The key talking points from Middlesbrough's draw at Man City - plus reaction from Aitor Karanka and Pep Guardiola

Sergio Aguero’s first-half strike looked to have fired City to all three points, but de Roon headed home George Friend’s cross to stretch Boro’s unbeaten run to three games.

What were the key talking points from Boro’s draw?

THE SPIRIT OF TEESSIDE SHINES THROUGH

Middlesbrough’s spirit was a key factor in last season’s successful promotion campaign, and the Teessiders’ never-say-die attitude has clearly survived the climb into the Premier League.

Boro had to dig in for long periods of today’s game, but as was the case at the Emirates last month, they ran themselves ragged and threw their bodies into the way to prevent City adding to Aguero’s opener.

Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, de Roon’s desire was obvious as he forced his way into the box and powered onto Friend’s cross to head home an equaliser.

Each and every Boro player celebrated in front of the sold-out away end at the final whistle, and the strength of the bond within the dressing room is obvious. It could be crucial as the Teessiders look to build on the good recent run that has lifted them to 14th position.

KARANKA’S TACTICS WORK A TREAT

For the vast majority of his time on Teesside, Karanka has been firmly wedded to a 4-2-3-1 formation. That remains his preferred set-up, but in each of the last two away games, the Boro boss has switched to a 4-5-1 system and been rewarded.

Fielding three central midfielders worked at Arsenal a fortnight ago, and it once again proved key as Boro upset one of the Premier League big boys for the second away game in a row.

Adam Clayton tended to be the deepest-lying of Boro’s midfielders, with de Roon and Adam Forshaw playing alongside him in the central area.

All three were fairly deep in the first half, but crucially de Roon and Forshaw both pushed further forward in the second period, with the equaliser a direct result of Boro’s second-half willingness to commit midfielders to the opposition’s box.

ENGLAND CALLING?

Gareth Southgate names his England squad for this month’s matches against Scotland and Spain tomorrow, and while the ex-Boro boss was not at the Etihad, two of his former club’s players did their chances of being involved no harm at all.

Ben Gibson was outstanding once again, marshalling the Boro backline and restricting Aguero to a handful of chances, which is no mean feat.

Having been a regular at England Under-21 level under Southgate, Gibson has a good chance of being included in tomorrow’s squad.

Adam Forshaw would be rather more of a wildcard, but the midfielder, who has been the revelation of the season so far from a Boro perspective, impressed once again as he forced Boro forward in the second half and almost equalised himself with a decent effort that was saved by Claudio Bravo.

DELIGHTED DE ROON

It has been a difficult introduction to English football for Marten de Roon, the €12m summer signing from Italian side Atalanta.

He suffered a hamstring injury within the opening 20 minutes of his Middlesbrough debut against Stoke on the opening day of the season, and was forced to miss last weekend’s win over Bournemouth after sustaining another problem to his thigh.

Today’s display was his best performance of the season by a distance, with his energy and work rate standing out even before he headed home Boro’s dramatic leveller.

Karanka is spoiled for choice when it comes to central-midfield options, with Grant Leadbitter also available after recovering from injury. However, on this evidence, de Roon has to be an automatic pick.

MANAGER’S COMMENTS:

Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka said: “It was much more difficult (than the Arsenal game) because against Arsenal we didn’t concede a goal and we created a few chances.

“Today we went to the pitch and showed them too much respect. In the first half, we just tried to defend and when you are against big teams and you just think you are going to defend, you concede a goal. At half-time, I told them we had to play.

“In both games, we showed we could compete against two of the best teams in the league, or even the world because Arsenal and Man City have amazing squads.

“For us to compete with them at their stadiums is good for us, to keep going and to believe in ourselves. We know how difficult the Premier League is, and we have said we are going to need time.

“We don’t have experienced players in the Premier League, so to keep adding points in games like today is important.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said: “We didn’t play the second half like the first one, but I think they had one chance at the beginning of the second half and then in the last minute.

“It was the same against Everton and Southampton as well – when you see all three games, we have dropped six points and they have arrived in our box maybe four or five times.

“We created enough chances, we attacked really well and controlled the counter-attacks and we created enough chances, more than enough to win the game. But when you arrived in the last minutes, just 1-0, everything can happen.

“Talk about the performance after a demanding game last Tuesday, how we started and moved the game left and right, and maybe in the last minutes the team can be tired.

“But if we score the second goal, the chance for Sergio, the game would be over. In the last minutes, anything can happen.”

LINE-UPS:

Man City (4-2-3-1): Bravo; Zabaleta, Stones, Kolarov, Clichy; Fernandinho, Gundogan (Nolito 74); Navas (Garcia 86), de Bruyne, Silva; Aguero (Iheanacho 90).

Subs (not used): Caballero (gk), Kompany, Maffeo, Sane.

Middlesbrough (4-5-1): Valdes; Barragan, Chambers, Gibson, Friend; Traore (Stuani 90), Clayton, de Roon, Forshaw, Downing (Fischer 78); Negredo.

Subs (not used): Guzan (gk), Espinosa, Fabio, Leadbitter, Nugent.