Middlesbrough suffered their first defeat of the season when they faced Derby County on Saturday.
Boro travelled to Pride Park for their Championship fixture this weekend, eyeing a third successive victory.
The Teessiders kicked off their campaign in style. Michael Carrick watched Middlesbrough beat Swansea City 1-0 last weekend, ending a 10-year run of zero wins on the opening weekend.
The Reds then travelled to Elland Road for a League Cup tie on Wednesday, where Middlesbrough saw off Leeds United by three goals to nil.
After such a promising start, the North East outfit were expected to dispatch Paul Warne’s Derby County side with little issue.
The Rams lost their first game back in the Championship, shipping four to a Blackburn Rovers side that finished in the bottom half of the division last term.
But when all was said and done, Middlesbrough lost 1-0 to Derby. Kayden Jackosn scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute.
Neil Maddison sends Middlesbrough players message after Derby defeat
Despite Derby taking an early lead thanks to an Isaiah Jones error, it was the away outfit who dominated Saturday’s matchup.
Carrick’s men had 70 percent of the possession and 20 goal attempts compared to the Rams’ three.
Delano Burgzorg, Finn Azaz and Emmanuel Latte Lath all had good chances to score but could not find the net.
Speaking live on BBC Radio Tees post-match, former Middlesbrough star Neil Maddison expressed his disappointment at the defeat but urged the Boro players to dust themselves off ahead of their next game.
He said: “You can have lots of possession but you’ve got to take your chances. While it’s disappointing this league is what it is and you’ve got to come to places, dominate, and try and get those results.
“I’m certain a lot of sides will come to the Riverside, and even at their grounds like Derby have done here, and defend deep and make it difficult and you have to try and break them down.
“While it’s disappointing I’ve seen enough from this side to say we will be alright this season. But this is just a message to us, just to say you have to work hard, you have to be clinical when the chances come.
“We’ve had loads of chances were you think that should be going in the back of the net. But these games happen and it’s a learning curve. What you do now is dust yourself off and look towards Portsmouth.”
Middlesbrough in danger of repeating 2023/24 struggle
After seeing off Swansea, Boro have already bettered their start from the 2023/24 season.
Carrick and co. picked up just two points from their opening seven league games last term, failing to win their first five.
Granted, three points against the Swans is already an improvement on that tally but their display against Derby suggests Middlesbrough will once again struggle in the early stages of this season.
Boro missed out on the playoffs but just four points in 2023/24 and if do not improve soon, they may face a similar issue in the current campaign.
The Reds are next in action on August 24th versus Portsmouth which, on paper, is another game they should be winning.