Everton loanee impresses as Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United show no let up: Six things we learned following Middlebrough's win over QPR

Jonny Howson opened the scoring after just two minutes for the hosts before Ashley Fletcher added a second 14 minutes before half-time.

We take a closer look at some of the main talking points following game at the Riverside.

Winning formula at Blackburn works at home

Before the visit of Rangers, Boro had failed to win nine of their 15 league games on home turf this season.

Tony Pulis' side have often lack creativity and a cutting edge at the Riverside this term, against teams who are content to sit back and plug the gaps.

Yet Boro have looked far more balanced in a 3-5-2 formation against Blackburn and Rangers, with the energetic Jonny Howson and George Saville operating as wing-backs.

Of course the early goal helped, and Boro managed the game comfortably following the opener.

However, that hasn't always been the case.

Dael Fry steps up to the mark

"We've run out of defenders" said Pulis prior to last weekend's victory at Blackburn, where injuries and suspensions forced the Teessiders to shuffle their pack.

Yet Boro have now kept back-to-back clean sheets, backing up the 1-0 win at Ewood Park with another shutout against Rangers.

Following an injury to George Friend, Daniel Ayala returned to captain the side, taking his place alongside Ryan Shotton and Fry in a back three.

Boro's back line looked solid throughout, with Fry, 21, particularly impressing with his dominance in the air and ability to dribble out from the back.

Mo Besic is getting back to his best

The Bosnian international was a revelation for Boro last season after signing on loan from Everton in January.

Besic's energy and impressive dribbling ability persuaded the Teessiders to re-sign the midfielder last summer, once again on loan, yet his performances have dipped since then.

Against Rangers, Besic looked back to his best though, assisting both goals while linking up well with John Obi Mikel and Lewis Wing in the middle of the park.

The Bosnian was substituted just before the hour mark and left the pitch to a standing ovation.

Boro will face far tougher tests in the promotion run-in

Before the game, Rangers had lost six league games on the bounce and, in all honesty, they never looked like ending that run on Teesside.

Against Leeds a fortnight ago, Boro gave everything to hang onto their one-goal lead and it still wasn't enough.

It's a cliche that anyone can beat anyone in the Championship and there's a lot of truth in that - you only have to look at the reverse fixture between these two sides back in December, which Rangers won 2-1.

However, Boro were rarely threatened at the Riverside and will surely face much tougher tests in their final 13 fixtures.

Ashley Fletcher flourishes in new role

Things have never quite clicked for Fletcher since his 6.5million move from West Ham in 2017.

Yet the striker's recall to the starting XI at Blackburn could just be the catalyst to revive his career on Teesside.

Following an impressive performance at Ewood Park, Fletcher, 23, was once again deployed in a deeper role, just behind Britt Assombalonga.

As well as doubling his side's lead, Fletcher showed his technical ability by linking up play in front of Boro's midfield.

Pulis will hope it's a sign of things to come.

No letup in the promotion race

It's not impossible for Boro to sneak into one of the automatic promotion places, yet the form of their promotion rivals is keeping the Teessiders at arm's length.

Leaders Norwich twice came from a goal down to beat Bristol City while Leeds kept in touching distance of the top two with a 2-1 win over Bolton.

Then, in the late kick-off, Sheffield United edged past West Brom 1-0 to record their third consecutive victory in the Championship.

It means with 13 fixtures to go, Boro remain seven points off the top two - with a game in hand.