Chelsea moved second in the league table and kept pace with league leaders Manchester United with a convincing 2-0 win over Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

Middlesbrough started with just one striker and were happy to let Chelsea dominate the possession early on and soak up the pressure. The Blues struggled to break past a stubborn Boro defense in the first half with Michael Ballack coming closest to breaking the deadlock from a free kick that was saved brilliantly by Ross Turnbull.

Chelsea manager Luis Felipe Scolari tried to spruce up his attack by brining on Didier Drogba in place of Florent Malouda and the Ivory Coast international should have had scored minutes after the restart after being put clear of the Boro defense but his shot was well wide of the target.

Salomon Kalou had a great chance to break the deadlock in the 54th minute but some how managed to head the ball wide of the target from just six yards out. Kalou made amends to his missed chance four minutes later as he latched on to a poor clearance by David Wheater before slotting it past Turnbull to give his side the lead.

Gareth Southgate brought on Afonso Alves and Sanli Tuncay as Boro chased an equalizer but it was Chelsea who scored again nine minutes from the full time whistle when Kalou headed home Frank Lampard's corner from close range to wrap up the points for his side.