Middlesbrough returned to Championship action on Saturday afternoon with a home meeting versus Preston North End.
Boro have kicked off the 2024/25 Championship season with a mixed run of form.
Wins and clean sheets against Swansea City and Cardiff City came either side of a shock 1-0 loss to Derby County and a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth.
But with Paul Heckingbottom’s side struggling in the early stages of the season, Middlesbrough were predicted to beat Preston North End on Saturday.
Michael Carrick made several changes to his starting line-up for the clash, including Emmanuel Latte Lath returning to the starting line-up.
Aidan Morris, who was in international action for the USA late on Wednesday, dropped to the bench in place of Dan Barlaser.
Further back, deadline day addition George Edmundson was handed his Boro debut, allowing Luke Ayling to revert back into his more natural right-back role ahead of Anfernee Dijskteel.
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Michael Carrick tactic is costing Middlesbrough goals
Boro took an early lead in the tie when Tommy Conway converted a Luke Ayling cross to make it 1-0 after 16 minutes.
Middlesbrough dominated the remainder of the first half but found themselves level at the break thanks to a 43rd-minute equaliser from Mads Frokjaer-Jensen.
Frokjaer-Jensen’s goal arrived against the run of play but was not too surprising as it came down Boro’s left-hand side.
The left-back position has been a problem area for Boro this term, with Lukas Engel criticised for his performances early in the campaign.
Neto Borges took up that role against Preston but the same issue reared its head thanks to Carrick’s instance on his left-back always pushing very high up the pitch.
This forced Matt Clarke to cover for Borges which, in turn, left a massive gap for Preston to exploit and score.
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Michael Carrick must fix this tactic after Middlesbrough vs Preston North End
Saturday’s game was not the first time Boro have conceded due to Clarke being caught out of position.
Middlesbrough struggled defensively vs Portsmouth last month, with Pompey’s opening goal of that game coming after the centre-back was forced to cover for Engel.
Boro had a similar issue in the 5-0 drubbing at Stoke in the Carabao Cup, with all four of their second-half goals coming down the Reds’ left.
Carrick has previously enjoyed great success with his tactic of turning Boro’s left-back into almost a second winger.
However, that was when Middlesbrough had Ryan Giles on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2022/23 season.
The Teessiders have since failed to replace the now Hull City man, with left-back now the weakest area of their eleven.
Luckily, it is a problem Carrick should be able to fix with relative ease as all he has to do is stop his left-back pushing so high up the pitch every time Middlesbrough get the ball.