Boro battled away and put in a superb second half display to grab a point at St Andrew's.
Boro editor Philip Tallentire offers five observations from the game:
1) This team doesn't know when it's beat. Boro were awful in the first half and lacked cohesion in the second but nevertheless dug deep to somehow create an equaliser despite playing with 10 men for 45 minutes (plus six minutes of stoppage time).
2) Aitor Karanka's decision to switch to a 4-4-2 didn't work in the opening 45 minutes. Boro looked disjointed and resorted to hitting long balls that were easy for City to intercept. Whether it would have worked after the break we'll never know due to Dimi Konstantopoulos's sending off.
3) Dimi Konstantopoulos can't have too many complaints about being sent off though he was unlucky to be left exposed as result of Ben Gibson's stray pass. It's arguable, though, that he needed to try and reach the ball because in real time it looked as though Clayton Donaldson's touch was heavy as he rounded the keeper and would have struggled to reach if before the Boro keeper had recovered his position.
4) Ben Gibson making any sort of a mistake is a rare event this season. By his own admission he needed to cut out the rash challenges and lapses of concentration that occasionally happened last season. The remarkable reduction of bookings he has received during the current campaign compared to last season is evidence that his game has improved to the point where he's been one of this season's star players. In fact, he was Boro's best player until the penalty incident.
5) In the second half, 10 man Boro lined up in a 4-4-1 formation with Patrick Bamford leading the line. sure enough, it was Bamford who grabbed the equaliser and sent Boro top.
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