Inspired Boro stun chastened champions

FA Premiership/Middlesbrough 3 Chelsea 0: Peter Kenyon revealed on Saturday morning that the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge wants Chelsea to be popular as well as powerful. A few more results like this one and the whole of England will be singing Blue is the Colour. Certainly there would be more volume than from the silent Chelsea followers here. It is not just at home that they do not sing, Roman.

There was silence also from Chelsea's players. They left Teesside without a word, leaving it to Jose Mourinho to summarise the difference between the teams, for one afternoon at least, as one of "attitude". Boro's was "better", Mourinho said.

There was a bit more to it than that. But the temptation to read too much into one Chelsea defeat, albeit their largest under Mourinho, should be resisted, even if Chelsea's last five Premiership matches have yielded only six points. Portsmouth at home, Chelsea's next league game, should restore order.

Middlesbrough are a curious team. They have lost here to Sunderland yet beaten Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal played some beautiful football when losing in September; United were incoherent in October. Chelsea were between the two, so it could not even be labelled a dive of a performance. Granted, it was very ordinary by Chelsea's standards but, whereas United's defeat felt like a definitive statement of decline and ultimately led to Roy Keane's departure from Old Trafford, this is likely to be reviewed at the end of the season as an entertaining irrelevance.

Four days after losing 4-1 at the Riverside United went to Paris and lost 1-0 to Lille in the Champions League. The result sent United veering off course and soon they crashed out of Europe, historically early in the modern era.

Mourinho emphasised Chelsea's eyes are now on Colchester United in the FA Cup this Saturday but it must be a challenge for all at Stamford Bridge not to think about what comes the following Wednesday: Barcelona.

Mourinho dismissed a question relating to Barca - will William Gallas, who limped off with hamstring trouble after 16 minutes, be fit in time? - but the inadvertent focus on the French full-back might just illuminate a weakness for the Catalans to exploit.

Gallas, starting at left-back, was replaced by Maniche. Maniche went into midfield and Michael Essien went to left back. Essien is not a left-back but neither is Geremi, starting on the opposite side of the defence, at right-back. Makeshift full-backs may offer one explanation as to why John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were unusually uncertain in the centre.

That Claude Makelele (calf strain) was not stationed in front of them added to the provisional feel to Chelsea's rear. When this was combined with Yakubu Aiyegbeni's excellence, Fabio Rochemback's class and Stewart Downing's ebullience, there was an explanation for Middlesbrough's second victory in 12 league games that went beyond attitude.

Chelsea were subdued by Boro's endeavour - the tone set in the second minute when Rochemback nicked possession off Essien and fed Yakubu. From the corner of the Chelsea area Yakubu swayed past Carvalho and returned the ball to Rochemback.

The Brazilian, a Barcelona player two seasons ago, then displayed native footwork to round Terry. Now Rochemback shot and, though it was weak, it still went under Petr Cech and in.

Cech made a useful save from Downing soon afterwards but it was certainly not all one-way traffic. Although rejigged in formation and personnel, Chelsea, via the energetic Eidur Gudjohnsen, probed continually in an effort to find a way round or through Middlesbrough.

Gareth Southgate and Chris Riggott were both outstanding for the home side, an indication of Chelsea's level of pressure.

Essien's swerving drive was fumbled by the shaky Mark Schwarzer. But as Hernan Crespo pounced for the rebound, Schwarzer recovered to block. That was the champions' best chance and Crespo strolled back into his shell. In a free-flowing game, in which Steve Bennett gave Chelsea a lot, Boro came again. Downing, back from injury, cut inside Carvalho and drilled in a low shot that Gaizka Mendieta stepped over as the ball rolled into the corner.

Mourinho's half-time team talk must have been novel. Carlton Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips were sent on and Cole was to hit the crossbar late on. By then the relentless Yakubu had turned both Carvalho and Terry to make it 3-0. Yakubu then scored a good, disallowed fourth.

"We want seven," chanted the home fans, a reference to Boro's mauling at Highbury last month. After last Saturday's 4-0 defeat here by Aston Villa those fans could be excused their shock.

Some of them might even quite like Steve McClaren this morning. Kenyon will note that attitudes can change.