Middlesbrough returned to Championship action on Saturday with a home tie against Bristol City.
Michael Carrick will have been desperate to see his Boro side get back to winning ways against the Robins after losing to Watford last time out.
Middlesbrough have a difficult run of Championship fixtures coming up, including facing one of the promotion favourites, Sheffield United, on Wednesday.
As a result, it was crucial the Teesiders secured three points against a Bristol side who had won just two of their last seven league fixtures prior to the weekend.
Middlesbrough were backed to beat Bristol City despite the North East outfit having previously won just one of their last seven meetings against them.
Bristol did the double over Boro last term and have proven themselves to be something of a bogey team for Carrick’s men.
When all was said and done at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, it was more of the same for the Teessiders.
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As has been the case in so many games this season, Middlesbrough dominated the tie and created a plethora of chances in the first 45.
However, Boro, of course, failed to take them and were punished once again when a Hayden Hackney backpass allowed Anis Mehmeti to open the scoring after 27 minutes.
Bristol doubled their lead in first-half injury-time with George Edmundson this time giving the ball away to allow Yu Hirakawa to make it 2-0.
Middlesbrough have now kept just four clean sheets in their opening 10 league games of 2024/25, with it becoming more and more clear that Carrick’s side are pretty hapless defensively unless Riley McGree is in the starting eleven, which he was not against Bristol.
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With McGree in the starting eleven, Boro have kept three clean sheets in three Championship matches this season, including against a high-flying West Bromwich Albion.
Withtout the Austrialian starting though, Middlesbrough have managed just one shutout in seven games.
The North East outfit have plenty of other left-wingers on their books with Micah Hamilton starting against Bristol City and both Finn Azaz and Delano Burgzorg playing there at times.
However, it is obvious McGree is the only left-winger who is willing to do the defensive work and help Boro keep some much-needed clean sheets.
Neto Borges and Lukas Engel have struggled at left-back this term but while a new left-sided defender may have been the priority previously, the Bristol game should show Carrick that he now needs to sign a defensive-minded left-winger in the 2025 January transfer window.