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The latest Championship gameweek kicked off on Friday evening with Middlesbrough travelling to Ewood Park for a clash with Blackburn Rovers.
Middlesbrough went into the game looking to climb back inside the top six for the first time in a while.
Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion dropped points last week, seeing Boro close the gap on their play-off rivals.
As a result, victory on April 4 would have put them firmly back in contention to secure a place in the play-offs and pile pressure on the aforementioned duo ahead of their games on Saturday.
Blackburn Rovers, on the other hand, were looking to finally pick up their first-ever victory of the Valerien Ismael era.
Here are five things we learned after the meeting between Boro and Rovers.
Kelechi Iheanacho is finding his feet at Middlesbrough
After the departure of Emmanuel Latte Lath, Boro opted to bring in Kelechi Iheanacho on loan from Sevilla.
The former Leicester City striker had a tough first half of the season in Spain and had a slow start to life at Middlesbrough as well.
However, following a goal last time out against Oxford United and assists for the first two goals on Friday, it looks as though he’s finally settled.
Starring in the number 10 position, the striker linked up play well and was a real threat in the first half. He did miss a couple of chances and should have played in Finn Azaz following a storming run from the midfielder in the second 45, but it was certainly a step in the right direction for the loanee.
Blackburn Rovers’ season is done, and fans have had enough
While Middlesbrough are coming into form at exactly the right time, Blackburn’s campaign is all but over.
They are down in mid-table and may move as low as 13th, depending on how results elsewhere go on April 5.
Regardless, any chance of a top-six spot is gone, with Blackburn fans’ frustration made clear during the match via a number of chants aimed at their owner and players.
- READ MORE: Future of Middlesbrough star Finn Azaz now revealed after Crystal Palace scout in-form midfielder
Jonny Howson is ageing like a fine wine
No centre-backs, no problem. Jonny Howson is the only survivor from Middlesbrough’s awful £50m summer spend of 2017 and boy has he more then earned his place.
The central midfielder has dropped into a defensive role in recent weeks after Boro’s centre-back department was decimated through injury.
Now 36, Howson’s experience and intelligence has proven invaluable to the North East outfit this season, especially when filling in alongside another out-of-position star, Neto Borges, at the back.
His ability to control the tempo of a game and make clever passes is second to none in this Middlesbrough team.
Howson is out of contract at the Riverside Stadium in June, but fans would no doubt love to see him stick around in some capacity.
Valerien Ismael was wrong John Eustace replacement
It was yet another lackluster showing from Blackburn as Ismael’s nightmare start continues.
It’s now five games without a win as manager for him and so far, he hasn’t come anywhere close to getting a tune of this Blackburn team.
Whether John Eustace was simply overaching or Ismael just isn’t the right manager is likely to cause some debate, but it’s clear something needs to change at Ewood Park.
Middlesbrough still not finished article
While it was a positive result for Boro on the night, the second half did showcase one of their biggest problems this season.
On their day, Middlesbrough are capable of dominating any team in the Championship but equally, they also have a habbit of dropping their tempo and losing control of matches.
We have seen this several times this season, including against Sheffield Wednesday, and there were signs it was going to happen against Blackburn.
It didn’t, but it is certainly something Carrick should take note of, especially with a huge meeting against Leeds United on the horizon.