Bristol City moved back into the play-off places to pile more misery on Middlesbrough at the Riverside last night.

The defeat was Boro’s fifth in a row, and the Robins' second in four days over promotion-chasing sides.

An impressive 3-2 win over Sheffield United last Saturday was followed up with a narrow victory by the odd goal on Tuesday evening.

Lee Johnson’s men took the lead after 31 minutes through Adam Webster and held on to secure three precious points.

The victory moves them up to fifth in the league with eight games remaining – two points above seventh-placed Derby County.

With that said, here are THREE  things we clearly learnt about Bristol City after their win over Middlesbrough last night.

Genuine promotion contenders

A second successive win over promotion rivals highlights the Robins’ play-off credentials.

After a slump in form, it is a sign of improvement and desire to reach the play-offs for the first time since losing a Championship final against Hull back in 2008.

To make the top-six, you need to beat the teams around you, and that is exactly what Johnson’s men have done.

It puts them in a commanding position with a handful of games left to play.

Back on form

After a run of five games without a win, it is a return to form for Bristol City making it back-to-back wins over two heavy-hitters in the Championship this season.

Their run without victory saw them drop out of the play-off places after a run of wins previously.

But the wins over the Blades and now Boro confirm their return to form ahead of the weekend visit of Wigan to Ashton Gate.

Lee Johnson has learnt from last season’s drop off

Last season, the Robins were pushing for a play-off place and eventually faded away around this stage of the season.

A year ago, Bristol were seventh one place off the top-six before finishing down in 11th, picking up five points from their final seven matches.

This time around, however, it seems as if Johnson has learned from that negative experience and the team have too, being better placed with a better point total that at this stage last term.