Middlesbrough: Four key talking points from Middlesbrough's defeat - plus reaction from Aitor Karanka

Boro have now gone nine Premier League matches without a victory, and while they might be in the last eight of the FA Cup, their relegation worries continue to intensify.

What were the main talking points from Selhurst Park?

BORO PAY FOR THEIR TIMIDITY

One of the main accusations levelled at Boro this season has been that they are too cautious and risk averse. That was certainly the case again this afternoon as their lack of attacking impetus ultimately proved decisive.

Given Palace were always going to be nervous after conceding four goals to Sunderland in their last home game, why were Boro so passive in the early stages of the first half?

Instead of taking the game to their opponents, they sat back and allowed Palace to gain the initiative, culminating in van Aanholt’s 34th-minute winner.

They improved slightly in the second half, and finally began to commit more players into the penalty area, but by then they were chasing the game and Palace’s defenders were still able to repel their attacks with a minimum of fuss. If Boro are relegated playing like this, they will leave the league with a whimper.

WING-BACKS PLAYING LIKE FULL-BACKS

If you’re going to play five at the back, then your wing-backs have to carry an attacking threat and get forward on the overlap. Unfortunately, for Boro, that wasn’t the case this afternoon.

While van Aanholt was effectively an extra winger for Palace, such was the amount of time he spent in the Boro half, the Teessiders’ defenders were much more cautious.

Stewart Downing rarely strayed beyond Gaston Ramirez on the left-hand side, while Fabio Da Silva only began to power forward in the latter stages on the opposite flank.

If Boro are to play with a five-man defence going forward, they will have to ensure their widest players are a feature in the opposition’s half. Otherwise, their dreadful scoring record will only get worse.

BAFFLING ABOUT BAMFORD

Middlesbrough shelled out £6m to sign Patrick Bamford from Chelsea during the January transfer window, in the hope that their former loanee would provide an alternative attacking option for the second half of the season.

He’ll do well to do that if he is not in the squad, yet for the second league game in succession, Bamford was nowhere to be seen as Boro struggled to pose an attacking threat.

Presumably, Karanka has been less than impressed with Bamford on the training ground, and in one of his less guarded moments, the Boro head coach recently conceded that the striker is some way short of the levels he was displaying when he was scoring for fun in the Championship.

What does that mean for the rest of the season? Rudy Gestede has his uses, but his introduction at half-time for Alvaro Negredo effectively meant it was more of the same in terms of Boro’s attacking approach. The visitors desperately need a different sort of attacking option for a game such as this, when their initial plan has been found wanting.

THE LEAGUE TABLE STARTS TO LOOK ALARMING

Having come through a run of extremely difficult fixtures, this was supposed to kick off a more inviting run of games. Instead, it plunged Boro even deeper into trouble.

Having started the day two points clear of the bottom three, the Teessiders are now just one point away from the drop zone. They have still not been in a relegation position all season, but they are getting much closer.

Relegation six-pointers can make your season if you win them, but they can break it if you don’t. Boro claimed some crucial wins over their relegation rivals in the first half of the season, but they are going to need some more if they are to clamber to safety.

They head to Stoke next weekend, and while their home game against Sunderland has been moved because of the FA Cup, they will face Swansea and Hull in their next four league games. A repeat of today’s result in those games, and they really will be in trouble.

MANAGER’S COMMENTS:

Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka said: "I had said that I hadn't been talking about how important this game was because I thought that everybody knew but in the first half we looked like we didn't realise how important this game was.

"I don't want to say the attitude (was wrong), but the way that we approached the game has been completely different in the first half than in the second half.

"I knew that this game was really important but we haven't approached the game in the way that we had to approach it.

"I don't want to say they didn't have commitment because the only way to be successful and to survive at the end of the season is to go together. But if you were in the stand you could see the second half was completely different than the first one.

"It's difficult to know (if the players know the seriousness of the situation), and it's difficult to understand when you don't have a lot of players who have played in the Premier League .

"We know, but the only way to keep going is to stay together and we don't have experience in this situation. But I'm sure we will survive."

Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce said: “It's an important win, an important goal and an important clean sheet.

“We all know when Boro decide to launch it forward in the last ten minutes we have to show resilience. We showed that and didn't give them a chance to equalise - which would've been a blow.

“So it was an excellent performance, a resilient performance and we showed quality in the first half. Our full-backs in wide areas created a lot and allowed our wide men to put pressure on Boro, who surprised us by playing three at the back - something they don't usually do.

“But we took advantage down the sides and that got us the victory. I think in the first half (that tactic played into Palace's hands).”

LINE-UPS:

Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1):  Hennessey; Ward, Tomkins, Sakho, van Aanholt (Schlupp 86); Milivojevic, Cabaye (McArthur 62); Zaha (Dann 86), Puncheon, Townsend; Benteke.

Subs (not used): Speroni (gk), Delaney, Kaikai, Campbell.

Middlesbrough (5-4-1): Valdes; Fabio, Bernardo, Ayala, Gibson, Downing; Stuani (Traore 77), de Roon, Forshaw (Guedioura 59), Ramirez; Negredo (Gestede 46).

Subs (not used): Guzan (gk), Fry, Leadbitter, Clayton.