One more win seals the title
Costa starts rout to put the big prize in touching distance
MARCOS ALONSO slid in to score the second goal as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at Stamford Bridge last night. If Chelsea win at West Brom on Friday, they are Premier League champions. The defeat relegated Boro.
Tony Pulis, the manager of West Bromwich Albion, Chelsea’s next opponents, was at stamford Bridge for this. What did he learn?
Probably that the most he and his team can do on Friday night is delay the return of the Premier league trophy to Chelsea by a few days, at best. They are unlikely to inflict permanent damage, to blow anything wide open, to turn the title on its head. little they can do will give hope that there is to be a final twist.
The trip to West Brom is Chelsea’s last away match of the season and they demonstrated here what they can do to weak teams, at home. Rarely has a victory in these circumstances, at this stage in the season, been as comfortable. next Monday, Chelsea are scheduled to face Watford, who are not greatly better than Middlesbrough, at stamford Bridge, followed by sunderland on the final day of the season, who are even worse.
As Chelsea now need one win, if it does not come on Friday, it is surely coming soon. There were no nerves last night, no tension, not even a ripple of uncertainty. The news that Middlesbrough had contrived to crash the team bus on the way seemed to sum up the competence of the opposition.
Chelsea controlled the game from first to last and by the time Middlesbrough had a pop at goal, they were 3-0 down and as good as relegated. They offered little to suggest it was undeserved.
Chelsea were a different class, as expected, and Cesc Fabregas was on another level again. Middlesbrough have now fallen from the Premier league on four occasions, the epitome of a yo-yo club, joined on that number by sunderland, norwich and Crystal Palace. West Brom will have more about them and Pulis is a proud manager who will not wish to be seen to roll over. But this is about Chelsea now. it would need a stumble of Devon loch proportions for them not to win the league from here.
The opening goal, it was fair to say, had been coming since kick-off, the gulf between the teams enormous. Chelsea were effortlessly superior, simply a different grade as individuals and as a collective.
Middlesbrough do not have a forward with the potency of Diego Costa, a passer with the range of Fabregas, a forward as inventive as Eden Hazard. They didn’t even need the newly- crowned Footballer of the year and Players’ Player of the year, n’Golo Kante. He was out with a muscle injury. not that the finest defensive midfielder and athlete in the Premier league would have had much to do. There is a reason why Middlesbrough are where they are.
There is also a reason why Fabregas is the first player of the Premier league era to total assists in double figures across six seasons. He may not always be what Antonio Conte wants in the heart of his midfield — in the tougher games he has preferred the belt and braces of Kante and nemanja Matic — but unleashed on a night such as this he was exceptional. Middlesbrough had no answer to his deliveries, right to left, designed to expose Fabio and Adama Traore as Middlesbrough’s defensive weak link and doing just that.
Chelsea could have been ahead after two minutes, when Fabregas played the first in a series of defence-splitting passes, putting in Marcos Alonso on the left side. Alonso hit his shot first time, into the pitch and off the bar. one of those nights? Hardly. Even Chelsea’s fans had that swagger and confidence. They knew it was only a matter of time.
The same combination — Fabregas to Alonso — linked up after seven minutes, this time the left wing-back’s cross flying low through the six-yard box. Everyone wanted in on the act. soon after, Fabregas had a go, the ball pulled back by Hazard for a shot that travelled just wide.
The ball always seemed to be zipping around the Middlesbrough area and in the 20th minute Hazard nutmegged Fabio only for George Friend to cause just enough interference to stop Costa putting the ball in at the far post. The Chelsea man claimed a foul and had a point. Friend got none of the ball but plenty of the man. Referee Craig Pawson ruled it was a fair contest, and soon after any injustice ceased to matter anyway.
it was a familiar route to goal, a chip by Fabregas that was poorly dealt with by Fabio, allowing Costa to sneak in behind. He killed the ball — and Middlesbrough, in that order — slipping it through the legs of the advancing Brad Guzan for his 24th goal of the season.
The next attack brought Chelsea’s second. Again, a rightto-left ball caught Boro out, on this occasion from Cesar Azpilicueta. Alonso has been superb this season, contributing six goals as well as steadfast defensive performances. He left Fabio, obviously, and struck a low shot that went in off Guzan.
Middlesbrough looked sunk at two, and the third made certain of it. Another Fabregas pass rendered the Middlesbrough defence incapable and Matic was first to read it, shooting through Guzan’s legs, by now a familiar path to success. it was Matic’s first Premier league goal in over a year.
How many more could Chelsea have had? At least five. Pedro skimmed the bar, Guzan twice saved well from Victor Moses, Fabregas, Alonso and Willian all had opportunities. it was a party atmosphere, fans and players