Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea
Chelsea: Costa (41')
Man of the Match: Victor Moses (Chelsea)
For the first time since they were champions 18 months ago, Chelsea finished a weekend looking down on everyone else. Their return to what once felt their natural position at the summit was greeted with relish. “We are top of the league,” came the chorus from the visiting fans when Diego Costa broke the deadlock at the Riverside Stadium.
It was premature but proved prescient. Come the final whistle, Chelsea led the way again. It is improbable not just because they were 15th this time last year but because they were eighth and in seeming chaos eight weeks ago.
Antonio Conte’s response to the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal was to implement a 3-4-2-1 formation — indeed, he switched to it during the game — and since then Chelsea have reeled off six straight wins, scoring 17 goals and, still more impressively, conceding none. “Good news for us,” said the defensive strategist Conte.
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A plan may have been formed hastily and out of necessity, but it is being executed brilliantly. Chelsea played with great coherence and understanding. N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic offered energy and solidity in the heart of the midfield.
The reconfigured defence protected Thibaut Courtois so efficiently he only had one save to make. Victor Moses troubled Middlesbrough with his direct running, again proving a revelation since being reinvented as a right wing-back. Pedro, another who has been rejuvenated, was terrific.
It helps, of course, that the two premier match-winners, Costa and Eden Hazard, are at the top of their respective games.
The Belgian offered some delightful touches, but Costa provided the crucial contribution with a piece of penalty-box opportunism. “Diego is playing good football, with and without the ball,” said Conte, while Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka added: “You can’t lose him for one second.”
Costa has now scored seven goals in as many away league games. With such statistics, he cannot be accused of being a flat-track bully.
And while Chelsea only beat a promoted team, as Conte said: “Don’t forget Middlesbrough drew with Arsenal and [Manchester] City away.”
They threatened to make it a hat-trick of draws against the contenders, but Chelsea applied pressure with professional expertise. It eventually told, though not without some admirable resistance.
A flying Victor Valdes made a brilliant save to deny his former Barcelona teammate Pedro when Moses found the latter with a cutback. He denied a second Spaniard, parrying Marcos Alonso’s crisp drive to safety.
He was eventually beaten by a third compatriot, Costa capitalising when Hazard’s corner struck Antonio Barragan on the back and fell favourably for the Premier League’s top scorer. “One mistake cost us,” Karanka said.
Valdes was defeated for a second time, and motionless, when David Luiz played a cross-field pass, Costa headed the ball into Pedro’s path and he struck the underside of the bar. It was inches away from proving a perfect team goal.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, would settle for any kind of strike after failing to score for the third time in five games. They were well-drilled but cautious, Karanka opting for a gameplan based on negativity, plus occasional attempts to find space behind Chelsea’s wing-backs.
Alvaro Negredo headed one chance wide, created another for Gaston Ramirez with a dummy and finally swivelled to volley, drawing a save from Courtois. They were hints of quality but he has not scored since his debut and often cuts an isolated figure. In one respect, however, he is not alone. No one has breached Chelsea’s iron defence in the league since Mesut Ozil on September 24.
That resilience is underpinning a title challenge that has come from ruins. What a difference a year makes. What a difference two months makes.
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