Middlesbrough have had the weekend to lick their wounds following defeat to Fulham on Friday night.

An early goal from Anthony Knockaert was enough to hand to points to the Cottagers, while the Teessiders will have been disappointed to be beaten with something of a whimper.

Of course it had been a busy week for Jonathan Woodgate's side who had endured a demanding mid-week trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup, but they'll still have been disappointed with how this one turned out.

But what did we learn about Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage? Let's take a look.

A sloppy display

Fulham are renowned for their passing play and Friday night was no different.

Middlesbrough will have expected to have less of the ball, but to have 38% of possession was poor for Jonathan Woodgate's side.

Add to that a pass accuracy of just 68% and you start to see why the Teessiders struggled to get a foothold in the game.

If Middlesbrough are to get results moving forward then they'll need to be less sloppy on the ball, otherwise they'll struggle to pick up results.

A lack of creativity

It ties into the lack of possession but Middlesbrough rarely looked like creating any real chances.

Rudy Gestede was an isolated figure in attack and despite trying to ruffle the feathers of the Fulham defence, he had precious little joy at Craven Cottage.

Marcus Tavernier and Patrick Roberts were tasked with creating chances but unfortunately for them it was a game that seemed to simply pass them by.

Middlesbrough missed the movement of Ashley Fletcher, and perhaps his absence cost more than just goalscoring form.

Can you name these 15 ex-Middlesbrough strikers? Have a go!

 

A grounding display for two young guns

Hayden Coulson and Djed Spence have been a revelation in recent weeks, but a trip to Craven Cottage will certainly have brought them back down to earth.

Both players endured a tough evening as Fulham's pace and power down the flanks caused plenty of problems for the duo who's lack of experience was clear to see.

One bad performance doesn't make them bad players, but they'll certainly be hoping to learn from a tough evening as they look to get back on track.