New kits, smiles and plenty of pints: Boro fans flock to Riverside Stadium for pre-season friendly

Boro fans have flocked to the Riverside Stadium for the team's final pre-season friendly.

With the new Championship season just one week away, Boro fans have come out in their thousands to watch Chris Wilder's team play at their home ground for the first time in months. Friday evening's game against Marseille follows a string of friendlies where Boro battled against the likes of Bishop Auckland, York City, and Braga.

Many fans were pictured sporting the brand new 22/23 home shirt, which was unveiled back in June by Fabrizio Ravanelli and went on sale in early July. Cheering kids, flowing pints and plenty of smiles were pictured outside the Middlesbrough ground ahead of the 7pm kick-off.

Middlesbrough v Marseille Live: Match updates from the Riverside Stadium

Roary the Lion was greeting the hoards of fans with open arms by the Ayresome Park gates as plenty of kids hopped aboard the teacups fairground ride just next to the fan zone. See if you can spot yourself in our bumper picture gallery below.

The match follows a busy week for Boro in terms of player switches, with Djed Spence finally completing his move to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday. This was shortly followed by the season-long loan signing of Zack Steffen, who joins from Manchester City.

The starting lineup to face Marseille featured two changes from the team that faced Morecambe on Tuesday, with Steffen making his debut at the ground. Other players featured on Middlesbrough's XI included Dijksteel, Lenihan, Bola, Jones, Howson, Crooks, Tavernier, Giles, Mcgree, and Watmore.

Wilder will hope for a good result as the team prepares to kickstart their Championship season with a home game against West Brom, taking place next Saturday.

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