Swansea City and Middlesbrough shared the points on Sunday in a 0-0 draw. Between Middlesbrough’s anaemic attack, a league low 20 goals, and the league’s most leaky defence, Swansea giving away a league high 63 goals, something had to give.

It was Boro’s sixth 0-0 draw of the campaign and sees them remain five points adrift from Swansea and safety. Both teams will see the match as a missed opportunity as rivals Hull City and Crystal Palace picked up key victories. In what was billed as a proverbial 6-pointer, here is what we learned from the match.

Ben Gibson and Alfie Mawson are England’s future

Roll the clock back 12 months and England looked pretty bleak at centre back going into the European Championships. Beyond John Stones, there were real fears about the future of the position for the national side. However, this season has seen the emergence of a number of promising centre backs and two were on show in this match-up.

Middlesbrough Captain Ben Gibson put in an excellent shift at the Liberty and capped off a whirlwind of a week, where he received his first England call up, with a solid performance. Organised and composed, it is easy to see why he has been repeatedly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. If his hometown side do go down, they will have a hard time keeping the 24 year old.

The same can be said for Swansea revelation Alfie Mawson, who is looking more than comfortable at this level. The England U-21 international made a superb block to deny Alvaro Negredo in the first half and is improving weekly. With both under 25, it was encouraging to see such mature displays from the pair. The future is bright for the duo and for England.

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Mawson and Gibson embrace at the final whistle

On your head!

Swansea talisman Fernando Llorente missed the lunchtime clash with an ankle injury and the Swans missed their target man. Manager Paul Clement went with Jordan Ayew up top and the Ghanaian couldn't quite fill the void left by the Spaniard. Ayew had his chances, as he tested Victor Valdes from outside of the area in the first half - but ultimately couldn't pull the trigger when he ventured into the box in the second. Leroy Fer also blasted over in a spot Llorente would have expected to be in, during the second half. The main issue was that there wasn’t an aerial threat that could get on the end of one of the 47 crosses the Swans launched into the box. Encouragingly, Swansea did still create chances through Tom Carroll and Gylfi Sigurdsson and will need Llorente back to bury them, if they are to stay up.

Impotent ‘Boro

Conversely, Boro do not create enough chances and when they do, they don't have the quality to convert them. This was Middlesbrough’s sixth game with one of fewer shots on goal but still had a chance for a smash and grab win in the dying moments. Forward Rudy Gestede missed a guilt edged chance following a beautifully weight cross from Negredo, which cost Steve Agnew’s men. If they are to stay up, they need to put the all in the back of the net or else their defence efforts are futile. ‘Boro have scored just five goals in their last 11 games – coincidentally since they beat Swansea 3-0 at The Riverside.

Once a Bluebird, always a Bluebird

Former Cardiff City full-back Fabio was heckled by Swans fans for playing for their South Wales rivals. When the full-back was forced off with injury in the second half, there were more chants directed at the 26 year old as he walked to the dressing room to be treated. The Brazilian, who moved to The Riverside from The Bluebirds last August, responded to this with an 'Ayatollah', the classic Cardiff City celebration. Fabio, already highly thought of at the Cardiff City Stadium, will be much revered and ingrained in Cardiff folklore for his response.

Fabio does the Ayatollah

The Run-in gets even tougher for both sides

Both teams needed a win with relegation rivals Hull and Crystal Palace picking up huge wins. Neither side has an easy run-in and will rue the missed chances of Gestede and Fer. Swansea’s tough April continues by welcoming Tottenham on Wednesday and includes travelling to Wembley to face West Ham and to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Middlesbrough’s tough run-in sees them finish the season against Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool respectively.

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