How did the players fare in Middlesbrough's 3-1 home defeat to Bristol City?
MIDDLESBROUGH (3-4-1-2):
4 Bettinelli: Will feel he should have done much better with Bristol City’s third goal after he hesitated when leaving his line
4 Dijksteel: Wasn’t able to deal with Diedhiou’s physical threat – struggled for the vast majority of the first half
5 Fry: Finally broke his goalscoring duck at the 133rd time of asking, but was hardly in the mood to celebrate
4 McNair: Uncharacteristically shaky as he struggled to deal with Diedhiou’s power or Wells’ movement in the final third
4 Fisher: Was repeatedly found wanting in the right wing-back berth and was hauled off at half-time as a result
5 Morsy: Tried to hold things together in midfield by found himself bypassed as Bristol City broke in the first half
4 Howson: Gave the ball away on the halfway line in the build-up to Bristol City’s second and as not his usual composed self
5 Bola: Got forward usefully on a couple of occasions, but wasn’t able to shore up the Boro defence before the break
5 Kebano: Started in a free role behind the front two and had a couple of promising moments, although they were fleeting
6 WATMORE: Was Boro’s best player for most of the night, even if he failed to find the target from a decent position in the second half
5 Fletcher: Wasn’t really a factor before his injury issues reappeared and he was forced off midway through the first half
Subs:
4 Akpom (for Fletcher, 23): Offered next to nothing in the final third – shanked a shot over after Saville set him up
4 Mendez-Laing (for Fisher, 46): Played at right wing-back but wasn’t able to make an impact in the second half
4 Assombalonga (for Watmore, 67): Wasn’t able to make a difference in the final third – but might have to start if Fletcher is unavailable
5 Saville (for Kebano, 67): Provided a bit of drive in the closing stages and set up a decent chance for Akpom
Johnson (for Bola, 77)
(not used): Archer (gk), Hall, Spence, Coulson.
BRISTOL CITY (5-3-2):
Bentley 6; Hunt 6, Vyner 7, Kalas 8, Mariappa 7, Towler 6 (Sessegnon 81); Nagy 8, Bakinson 7, Palmer 7; Wells 8 (Massengo 88), DIEDHIOU 9 (Semenyo 72).
Subs (not used): O’Leary (gk), Moore, Paterson, Pearson, Bell.
Man Of The Match: FAMARA DIEDHIOU – Middlesbrough’s defenders were unable to cope with the Bristol City striker’s physical threat.
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