good coach.

"That said, one goal can change a game and I thought if we had scored on 85 or 90 minutes there could have been a big finish."

Gerard Deulofeu and Romelu Lukaku found the net in the first half as the Blues booked their spot in the semi-finals and stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions.