They are still searching for their first away win of the season, still seeking a goal from open play. They certainly dominated this one, and created the better chances thoughout, but ultimately they were not punishing enough for a club of Liverpool's ambition. Despite the return to central midfield of Steven Gerrard, they are now 16 points behind Manchester United, and well advised not to pretend that the championship can still be won.
The irony was that, while Boro only had one chance, it was the best of the match. In the 53rd minute, having offered nothing of note in the previous 52, they inexplicably produced a sublime attack that deserved a better finish than Yakubu could provide. The Nigerian started the move, spraying it wide to James Morrison, whose chip was headed goalwards by Jason Euell. When Jose Reina plucked it off the line, Yakubu had merely to make contact with the rebound, but somehow connected only with fresh air.
Boro, though, were to be commended more for their resistance, which grew increasingly fraught in the closing stages. By then, with Peter Crouch introduced in a last-ditch change of tactics. The substitute almost granted them a winner when he rose at the back post to return a header across goal, but Jonathan Woodgate cleared it off the line.
It was a fitting finale for the Middlesbrough defender, who was later described as immense by his manager. “He has shown against top-quality players that he can play at any level,” said manager Gareth Southgate. “He has set himself a standard and now he has to maintain it. No one is in any doubt that he is good enough to play for England. It is just a question of keeping fit and getting enough games.”
He had his work cut out. After last week's capitulation to Arsenal, Bolo Zenden was dropped to the Liverpool bench, Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez were introduced to the flanks, and Gerrard was given licence to dictate matters through the middle. With the contrasting Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy in attack, there was a balance about the visitors' line-up, a width traditional in style.
Both wingers did enough to suggest that they may yet justify their manager's faith. Gonzalez twice threatened in the opening period, and Pennant nearly caught out the goalkeeper with a quick spin and shot from an unlikely angle.
Gerrard was the predictable source of Liverpool's best work. When his long ball over the top picked out Bellamy in the box, the striker chested it down to Kuyt, who could only drag the ball wide from 12 yards.
Middlesbrough's tactic was to flood the midfield. Julio Arca, replacing the injured Stewart Downing, made his first home start for the club, while Euell offered assistance from his position in the hole, but apart from a couple of low crosses, they struggled to complement their enthusiasm with guile.
In the end, their triumph was one of organisation. “I'm not going to say we played well,” said Southgate. “But you have to admire the resilience and character we showed.”
The Middlesbrough manager, without the qualifications for a Premiership job, will find out on Wednesday whether he will get special dispensation until the end of the season. This will have done his cause no harm.