After Middlesbrough’s defeat to Leeds United it’s obvious what the missing piece in Michael Carrick’s puzzle is

Add as preferred source on Google

Middlesbrough suffered a setback in their pursuit of the play-offs on Tuesday night with defeat at home to Leeds United, but Michael Carrick is incredibly close to having the squad he needs to compete at the top.

The game at the Riverside was technically decided within the first two minutes, with the impressive Dan James scoring what proved to be the winner on the night.

Leeds United had the ball in the back of the net a further two times thanks to Ao Tanaka and Patrick Bamford, but neither goal stood, with the linesmen ruling both out incorrectly for offside.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough huffed and puffed throughout, but were unable to make a breakthrough. The problem is, the Leeds defence didn’t exactly make it difficult for Boro, which highlights the big issue for Michael Carrick right now.

• READ MORE: Middlesbrough vs Leeds United player ratings as 10/10 ‘livewire’ wins it and ‘nightmare’ showing costs Michael Carrick

Middlesbrough were abysmal in front of goal vs Leeds United

The fact of the matter is, Middlesbrough were wasteful all night. They could and should have been capable of picking up at least a point, and it’s their own fault that they didn’t.

Overall, Boro had a massive 17 efforts on goal to Leeds’ five. The difference is, the home side only managed to get two of them on target, while Leeds got three on target and obviously converted when it mattered.

If we pay any mind to xG, Boro also won the day in that regard, with an expected return of 1.13 to Leeds’ 1.01 on the night. But, none of that matters if you don’t actually put the ball in the net, and it ended up costing Middlesbrough dearly.

The key culprit for Middlesbrough was Delano Burgzorg, who missed two big chances. He may have got one of Middlesbrough’s shots on target, but he fired that one straight at Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow, and fluffed his lines with another two of his efforts off target.

Perhaps just as worrying, though, is the fact that Kelechi Iheanacho had even less of an impact in the attacking third. The veteran striker managed just two efforts off target, and was pretty much anonymous, despite Leeds giving him plenty of space.

Just a week ago, fans were pleased with Iheanacho’s improvement, but now, they’ll surely be wishing Boro had made a more meaningful forward signing in January.

The fact that Leeds kept a clean sheet is not so much a signal of their own solid display, but more an indictment of Boro’s failings in front of goal.

• READ MORE: Middlesbrough player is beating Pedri and every other U23 player in Europe with extraordinary Carrick-esque statistic

Michael Carrick is so close to success, but he won’t be given the chance

The frustrating thing for Carrick is that, if he had been able to acquire a top striker in January, his side would be pretty much nailed on for the play-offs right now.

Middlesbrough failed miserably in January, and it’s not just in attack, either. They desperately needed a new defender (or three) as well, and it’s these shortcomings that could see Boro fall at the final hurdle this season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
4	SunderlandSunderland	41	21	13	7	57	37	20	76
5	Bristol CityBristol City	41	16	15	10	53	44	9	63
6	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	41	17	9	15	61	50	11	60
7	CoventryCoventry	40	17	8	15	57	53	4	59
8	West BromWest Brom	41	13	18	10	49	38	11	57

They may still be in the top six at the moment, but that will change if Coventry beat Portsmouth as expected tonight.

Failure to get promoted will probably cost Carrick his job, but the Middlesbrough manager will feel aggrieved if so, as he is essentially one or two quality signings away from success at the Riverside.