Chelsea extended their winning streak when they edged past Middlesbrough 1-0. Antonio Conte’s side travelled to The Riverside full off confidence, thanks to their exploits in recent weeks.
Diego Costa’s poacher’s goal in the first half was enough to secure the three points for Chelsea as they moved to the top of the league. Middlesbrough could not replicate the fight-back that they showed against Manchester City last time out, and they did not create any real chances to trouble a resilient Chelsea defence.
#1 Chelsea performing well as a team
Chelsea were made to work hard for their three points against an organised Middlesbrough side. The Blues had to be sharp in all areas of the pitch and they did just that. Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante were once again superb in the middle of the park, breaking up any Middlesbrough play before it even started.
Victor Moses continued his impressive start to the season with a Man of the match display on the right, while Marcos Alonso was also equally good on the opposite flank. Gary Cahill seems to have put his early season blues behind after another solid defensive performance from the England international.
Six clean sheets in as many games goes to show how well Chelsea play as a team in every corner of the field.
#2 Costa saves the day
Diego Costa scored his 10th league goal of the campaign to open the scoring for the Blues. The Spaniard netted with an opportunistic effort in the first when he was the first to react inside the six-yard box.
The 28-year-old was involved in almost all of Chelsea’s attacking play, while he also showed discipline in tracking back when required. He was also unlucky not to grab a couple of assists after he laid it on a plate for Pedro and Victor Moses, only for the duo to miss both opportunities.
Costa is continuing to prove that he’s one of the best strikers in English football and he will be eager to carry on this goal scoring for in the coming weeks.
#3 Middlesbrough lack clinical edge
Aitor Karanka’s side were far from threatening the Chelsea defence after a lacklustre attacking display. Alvaro Negredo came the closest to causing problems for the Chelsea backline when he forced a save from Thibaut Courtois. Barring the one shot on target, Boro rarely even entered the Blues penalty area and were restricted to efforts from long range.
While credit must be given to Antonio Conte and Chelsea for keeping the home side at bay, Middlesbrough have not provided consistent attacking performances throughout the season. They are the joint lowest scorers in the league and have only scored more than two goals on two occasions, in the only games that they have won.
Jordan Rhodes will be itching to have a go at the Premier League after an impressive campaign in the Championship last season but has not been provided with enough opportunities so far. Maybe a change upfront might benefit Karanka?
#4 Boro backline proving tougher to break down
While they might be struggling in the attacking department, Boro have been quite impressive in defence. Even a free-scoring team like Chelsea, who have scored 16 goals in their last five league games, only managed a single goal against them.
Karanka will take pride in the way his team defended, with players like Ben Gibson, Calum Chambers and Antonio Barragan being particularly impressive.
Former Manchester United full-back, Fabio da Silva filled in for the injured George Friend and was the only player in the back four that struggled a bit against Victor Moses and Pedro. Victor Valdes also contributed by making a few good saves, with his save from Pedro’s effort being especially eye-catching.
For a team struggling in the bottom half of the table, Bora can take pride in the fact that they have a solid defensive presence that have only let in a miserly 13 goals so far.
#5 Pedro unlucky not to get on the scoresheet
Pedro has seen an uptake in form since Chelsea altered their formation, putting in solid performances during that period. The Spaniard looks a different player in a more advanced role and has become much more involved in Chelsea’s attacks.
The former Barcelona winger was desperately unlucky to not get on the scoresheet against Middlesbrough. In the opening exchanges, Pedro had a golden opportunity to open the scoring but was denied brilliantly by his former teammate Victor Valdes. The second half saw a vicious effort from the 29-year-old come cannoning off the underside of the crossbar, with Valdes comfortably beaten.
Pedro is one of many players that has played an integral part in Chelsea’s dominance in recent weeks and he will want to help his side extend their winning streak in the upcoming weeks.
