Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0: Salomon's brace settles Chelsea's nerves
Mauled at Manchester United[LNB]a little over two weeks ago, Chelsea[LNB]are somehow back in the hunt for the Barclays Premier League title. That is the beauty of English football.To think that Luiz Felipe Scolari's team were majestically swatted aside at Old Trafford, punished with embarrassing ease, and this morning they sit just two points behind United. Incredible. They are even ahead of Liverpool[LNB], their opponents at Anfield on Sunday, and threatening to play their part in the most thrilling chase since Steve McQueen raced through San Francisco in Bullitt.[LNB] Free header: Salomon Kalou is left unmarked and able to head home Chelsea's second goal[LNB] Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0: All the action as it happened[LNB]Don't let the Drog out! Ex-boss Avram says Chelsea have to hold on to Didier [LNB]HAVE YOUR SAY: Does Drogba have a future at the Bridge. Tell us your thoughts[LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB]They were booed by their own supporters at the break. The Stamford Bridge faithful were frustrated with their favourites' failure to break down a Middlesbrough[LNB]team without a victory in their previous 10 League games. But, by the final whistle, the fans were celebrating Salomon Kalou's two strikes as if they had secured the title itself. Such fickleness is a Premier League phenomenon, certainly not confined to the 40,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge. Kalou's clever goals powered Chelsea into second place and Sunday's clash against third-placed Liverpool will be a battle royal now, with memories stirred of the classic Champions League encounters under Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant. There is also the chance for Chelsea to settle a score from earlier in the season, the 1-0 defeat against Liverpool that ended the thought this team was invincible on home soil.[LNB] In control: Michael Ballack dominated the midfield for Chelsea alongside Frank Lampard[LNB]They looked anything but unbeatable last night, struggling to break down Gareth Southgate's unambitious Middlesbrough team and yet still picking up three points. Boro are in big trouble. They are in the bottom three and the alarm bells are ringing at the Riverside. Their game plan last night was based around building a brick wall in front of Ross Turnbull's goal. Southgate said: 'We lost to two set pieces and that is what disappoints me so much. We knew we would get carved open a couple of times, but that is unforgiveable. 'We're not where we'd like to be in the table, but we've had a tough run and I don't think anyone in the country expected us to get anything at Chelsea. We have players who can get us out of the situation we have put ourselves in.' Boro are desperate for points after 11 games without a win, scrapping with the alley cats running wild at the foot of the table. To do it, they will need Gary O'Neil to shelve his move back to the south coast until the summer so that he can continue to graft in midfield.[LNB] A big fight: Gareth Southgate knows his Middlesbrough side have a tough battle on to avoid relegation[LNB]The same can be said of Stewart Downing, as talented a player to represent this club since Gary Pallister emerged as one of the country's finest central defenders under Bruce Rioch in the mid-Eighties. They still have some tough cookies in the team, hustlers like Mohamed Shawky, who was booked for a cynical foul on Florent Malouda as Chelsea set the tone for a one-sided first half.It turned into a melodramatic training-ground exercise — defence against attack — as Chelsea prodded and probed, applying pressure against a team who made no apology for the way they played.Boro had to buckle, they simply had to. Frank Lampard's free-kick hit the wall, another dipped menacingly over Turnbull's bar and Ballack's effort from the edge of the area took the keeper by surprise. Scolari was rattled, continuing his touchline feud with Boro's assistant manager Malcolm Crosby at the break when he waved an imaginary red card at Shawky following an innocuous handball.[LNB] Good finish: Kalou latches onto a loose ball to put Chelsea in front[LNB]Southgate said: 'Scolari seemed upset about something and he wanted to get one of my players booked. He seemed to have a real problem with it and didn't want to shake my hands at the final whistle, but that is up to him.' Chelsea's manager ducked the issue, sending out his assistant Ray Wilkins to put his foot straight in his mouth. 'I'm all for the RESPECT campaign, but opposition supporters call Frank Lampard a 'Fat *******' wherever he goes, even when he is with England.' [LNB] Happy Blues: Chelsea will head to Anfield on Sunday with a lot more confidence having over taken Liverpool into second place in the league[LNB] At least Chelsea's manager regained his composure, replacing fall-guy Malouda with Didier Drogba at half-time, and suddenly Chelsea had some menace about them, a threat in front of goal that paid off when Kalou scored the first goal after 58 minutes. David Wheater failed to clear Lampard's corner and Kalou, unmarked inside the area, volleyed his effort sweetly beyond Turnbull. That made up for an earlier effort, inexplicably headed over Turnbull's crossbar from close range, but he added a second goal when he met Lampard's corner in the 81st minute, steering his header into an unguarded net. He may be in trouble with the FA after his celebrations, a scandalous handcuff salute in honour of Assale Tiemoko Antoine, an Ivory Coast political rebel who was released from prison last week.After this result, he is not the only one who just got out of jail.[LNB] Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0: All the action as it happened[LNB]Don't let the Drog out! Ex-boss Avram says Chelsea have to hold on to Didier [LNB]HAVE YOUR SAY: Does Drogba have a future at the Bridge. Tell us your thoughts[LNB]CHELSEA FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB][LNB][LNB]AC MILAN keeper Marco Storari expects to sign for Chelsea today. The 32-year-old,currently on loan to Fiorentina, will compete with Hilario to be Petr Cech's deputy.Chelsea centre back Branislav Ivanovic is in transfer talks with Fiorentina but has alsoattracted interest from Panathinaikos.[LNB] [LNB]
