Uwe Rosler admitted his side "got taught some lessons" in Sunday’s defeat at Middlesbrough, but the head coach also drew positives from a second-half performance during which he felt United were "clearly on top".

Rosler’s men trailed 2-0 at half-time after David Nugent had opened the scoring after just three minutes, forcing the ball home from close-range, before Giuseppe Bellusci turned George Friend’s left-wing cross into his own net with a flying header.

United did threaten against the Championship promotion favourites, though, and the game could have panned out so much differently had Mirco Antenucci not been flagged for offside when he slotted past goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos on 55 minutes.

The linesman’s flag remained down but, after consulting with referee Neil Swarbrick, the goal was ruled out for offside and Middlesbrough eventually went on to grab a third through substitute Diego Fabbrini with just nine minutes remaining.

“In many ways, the game turned out the way I predicted,” Rosler said.

“Middlesbrough didn’t create much but they are very efficient and very deadly because of the quality they have in their squad – Premier League quality.

“We met a team who we couldn’t allow to have too many of the sort of situations we gave them.

“In general, the players did what I asked them to do. We got on the front foot, we tried to move the ball quick, we tried to attack them in the right way.

“In the first half we were right in the game. There was nothing in it apart from us scoring their second goal. Their first was the first ball into the box and we couldn’t defend it.

“We were clearly on top in the second half.”

One of the positives which Rosler was particularly keen to take from the Riverside Stadium was the display on Jordan Botaka on his Leeds debut, with the winger making a good impression on his head coach during his 64 minutes on the pitch.

“There were a lot of positives,” Rosler said. “I think Jordan Botaka had a decent debut. He forced one of the most attacking full-backs in our league to stay back.

“It was his first taste of English football and I think it was a good performance – something to build on.

“I saw that he is getting physically ready for the Championship, I saw that he is a player who can take us forward on the pitch.

“He looks for one-on-one situations and can open up gaps for us and commit defenders. That was encouraging and I’m looking forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead.

“Overall, I think we were part of a good football match. We’ve got to learn the lessons and today we got taught some lessons.”