Middlesbrough verdict after the 1-1 draw with Leicester City
David Strelec of Middlesbrough misses a chance(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
Middlesbrough’s grip on the automatic promotion race suffered an almighty blow as their woefully-timed blip continued with a 1-1 draw at home to Leicester City.
Having fallen behind to an early Caleb Okoli header, Boro suffered many of the same problems as Saturday’s draw with Oxford United, with an added level of lethargy.
They managed to at least take a draw from the game, thanks to Riley McGree’s equaliser in first-half stoppage time. But frustrations on the terraces were clear as Boro went winless in a third straight game. Leicester fans, meanwhile, taunted ‘Premier League, you’re having a laugh’, as Boro risk letting a huge opportunity slip through their hands without major improvements.
Kim Hellberg made three changes from the side that could only draw with Oxford United on Saturday, reverting back to the 11 who had started the previous three. That meant returns for Luke Ayling, Alan Browne and Riley McGree.
The changes didn’t make the feel much different from the frustrating draw at the weekend, however, with Leicester, as expected, happy to sit off Boro and let them have possession.
In turn, Boro struggled to make all of their possession count for many meaningful chances.
And their task was made all the harder when they conceded a free-kick on their left flank in the 18th minute. Swung in dangerously, it was centre-back Caleb Okoli beating Ayling to the ball and heading the visitors in front.
With Saturday in mind, that was possibly the worst-case scenario for Boro. It gave Leicester something to protect. And just like Oxford at the weekend, they looked to do exactly that.
Boro weren’t really forcing the issue though. Much of their first-half performance lacked urgency, and frustration began to grow around the Riverside. Much like Saturday, they wanted one too many passes or touches, regularly passing up opportunities to either find a runner or take a shot.
That’s when McGree stepped up with a vital goal. Having read the attempted ball out of defence, Boro enjoyed a rare transition, which they finally made maximum use of. Hayden Hackney slid Tommy Conway to the byline, he cut it back, McGree fired it home.
There was more frustration for home fans at the start of the second half. Boro were out early, but Leicester seemed to take an age to re-emerge. When they finally did get back under way, Boro were maybe caught cold.
Ayling, who was enduring a tough evening, didn’t get his attempted header back to Sol Brynn right. Spinning it up in the air, Patson Daka was onto it in a flash. His looped header over the Boro keeper less than two minutes after the restart thankfully went wide.
But it set the tone for a sloppy opening ten minutes to the half for Boro. The timing of their goal just before the interval felt important as it meant not going in at the break behind. But it also killed any chance of having momentum from it.
With Boro not quite finding a rhythm, Hellberg rolled the dice in the 65th minute. Jeremy Sarmiento and David Strelec – both axed from the team after the weekend – were on to try and add some spark.
The pair were involved in Boro’s best attempt of the second half to that point. Sarmiento’s mazy run started the attack. He laid off for Hackney, who played Callum Brittain to the byline. His low cross found Strelec at the near post, but he just couldn’t shape his body to turn the ball goalwards, as it went wide.
Boro continued to push for a late winner, with the two substitutes helping to fire a bit of life into Boro’s attack. With six minutes remaining, Asmir Begovic rolled back the years to deny McGree a second before getting up and blocking Aidan Morris’ follow up.
Try as they may though, Boro just could not find a winner. On an evening where they just weren’t quite up to their usual standards, they dropped another two points. Their lethargy, or perhaps nervous energy, on the evening was summed up in the amount of silly errors and miscommunications throughout the evening.
At such a critical stage of the season, they’re now winless in three. Ipswich’s win at Watford at the same time means the two sides are now separated by just six points, with the Tractor Boys having two games in hand and with a superior goal difference. Boro need to get out of this slump, and fast.
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