Besian Idrizaj and Craig Lindfield scored Liverpool's two goals and the Reds could have scored plenty more as they excelled going forward with Paul Anderson on the left wing and Nabil El Zhar on the left creating plenty of chances.
Unfortunately for Liverpool they made a few defensive mistakes that cost them dear. The game was 1-1 at the break but the Reds were slow out of the blocks at the start of the second half and Middlesbrough were able to score two goals in the opening six minutes.
Craig Lindfield pulled it back to 3-2 and then the Reds really piled on the pressure but couldn't find the equaliser their play deserved.