Middlesbrough 1-0 Blues

Starting XI

Completely unchanged 18 for Blues.

Game

Not one that will live long in the memory.

The first flash point came when Kristian Bielik played an excellent through ball for Scott Hogan who was stopped by Paddy McNair. It was cynical but a yellow with Marc Bola nearby. The resulting free-kick went just wide from Juninho Bacuna. The next moment saw the goal, a corner from Ryan Giles was flicked on by Rodrigo Muniz, hit Auston Trusty, who wasn't facing the ball at all, and fell kindly for Chuba Akpom to finish.

Boro had a positive spell after the goal, Hayden Hackney firing wide under no pressure and Matt Crooks shooting at John Ruddy after a poor headed clearance at the back post. Blues had the best chance otherwise, pressure from Tahith Chong ending with Anfernee Dijksteel playing in Hogan who couldn't beat Zack Steffen.

Blues ended the first half well despite no real efforts at goal and started the second bright too. Chong had a shot that took Steffen two attempts to hold before Hannibal Mejbri's miscontrol in the box allowed Hackney to fire over. Jordan Graham's cross was miskicked by Hogan, who also fired over a short free-kick. Good work by Chong resulted in a Emmanuel Longelo free-kick that had to be topped over and Chong was involved again, Dael Fry blocking his shot after good work down the right.

That was as good as it got. Changes stemmed the flow of the game an a frustrated Blues side created little else. Muniz had a header on target from a set-piece and he also hit the bar before Marcus Forss put the ball in from an offside position.

Tactics

3-1-4-2 v 3-1-4-2 on the face of it.

The most notable thing about Boro was the way they played out from the back. Their formation effectively became 3-3-4 with Dijksteel and Giles pushed on and the two banks of three (can I say that?) working together. They focused mainly down the right with McNair stepping out, Crooks standing on the touchline to take the next pass and Dijksteel ahead. Very little went through the centre of the pitch for Boro. What happened as a result was Chong being asked to step onto McNair, Longelo having to step onto Crooks, Trusty v Dijksteel then Dion Sanderson v Muniz. All four players occupied and stretched.

When Blues did stop the first or second pass, we found there was too much distance between the units and it allowed Boro to play out with ease. Blues weren't aggressive enough defensively which was opening the space for Boro to start again. How it should have worked was Blues force the ball wide, Bacuna / Chong close that ball, the strikers then step up for the press and Bielik steps onto Howson. However, because the distances were big and the rest of the team not sharp enough, it was easy to use Jonny Howson as the out ball to then spread play back out wide to Crooks or McNair and overload that flank.

I do think part of the issue with distances was 1) Boro may have caught us off guard slightly having changed shape a touch amid change of management and 2) Boro found the pass for Muniz a couple of times early on so the defence could have dropped deeper as a result. Without a big voice (Marc Roberts / Harlee Dean) at the back, we may not have switched on to it. It was notable after 30 minutes or so that Hogan told his defence to step up the pitch and help them.

A half-time change saw a switch from Blues. Mejbri replaced Bacuna. It also saw a slight change in the shape with Mejbri sitting alongside Bielik and Chong playing as part of a front three. It allowed Bielik to get out to Crooks, Chong to push onto McNair and tighten the gaps between the units which allowed Blues to squeeze Boro early and stop them getting into the final third so easily.

Subs changed things a couple of times.

- Boro subs 2 & 3. Lenihan came on at LCB, Bola moved to LWB. Forss also tasked with closing down everything which helped stop Blues progressing from deep through Graham.

- Hall for Bielik. Return from 3-4-1-2 to 3-1-4-2.

- James & Bellingham for Colin & Chong. Blues went to a diamond for final couple of minutes with Hannibal sitting, James & Bellingham flanking him & Hall at top.

Players

Bielik was the standout for Blues. Not a perfect display but he just oozes class and composure. Chong struggled first half and needed to switch on, particularly defensively, but was a threat early second half and relished the freer role. Hannibal had a positive impact, decision making hit and miss but energetic, progressive and didn't hide.

Longelo showed glimpses in possession but looked leggy. It was another quiet night for Bacuna whose place looks under threat now.

For Boro, Muniz really stood out. There are few forwards that tend to occupy Blues' centre backs but he did that with an aggressive striker display. As touched on, Dijksteel, McNair and Crooks progressed well down the right. Dael Fry was solid defending his box.

Anything else?

There was an amusing moment early on when Boro's caretaker manager, Leo Percovich, tried to hold the ball and throw it away as Blues looked to take a quick throw. Troy Deeney barged into him which wound Percovich up. As he followed Deeney, the Blues captain realised he had no options for the throw, smiled, placed the ball down and have Percovich a cheeky tap before jogging into position.

Wrapping it up...

Quite a bit to unpick here.

Let's start with what killed us. The goal. Another set-piece goal. I make that five for the season now, from head count, admittedly. Tonight, not making first contact, Trusty looking at Crooks rather than the ball. It's soft. We have to be stronger in those situations.

There's definitely a debate to be had about Bacuna's role. He has been very quiet since the Baggies triumph and now has Hannibal chomping at the bit to replace him. It's a tough decision for Eustace. Bacuna remains his most naturally gifted player but he hasn't matured enough so that when things aren't going for him, he remains a positive influence on the team in and out of possession. That will come, hopefully. He had a long international break, hasn't performed to his level since. However, I'm sure he will fancy the space left by Bristol City's attacking approach & support from the stands. We just shouldn't be surprised if Eustace does decide to throw Hannibal in for a first start and maybe show Bacuna and others their spot isn't guaranteed.

There's a fair bit of discussion about tired legs and whether Eustace should have changed it up. It's difficult. You're away against a good side, a well drilled one, one whose manager has just been sacked and therefore players will be up for it. And your replacements are a target man or teenagers. While there is a discussion to be had about Bielik playing three times in a week or Bacuna's performance level, the replacements are still youngsters who are still learning the game so it's not as if we are replacing proven quality with proven quality.

On the tiredness debate, let's strip back a second and recall what this group is. Only four of this group have played regularly for more than a season, three of whom are in their 30's. Graham has only ever managed one full season, given a free role in League One. Trusty has come from America. Longelo made his league debut Saturday. Chong hasn't completed a full season. Bielik has long had injury problems that might be playing on his mind when it comes to 2/3 games in a week. Bacuna hasn't had a full season in midfield. There is undoubted quality but our midfield and defence are growing into their Championship legs and their development will be better for runs like this.

Also, like Coventry, this wasn't a terrible performance. The team remained structured and were beaten by a soft goal from a set-piece. We just lacked that bit of energy, quality and knowhow on the night to be inventive, cause problems going the other way & manage the game better. The next step is these younger or inexperienced players realising mentally that they can perform twice in a week and get on the right side of fine margins. That will come with legs and experience.