What Luke Ayling did to Southampton FC's Finn Azaz after Middlesbrough rout | OneFootball

Luke Ayling and Finn Azaz were seen at full-time together after Middlesbrough 4-0 Southampton.

Middlesbrough thrashed Southampton 4-0 on Sunday afternoon, with Finn Azaz returning to the Riverside to face Luke Ayling and co. for the first time since his summer exit to their Championship rivals.

The £12 million switch from Middlesbrough to Southampton has not quite gone to plan for the Irishman, in spite of a recent resurgence which saw him notch 10 goal involvements in nine games. Since that run, he has failed to contribute in the last six, however.

Following a 1-1 draw at St. Mary's in September, Boro saw the likes of Morgan Whittaker, Sammy Silvera, and Alan Browne seal the victory on Sunday. It ended a run of four games without a win for Kim Hellberg's side.

But they are 13 points clear of their visitors after 26 games. Middlesbrough are currently second, while the Saints are languishing in 15th despite their big-money summer signings as a recently-relegated side.

Luke Ayling laughs at former teammate Finn Azaz in Middlesbrough 4-0 Southampton

Lee Hendrie believed Boro would miss Azaz this season but that has not been the case thus far. The 25-year-old attacking midfielder's output has been replaced by numerous players on Teesside instead.

Azaz has increased his wages by joining Southampton, meaning he is unlikely to regret the transfer switch to the south coast. However, there was no love lost between Azaz, the fans, and other former teammates of his as well.

While Alex Gilbert embraced his compatriot and former teammate, Azaz was spotted looking towards the home end. Luke Ayling laughed at the reaction of Azaz, who stared down the Boro fans as he exited the field at full-time.

Azaz appears visibly disgruntled after his current side endured a hammering against his former employers. It leaves Tonda Eckert with three draws and three defeats in his last six league games, having won six of his first seven games initially with the Saints.

Southampton's Tonda Eckert mistake put into perspective by Kim Hellberg

Both clubs have had a managerial change this season, but while Boro seem to be improving in terms of their attacking patterns of play, Southampton appear to be a team in decline and performance levels are dipping.

In fact, EFL expert George Elek of NTT20 believes that Eckert has made them look like a worse side than they were under Will Still, in spite of those early wins as caretaker.

They have quality in attack with Azaz, Adam Armstrong, Leo Scienza and co. still, but they need to arrest this slide if they are to have any chance at getting in the play-offs and back in the promotion mix with Middlesbrough.