Chelsea 1 Middlesbrough 0: Chelsea get lost on the way but manage to stay in title hunt

A Sunday lunchtime stroll for Chelsea turned into one of those wild cross-country rambles in which you get lost, end up frantically scrambling across muddy fields and through prickly hedges, only to eventually find your way and get home in one piece. Just. Results are everything at present which, for Avram Grant, is a very good thing. For this, after a bright start, was a performance to forget.

Middlesbrough struck the woodwork three times, should have had a penalty, while Afonso Alves missed with a free header. The blind panic which appeared to seize Chelsea in the final 20 minutes was astonishing. Set-pieces, for them, have suddenly provoked a Pavlovian response of imitating headless chickens. The introduction of Alves, until now a £12m misfit for Boro, seemed to trigger something in the visitors which unsettled the home side to such an extent that Grant was stood with his arms outstretched imploring the referee to blow the final whistle.

Chelsea will point out that substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips also wasted three great opportunities during that time but the wildness and lack of composure he displayed was, in itself, symptomatic of the collective loss of nerve that spread throughout the team.

In the end they held on to leap-frog Arsenal, reclaim second place in the table and reduce Manchester United's advantage to five points once again. Little wonder Grant tapped the wooden table before he sat down in the press room after the contest to admit that, yes, his team had been lucky to win and extend their unbeaten league run to 15 matches.

Not that Michael Ballack saw the denouement – unless he was watching from monitors inside the dressing room. For the second home match running the German midfielder reacted to being substituted by marching directly down the tunnel without acknowledging his manager. At least this time there was not also a chorus directed at Grant of "You don't know what your doing," (which of course he turned on its head against Arsenal by winning the game through his changes).

Indeed, there were not many choruses of anything at all. Having scored in the sixth minute through Ricardo Carvalho's towering header from 14 yards when the central defender lost George Boateng to reach Wayne Bridge's free-kick after Ballack was fouled, Chelsea threatened to cut Boro apart and their supporters sat back, ready to admire the onslaught. The goal was the Portuguese's first of the season and every Chelsea outfield player must have felt they could increase their own tally.

It was too easy. Didier Drogba, unmarked, flashed a header beyond the near post, only a last-ditch tackle by the impressive David Wheater halted Ballack, while Mark Schwarzer saved smartly with an outstretched foot when Salomon Kalou cut inside and should have scored.

No matter. A second goal appeared inevitable and that point appeared to arrive in the second half when Joe Cole's clever pass inside Boro left-back Andrew Taylor released Wright-Phillips. It was the winger's first touch and, clear on goal, he dragged it wide. Another opportunity arrived, only for Wright-Phillips to woefully sidefoot Kalou's cut-back. And then another – but this time Wright-Phillips's shot cannoned off Taylor's back and flew over.

Then Boro's Brazilian substitute suddenly had an effect. Alves is quick and big – although he does not appear keen to use that strength and is causing ripples of apprehension among Boro fans that he is a second Massimo Maccarone. When Alves was picked out by Stewart Downing he appeared set to break his scoring duck but mistimed his header completely and glanced the ball wide.

If that was exasperating for Boro, so was the moment when Alves showed his speed to reach Wheater's punt forward. With Carlo Cudicini out of his goal and stranded, the striker cut inside but his shot, from 30 yards, struck the post and bounced back into the grateful arms of the goalkeeper.

Boro's anguish was compounded by an amazing sequence of events soon after. Downing, increasingly dangerous, sent in a free-kick which was met by Wheater. The defender's header was headed on by Alves, the ball slammed against the bar and back to Wheater who also headed against the bar only for it to fall to Jérémie Aliadière who blazed his shot over. Astonishing.

An Adam Johnson cross was then controlled by Chelsea's Juliano Belletti with his chest only for the ball to roll down his arm. It appeared a penalty but the demands were waved away. At least fortune favoured one Brazilian yesterday.

Goal: Carvalho (6) 1-0.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cudicini; Belletti, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge; Essien, Mikel, Ballack (Wright-Phillips, 65); J Cole, Drogba (Alex, 89), Kalou (Anelka, 78). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Shevchenko.

Middlesbrough (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Young, Wheater, Pogatetz, Taylor; O'Neil (Johnson, 80), Cattermole (Shawky, 89), Boateng, Downing; Tuncay (Alves, 65), Aliadière. Substitutes not used: Turnbull (gk), McMahon.

Referee: P Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent).

Booked: Chelsea Belletti; Middlesbrough Cattermole.

Man of the match: Wheater.

Attendance: 39,993.

Chelsea's League fixtures

5 April Man City (a)

14 April Wigan (h)

17 April Everton (a)

26 April Man Utd (h)

3 May Newcastle (a)

11 May Bolton (h)

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