Stoke City missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone in the Sky Bet Championship for the first time this season, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough on Friday evening.

After an uneventful first-half at the Riverside Stadium, the game came to life in the second period. Sam Clucas put Stoke ahead on the rebound in the 53rd minute for his sixth goal of the season.

However, the visitors weren't in front for long, as Ashley Fletcher equalised for the hosts with a header just four minutes later, for his fifth goal of the season.

Boro continued to grow in confidence and took the lead on 71 minutes through Lewis Wing's powerful 20-yard drive and that's how it stayed.

Stoke would have moved above Middlesbrough on goal difference with a win, but their eighth defeat in eleven away games this season means that Michael O'Neill's side will now spend Christmas inside the bottom three.

Here are 3 things we clearly learnt about Stoke after their 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough...

There is a lack of balance within the squad

Michael O'Neill might have what it takes to turn things around at Stoke, but there's no doubt that he will need to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window if his side are to stand any chance of avoiding relegation this season.

O'Neill will probably be looking to strengthen his squad in all areas, but there is definitely a lack of balance in the team, which has been highlighted by the injuries to Stephen Ward and James McLean.

Both players limped off in the second half at the Riverside Stadium on Friday night and are now both doubts for the clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day.

Tom Ince is now the only fit winger at the club and with Ward injured, there is no senior recognised left-back. This is something that O'Neill must address in January, which will probably mean a few players leaving the club too.

The midfield is too soft

I'm sure the Stoke fans will be very disappointed that it took Middlesbrough just 18 minutes to get back into the game, but perhaps what will be equally as frustrating was that both goals were preventable.

It would be wrong to criticise one player for this, because there were several Stoke players on the pitch who didn't put enough effort in. The midfield was far too soft and in the end it was easy for Middlesbrough, because they wanted it more.

Jordan Cousins got caught out of position, but none of his Stoke teammates made an effort to track back, which allowed Wing the time and space to fire in his shot from 20 yards - it was a brilliant strike, but none of the Stoke players made an effort to close him down.

There are no leaders in the team

Middlesbrough responded brilliantly to going behind and found themselves ahead within 18 minutes of Clucas' opener. However, once the home side had the lead, Stoke never looked like responding.

After was a clear lack of fight, effort and belief from the players, which is probably down to the fact that the whole team is so low on confidence at the moment. There are no leaders and this only highlights the need for O'Neill to strengthen in January.

Stoke may have come from behind to win against Wigan Athletic, but this is now the second time since O'Neill took charge of the club that they've lost a game 2-1 after scoring the first goal.

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Both on Friday night and against Hull City at the KCOM Stadium earlier this month, the players had more than enough time to get themselves back into the game, but they failed to respond and never looked like they believed they could.