HAVING spent the last seven years trying to break back into the Premier League, it seems Aitor Karanka is already well aware of the different divisions at the highest level after a trip to Goodison Park.

Everton, sitting two points off leaders Manchester City in second spot, comfortably claimed the victory against a Middlesbrough team which failed to record a shot on target during the trip to the blue half of Merseyside.

Karanka, whose side did show spirit and saw plenty of the ball on away soil, admits that trying to finish ahead of the Toffees this season is not even in his thinking after only leaving the Championship behind in May.

Targets could soon change, but Everton – who have never played outside of the Premier League and have loftier ambitions following a change of ownership and Ronald Koeman’s appointment – had too much quality on an evening when Middlesbrough struggled to pose a threat.

Middlesbrough, fortunately, took the lead, lost the lead, then fell two goals behind and had no answer to an Everton team during a 20-minute spell in the first half who always seemed in control from there on in.

“I don’t think our league is Everton,” said Karanka. “For sure we are going to beat teams at the top of the table because I don’t want to say we will lose to the teams at the top or give them three points as a present.

“We are going to compete for every single point but we have to be honest and we have to be fair and Everton is not our league.

“Our league was last week: Crystal Palace, West Brom, Sunderland and, though I didn’t think at the beginning, Stoke. We have to keep calm, remember where we were last season, the squad we have, and to see that Everton had to play their best to beat us.”

Middlesbrough started brightly and got a slice of good fortune by taking the lead in the 21st minute when Alvaro Negredo’s jump and barge went unpunished by referee Lee Mason and Maarten Stekelenburg dropped the ball over the line.

Three minutes later the luck was reversed when Ashley Williams got away with a high challenge as Victor Valdes tried to gather a Kevin Mirallas corner. The loose ball hit Negredo and fell to Gareth Barry, who produced a sweet finish on his 600th Premier League appearance.

Everton were in command from then on and didn’t take long to kill the game off. Seamus Coleman was allowed to cut inside from the right and work his way beyond George Friend and Daniel Ayala before rolling a shot low inside Valdes’ bottom left corner three minutes before the break.

There was still time before half-time for Lukaku to claim a touch on Yannick Bolasie’s in-swinger from the right that bounced beyond Valdes to give Everton the two-goal cushion Middlesbrough could do nothing to reduce.

Koeman admitted there was a difference between the two teams, but feels Middlesbrough showed enough to suggest that Championship football will not be back on the agenda at the Riverside in a year’s time.

The Dutchman said: “We need to give people that higher expectation. Are we in a different league to Boro? Maybe after half-time, maybe you saw the difference that they did not create and not have a shot on target, and we were creative and very strong.

“But you saw plenty from them too. They played really well and showed a different side to their game. They had good organisation and they played to a high level.

“They will stay in the Premier League, I have no doubt about that. What I saw was good from Boro, they showed they can compete at this level. Maybe we were more clinical, but they were really good.”

While Middlesbrough failed to pose Stekelenburg problems, they also need to work on ways of tightening up at the back now they are competing at a higher level.

After keeping 23 clean sheets in the Championship, the greater threat and attacking talent in the Premier League is clearly causing Middlesbrough more headaches – only West Brom have not scored against them so far this season.

There were plenty tackles and blocks during the outing at Goodison, but the movement of the blue shirts could have added to the scoreline. Karanka knows improvements are needed, while accepting it was always going to be harder.

He must also make his side more dangerous in attack, something they were not renowned for in the Championship.

Karanka said: “We are conceding goals because we are playing against players like Lukaku, like Benteke, like ... I have to stop because every single player is very good in the Premier League. I am not concerned at all because the spirit of the team, the attitude, I liked, so playing in this way we are going to win a few games.

“I have to say after losing a game you can’t be happy but I am really proud of the players, of their attitude. Another team would have lost five or six or 7-1.”