Four key talking points from Middlesbrough's draw at West Ham - plus Aitor Karanka's reaction

Stuani scored with a header from a corner, but West Ham levelled when Payet dribbled past four Boro players before slotting home from inside the area.

What were the key talking points from the London Stadium?

JORDAN RHODES FINALLY GETS HIS CHANCE

It has taken the best part of two months, but Jordan Rhodes has finally started a game in the Premier League after Aitor Karanka named the Scotsman ahead of Alvaro Negredo in attack.

Did the change work? To a degree. Rhodes battled away gamely and won a number of headers, but never really looked like forcing his way into a clear goalscoring position.

He won the corner that led to Stuani’s goal with a shot that was saved by Adrian, but struggled to get too much change out of Winston Reid, who generally handled him well at the heart of the West Ham defence.

Even though Viktor Fischer was pushed further forward in the ‘number ten’ role, Rhodes still suffered from a lack of support. The same was true of Negredo when he came on for the final 23 minutes.

The brutal reality is that, in this Boro side at the moment, whoever plays up front is going to find their chances in front of goal limited.

DID THE RETURN OF VIKTOR FISCHER WORK?

Again, it’s hard to be too conclusive either way. Fischer tried to get forward whenever possible, and his return in the ‘number ten’ role helped increase the balance of the Middlesbrough team.

He linked play effectively at times, and looks more comfortable with the rough-and-tumble of life in English football than he did when he first moved in the summer.

However, he was never really able to thread a telling ball into Rhodes’ feet, and one of Boro’s main problems at the moment is a general lack of creativity in the attacking-midfield areas.

In fairness to Fischer, Gaston Ramirez had no more success when he came on, and for all that Aitor Karanka will be reasonably satisfied with a point, it was hard to avoid the sensation that the game was there for the taking if Boro had only been a little bit more ambitious.

MARTEN DE ROON IS LOOKING AT HOME IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Some eyebrows were raised when Boro shelled out £12m to sign Marten de Roon in the summer, but after a truncated start to life on Teesside following his injury on the opening day of the season, the Dutch midfielder is looking more and more accomplished with every game.

He was one of the best players on the pitch this afternoon, closing down West Ham’s midfielders effectively and using the ball effectively on the majority of occasions when he was in possession.

He dovetailed nicely with Adam Forshaw, who impressed once again and fully justified his inclusion ahead of Adam Clayton.

Cheikhou Kouyate can be a dangerous presence in the West Ham midfield, but de Roon and Forshaw shut him down effectively, and aside from the moment of brilliance that saw Payet level the scores, Boro’s back four was never exposed by players running at them.

THE LONDON STADIUM IS A STRANGE PLACE TO WATCH FOOTBALL

Upton Park was an intimidating place for opposition teams to visit – the London Stadium on the other hand doesn’t feel like a football ground and it is perhaps no surprise that West Ham are finding it so difficult to come to terms with life in their new home.

“Stratford’s a sh*t hole – we want to go home” sang some of the home fans as they rowed with stewards who were trying to make them sit down, and it will be a while before the London Stadium feels like a welcoming environment for Slaven Bilic and his players.

With the covered athletics track running around the pitch, the seats are an awfully long way away from the playing surface, preventing much of an atmosphere being generated. There is also a strange gap between the two tiers of the stands, and the whole stadium feels somewhat temporary.

The corridors are bare and unfinished, the press facilities have been shoehorned into a series of rooms that were clearly not designed for their current function and while the stadium itself is undoubtedly impressive, this doesn’t feel like the home of a club that prides itself on its working-class London roots.

MANAGER’S REACTION:

Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka said: “It is a good point, especially after three defeats. It is important that our attitude has been good.

“West Ham have not been in the best moment, but they have amazing players so I’m pleased to add one more point and play with that kind of intensity.

“It was difficult to stop (Payet’s goal). The quality of a player like him was always going to be the difference.”

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said: “It was a great goal. It was a brilliant individual goal, and I can’t see many players who can score this kind of goal. It reminded me of Messi’s goals, it was a brilliant moment of magic from Dimitri.

“That gave us a point, and brought us back into a situation where we could have won the game with half an hour to go. Unfortunately, we didn’t win.

“It’s mixed emotions. On the one hand, I can take a lot of positives. We got a point after four games in the Premier League that we lost. We showed character and spirit, and in those terms I couldn’t ask for more.

“But is it the result we were looking for? No. With the greatest respect to Middlesbrough, we were playing against a team in the bottom half of the table and we wanted to beat them.”

LINE-UPS:

West Ham (4-3-3): Adrian; Byram (Arbeloa 7), Collins, Reid, Ogbonna; Obiang, Noble (Lanzini 73), Kouyate; Tore (Zaza 46), Antonio, Payet.

Subs (not used): Randolph (gk), Feghouli, Fletcher, Fernandes.

Middlesbrough (4-2-3-1): Valdes; Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Friend; de Roon, Forshaw; Stuani, Fischer (Ramirez 59), Downing; Rhodes (Negredo 67).

Subs (not used): Guzan (gk), Ayala, Espinosa, Clayton, Traore.