Middlesbrough showed signs of quality against Swansea City but a few players can still improve.
Boro kicked off their 2024/25 Championship season on the right foot, ending a 10-year run without a win on the opening day.
Middlesbrough beat Swansea City 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium on August 10th thanks to an Emmanuel Latte Lath penalty.
New summer signing Aidan Morris was handed his first start for the club after injury kept Jonny Howson out of the team.
Barring a few nervy moments in the first half, the USA international enjoyed a solid debut for his new team.
Elsewhere, Isaiah Jones impressed for Middlesbrough vs Swansea, winning the penalty that resulted in the Teessiders scoring the only goal of the game.
Jones proved a real threat down the right-hand side for the home outfit, working well with Luke Ayling.
However, Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick can still improve despite securing three points this past weekend.
Michael Carrick tells Middlesbrough star how to improve after Swansea
As already mentioned, Jones impressed over the weekend and was crucial in Boro picking up the win.
However, the 25-year-old’s more negative traits were on display during the 90 minutes.
Middlesbrough faced late pressure from Luke Williams’ side and were lucky not to concede an equaliser.
The Teessiders had a few opportunities to put the game to bed, including when Jones found himself through on goal late on.
Delano Burgzorg was free in the box and Jones should have squared it to his fellow winger but instead opted to take a shot himself and miss.
Now, as per Teesside Live, Carrick has urged Jones, who he dubbed ‘dangerous’ to take his game to the ‘next level’ by becoming more clinical.
He said: “Izzy has come back terrifically well. He’s made a big effort and jumped certainly a level. He’s at that age where he’s not young anymore, he’s experienced, established and is looking to get to the next level.
“That’s the decision-making around the box, where he looked dangerous all day. He gets himself in terrific positions and then, again, to go to that next level, as a team as well when we’re getting those opportunities, it’s now can we be clinical at times?
“That’s not just Izzy. But he was really good, with and without the ball. Him and Luke Ayling down that side with Aidan just inside was a really important triangle for us. He was hugely disciplined. There’s still more to come from Izzy for sure but it was a really good start.”
How Isaiah Jones can step up for Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough signed the Englishman in 2021 and he has been in and out of the first-team squad since then.
Jones can be a frustrating figure to watch at times and has divided opinion among the Boro fanbase.
Similar to ex-Middlesbrough star Adama Traore, Jones is quick, an excellent dribbler, and loves to run at defenders.
However, much like Traore, Jones often struggles when it comes to that final pass or shot.
This has seen Marcus Forss start ahead of him on the right in the past and he now faces fresh competition from Micah Hamilton out wide.
It is clear Jones is a quality player but if Middlesbrough want to make a proper promotion push this term, he must remove the inconsistency from his game.
Ex-Boro boss Tony Pulis made Traore swap wings each half so he could personally coach the Spaniard from the dugout and Carrick may have to deploy a similar tactic if he is to get the best out of Jones going forward.