Chelsea maintained pace with Manchester United in the race for the Premiership title by chalking up a narrow 1-0 win over Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Chelsea took an early lead through Ricardo Carvalho in the 6th minute but were unable to turn their dominance in possession into chances even as Middlesbrough upped the pressure in the second half in search of the equalizer.

The football was scrappy at its best though Chelsea started the game brightly with Didier Drogba forcing Mark Schwarzer to make an early save before Carvalho marked his 150th appearance for the club by scoring his first goal of the season.

Drogba had another great chance to score a goal but saw his near post header fly wide of the target. Chelsea withdrew into their shell midway through the first half though Boro were clearly bereft of chances.

The hosts dominated the possession at the start of the second half with John Terry and Essien coming close to doubling the lead but Middlesbrough hung on before stepping up the pressure late in the game. Afonso Alves came very close to pulling his side back on level terms but his shot smashed against the post.

Afonso once again hit the post in the closing stages with David Wheater too seeing his header strike the post before Aliadiere placed his shot well wide of the target as Chelsea hung on to claim three points from the match.