:00:48. > :00:54.Tottenham are trying to keep the title race interesting but it must
:00:55. > :01:03.feel like they're winning game is a standstill at times. Dele Alli! What
:01:04. > :01:08.a goal. The gap has closed to four points. Can anybody stop Antonio
:01:09. > :01:16.Conte's Chelsea? He gets the shot away now...
:01:17. > :01:27.Chelsea, be concerned, because Tottenham are coming. It is in! They
:01:28. > :01:34.will be cheered just as loudly as Tottenham. Brilliant! Absolutely
:01:35. > :01:44.brilliant! Three crucial points. They say, Spurs, over to you now.
:01:45. > :01:51.What a fantastic goal! Not just a win, a statement of intent from
:01:52. > :01:58.Chelsea. It is in, Dele Alli has turned it in. Is that the moment
:01:59. > :02:04.that Spurs' challenge dies? After the battles of recent
:02:05. > :02:08.weeks, Chelsea were two wins away from sealing
:02:09. > :02:10.the Premier League title. Defeat for Middlesbrough tonight
:02:11. > :02:12.would consign them to relegation. Jermaine Jenas and Mark Schwarzer
:02:13. > :02:14.are here to reflect Your commentator at Stamford
:02:15. > :02:27.Bridge was Steve Bower. Chelsea have been in pole position
:02:28. > :02:32.in the race since early November, that chequered flag is now firmly
:02:33. > :02:37.inside as they look for a smooth ride to the finishing line. Antonio
:02:38. > :02:45.Conte has made only 38 changes all season. His one tonight is in force,
:02:46. > :02:49.Cesc Fabregas is recalled because of injury. Diego Costa needs one more
:02:50. > :03:01.goal to equal his best Premier League tally. One change for
:03:02. > :03:07.Middlesbrough as well, Traore starts and Negredo has three goals in his
:03:08. > :03:17.last five starts. A game that both are desperate to win for very
:03:18. > :03:21.different reasons. You do feel the opening exchanges are crucial for
:03:22. > :03:27.Middlesbrough if they are to get anything tonight. Chelsea, trying to
:03:28. > :03:37.win a Premier League home game for the 13th time in 14 home games.
:03:38. > :03:44.Fabregas floating it into Alonso, who has already got too much room,
:03:45. > :03:50.and very nearly gave Chelsea in the lead in less than 90 seconds. Marcos
:03:51. > :03:54.Alonso already has five goals this season, with the opportunity here
:03:55. > :04:01.look at the room he's got. Brilliantly found by Fabregas, and
:04:02. > :04:05.it got through Guzan. Thankfully, as far as Middlesbrough are concerned,
:04:06. > :04:11.not into the back of the net. Of course victory tonight for Chelsea
:04:12. > :04:14.would mean a win at the Hawthorns on Friday night would clinch the title.
:04:15. > :04:22.He might have something to say about that though. Traore all alone at the
:04:23. > :04:30.moment, surrounded by blue shirts, and Cahill wins it back.
:04:31. > :04:37.Costa has made his way to the back post, he has picked out Fabregas
:04:38. > :04:45.instead, who will be disappointed that he couldn't find the target.
:04:46. > :04:51.Diego Costa, then hazard involved. Just what Fabregas. Nowhere anywhere
:04:52. > :04:58.near him, all the time to assess the situation. He has been at the top
:04:59. > :05:01.for 148 days, looking to be only the fifth manager to win the Premier
:05:02. > :05:10.League title in only his first season at the club.
:05:11. > :05:16.That man did the league and FA Cup double in his first season, which is
:05:17. > :05:24.what Antonio Conte has in his sights. Eden Hazard, trying to pick
:05:25. > :05:31.out cost. He ended up in the back of the net, the ball didn't. He felt he
:05:32. > :05:37.was impeded. Diego Costa initially wanted the pull-back, it went
:05:38. > :05:49.across, and you can see his interpretation of the incident.
:05:50. > :06:11.Fabregas. Fabio didn't get there, Costa did, and Costa scores. He
:06:12. > :06:16.wasn't going to miss that. 20 league goals for the season and the top
:06:17. > :06:21.scorer has just calmed the nerves inside Stamford Bridge. They have
:06:22. > :06:26.been knocking on the Middlesbrough door, and midway through the first
:06:27. > :06:32.half they found the way through. Fabregas had to be involved, he
:06:33. > :06:36.delivered the ball, Fabio should have done better. Call us you like
:06:37. > :06:39.from Costa. Fabregas has had a terrific start of the game, he knows
:06:40. > :06:58.this is a big night. 1-0. The way by Gibson, clever little
:06:59. > :07:03.touch from hazard. So was that. Moses... Wonderful move, just nobody
:07:04. > :07:07.on the end of it. Middlesbrough thankful for that. Look at this from
:07:08. > :07:13.hazard. That was inviting from Victor Moses. It has been a long,
:07:14. > :07:26.hard season for everyone connected with Middlesbrough, no one feels it
:07:27. > :07:33.more than him. Extremely hard work for Middlesbrough out of possession.
:07:34. > :07:40.Alonso... He squeezed it low! Six goals for the season for Marcos
:07:41. > :07:45.Alonso, who beats Brad Guzan at his near post. 11 minutes before
:07:46. > :07:51.half-time, Chelsea already have a two goal advantage, and already you
:07:52. > :08:01.feel they are moving within one victory of the title. A long period
:08:02. > :08:09.of possession. Guzan won't want to see that again, but Alonso got there
:08:10. > :08:14.off the knee of Brad Guzan and into the back of the net. Already this
:08:15. > :08:20.looks a mountain for Middlesbrough. 2-0. They have only accumulated two
:08:21. > :08:27.points from losing positions in the Premier League all season. Fabregas
:08:28. > :08:34.again, into Moses. Look at the time and space he has got. He was unable
:08:35. > :08:37.to keep that one out. Cesc Fabregas is single-handedly running the show.
:08:38. > :08:56.Nobody went with Moses again. Hazard's interception. Here is
:08:57. > :09:04.Pedro... Inches away from number three. In the first minute of the
:09:05. > :09:10.second half, all too easy again. Let the ball come across him, crash it
:09:11. > :09:16.against the crossbar. 16 Premier League games that Middlesbrough have
:09:17. > :09:24.failed to score in, and that sums up their season in a nutshell.
:09:25. > :09:30.Fabregas. Time for Pedro to turn, and look at the space for Alonso.
:09:31. > :09:36.Then Costa! Chelsea, I'm sure, cannot believe the time and space
:09:37. > :09:42.they are being offered here. Nobody close to Pedro, nobody anywhere near
:09:43. > :09:46.Alonso and Costa very nearly finished that off. That's how close
:09:47. > :09:55.he was to his second and Chelsea's third.
:09:56. > :10:13.Alonso. Misjudged by Traore. Costa. Cahill! He caught that, beaten away
:10:14. > :10:23.by Guzan. Won back by Matic. Chelsea free kick. This one from Gary Cahill
:10:24. > :10:30.was certainly travelling. He has never scored in three consecutive
:10:31. > :10:43.league games in his career. What a pass that is. Hazard. Fabregas...
:10:44. > :10:49.Deflected. Just wide. These chances keep coming. Off the head of
:10:50. > :10:59.Chambers, could have easily been an own goal. He knows his team are on
:11:00. > :11:10.the brink. Fabregas. I'm not sure he has broken sweat tonight. Lovely
:11:11. > :11:12.play from Moses. Drilled it into wards Costa, gives it away. Chelsea
:11:13. > :11:27.corner. Middlesbrough don't want Chelsea to
:11:28. > :11:35.run riot. Hazard running into the penalty area, space for Fabregas,
:11:36. > :11:40.then Matic! Brilliantly worked. Fantastically finished. The Serbian
:11:41. > :11:45.has his first Premier League goal of the season and Chelsea are one win
:11:46. > :11:50.away from the title. That was a goal made with the confidence and quality
:11:51. > :11:58.of the team close to being champions. Look at that touch from
:11:59. > :12:04.Fabregas, one from the chest of Matic, and in the back of the net.
:12:05. > :12:08.Middlesbrough are bamboozled. They know their time in the top flight
:12:09. > :12:12.this season will come to an end, and Chelsea are threatening to run riot
:12:13. > :12:22.here. 20 minutes of the second half gone, 3-0. The game is won. Do we
:12:23. > :12:34.freshen it up, save a few for Friday?
:12:35. > :12:46.Leadbetter. First save from Thibaut Courtois. Routine, to say the least.
:12:47. > :12:57.Fabregas has space to run into, and has David Luiz. Pedro... This could
:12:58. > :13:00.have at least been double, the scoreline, by this stage. In the
:13:01. > :13:23.end, Pedro got underneath it. Into wards Costa, then it came back
:13:24. > :13:46.to Moses! Good save by Guzan. All of this without Kante.
:13:47. > :13:54.Chelsea on the brink. They can reach out and almost touch that trophy.
:13:55. > :13:57.The cork is certainly loosened up the top of the bottle. One more win
:13:58. > :14:04.away from being Premier League champions again. A complete contrast
:14:05. > :14:09.in emotion for Middlesbrough, they are relegated from the Premier
:14:10. > :14:15.League for the fourth time. It has finished at Stamford Bridge, 3-0.
:14:16. > :14:23.I am delighted for my players because I think they are deserving
:14:24. > :14:33.this. All this season, they put themselves in the team, in our
:14:34. > :14:37.philosophy, and I think we are showing we deserved to win this
:14:38. > :14:43.league. You have three games to do it, how important is it to do it
:14:44. > :14:51.against West Brom? Not easy because West Brom is a tough team, physical
:14:52. > :14:57.team, very strong and they will want to play a good game against us, but
:14:58. > :15:01.we are ready. It's about the football and the players to rest and
:15:02. > :15:07.prepare for this game. From a personal point of view, how much did
:15:08. > :15:12.you enjoy tonight? As usual when I played this year I enjoyed because I
:15:13. > :15:17.feel I contributed a lot to the team, personally and collectively I
:15:18. > :15:22.think it's been a fantastic year for the club and hopefully we can make
:15:23. > :15:29.it nearly perfect. Steve, can you put into context how you are feeling
:15:30. > :15:31.now? Gutted, as we all are. We are bitterly disappointed with the
:15:32. > :15:37.result this evening and obviously what it means. We have now lost our
:15:38. > :15:44.Premier League status and that is something that we take great pride
:15:45. > :15:49.in. I have just left a very silent dressing room. Commiserations, how
:15:50. > :15:54.are you feeling now? That is the lowest point of my life really.
:15:55. > :15:58.Cannot put into words. Now is not the time to go into details but we
:15:59. > :16:02.have to reflect and think about what's gone wrong and tried to put
:16:03. > :16:06.it right. You know the chairman better than most, I mean everybody
:16:07. > :16:13.at Middlesbrough will feel for him more than anybody tonight. Yes, he
:16:14. > :16:17.and the fans deserve Premier League football. People talk about him is
:16:18. > :16:22.the best chairman in the country, without a doubt he knows Premier
:16:23. > :16:25.League football. Middlesbrough are relegated, do you have a degree of
:16:26. > :16:33.sympathy for the team in that situation? Yes, only England you can
:16:34. > :16:39.see this and it's fantastic. Really, you've never experienced that
:16:40. > :16:46.before? No, this must be an example for other countries and it's great
:16:47. > :17:00.to see this. I felt in my heart to go and to Clarke the -- clap the
:17:01. > :17:01.supporters. Let's hope your supporters are clapping you on
:17:02. > :17:12.Friday. The victory means Chelsea are seven
:17:13. > :17:17.clear and can clinch the title with a win at West Brom on Friday night
:17:18. > :17:24.and a defeat for Middlesbrough confirms their relegation along with
:17:25. > :17:28.Sunderland to the Championship. It was so comfortable wasn't it? It
:17:29. > :17:34.certainly was, you look at the options that Chelsea have, the best
:17:35. > :17:38.Player of the Season N'Golo Kante is injured and they can revert to
:17:39. > :17:43.somebody like Cesc Fabregas and how he ran the show and dictated play
:17:44. > :17:48.today. Albeit against a team in Middlesbrough who did not give
:17:49. > :17:52.themselves a chance. How comfortable it was, did that surprise you in
:17:53. > :17:57.anyway, that there might be nerves coming for a side going for the the
:17:58. > :18:02.side going to try to stay up might have battled more? Not really, from
:18:03. > :18:06.the Middlesbrough point of view they have played that way the majority of
:18:07. > :18:11.the season which is why they have been relegated. I thought Chelsea
:18:12. > :18:17.were brilliant. They completely dominated the game. 3-0 and it could
:18:18. > :18:24.have been five or six. It was a very easy evening of work for Chelsea.
:18:25. > :18:29.Cesc Fabregas took his performance in his stride in that interview but
:18:30. > :18:34.he was without doubt Man of the Match. Yeah, he was, it shows the
:18:35. > :18:40.calibre of the player. He wants to play every week. He's got so much in
:18:41. > :18:45.his locker. Able to pick out players from anywhere in the position on the
:18:46. > :18:49.pitch. Outstanding. He might be lacking pace but his reading and
:18:50. > :18:56.understanding of the game is still world-class. Every time Chelsea want
:18:57. > :18:59.to try to find an option, an outlet, they go to Cesc Fabregas and he is
:19:00. > :19:02.knocking the ball from all over the park and it's easy for him in this
:19:03. > :19:08.game because he's not getting put under pressure. All day he had the
:19:09. > :19:13.options as well because the wingbacks are moving forward, they
:19:14. > :19:19.stretched Middlesbrough from the off. Key is 30 years old, 11 starts
:19:20. > :19:24.this season, do you sense a changing role for him over the coming years,
:19:25. > :19:28.whether that is that Chelsea or somewhere else? Potentially, I think
:19:29. > :19:34.in many other teams in the Premier League he would easily be a starting
:19:35. > :19:38.player. It depends on if he wants to make the change. We know he loves
:19:39. > :19:41.being in London, this season, the way he has conducted himself has
:19:42. > :19:48.been outstanding. The ultimate profession. More and more as a
:19:49. > :19:53.quarterback that we could talk about? Ten or more assists in a
:19:54. > :19:58.Premier League season which he's done for six seasons, more than any
:19:59. > :20:03.other player in the Premier League, do you sense that quarterback role?
:20:04. > :20:08.He's done that the majority of the season and he's been a huge weapon.
:20:09. > :20:12.What an array of players were on that list. You talk about Cesc
:20:13. > :20:16.Fabregas, he's a European Championship winner twice and the
:20:17. > :20:19.World Cup winner. I think you are doing a slight disservice that he
:20:20. > :20:22.could only play that quarterback role because I think throughout
:20:23. > :20:26.large periods of the season when he's come on, he would come on for
:20:27. > :20:30.Pedro will Leanne in the right-hand forward position -- come on for
:20:31. > :20:41.Pedro Oriol will I think what is good about Cesc is
:20:42. > :20:45.that at the start of the season I am not sure Antonio Conte thought he
:20:46. > :20:49.would get the reaction he got when he left him out, I thought he might
:20:50. > :20:53.have thought he could spit his dummy out and say he should be playing and
:20:54. > :21:00.he's obviously knuckled down. He's a huge part of the team in terms of
:21:01. > :21:04.going forward. He benefited and other Chelsea players benefited from
:21:05. > :21:08.a lot of space this evening. Work, first and foremost you have to
:21:09. > :21:11.understand it's tough to go to Stamford Bridge. You have to go
:21:12. > :21:17.let's make it difficult for them to break us down but what Middlesbrough
:21:18. > :21:20.did, someone has to get close to Fabregas because he is running the
:21:21. > :21:26.game and he's going to tear you apart and I just felt nobody within
:21:27. > :21:30.the team or the midfield spotted it at any stage. When he's on the ball
:21:31. > :21:34.your backline cannot be that high up the pitch, it just cannot be.
:21:35. > :21:38.Negredo has a hard enough job as it is up front on his own, but the
:21:39. > :21:44.three in midfield, I am not sure what they are doing. One of them has
:21:45. > :21:52.to release themselves and go and engage Fabregas, close him down. As
:21:53. > :21:55.we run it on, he does what he did for the majority of the game, got
:21:56. > :22:01.his head up, picked out his man. Fabregas that time, but another man,
:22:02. > :22:05.Azpilicueta in acres of space because Middlesbrough play so deep.
:22:06. > :22:09.You cannot let defenders run, get their head up and pick a pass. When
:22:10. > :22:18.you have runners like Hazard and Diego Costa, Willian when he was
:22:19. > :22:21.playing. In the heat of the battle should the Middlesbrough players
:22:22. > :22:26.recognise this? This ends up being a goal, Adam Forshaw has got to have a
:22:27. > :22:31.go and impact the ball. He just ambles out. This is Chelsea at
:22:32. > :22:35.Stamford Bridge, you have to have more intensity in the midfield area,
:22:36. > :22:40.all over the park as well, you have to be intense. It's OK dropping off
:22:41. > :22:45.but to a certain point and then you start to engage and get lively to
:22:46. > :22:52.keep them away from your goal. Ki just accepted today I felt. So if
:22:53. > :22:57.players are not spotting it, the management should? You have to see
:22:58. > :23:01.some might Fabregas, you know he won't get around you, sprint past
:23:02. > :23:07.due. He might pass a you but he's not going to sprint past due. I
:23:08. > :23:12.would have man marked in the whole match, if he gets the ball... They
:23:13. > :23:16.had three players in the, in the midfield, you could have easily, if
:23:17. > :23:20.I was playing midfield... They would have been in even more trouble!
:23:21. > :23:27.LAUGHTER Moving on, moving on. If they did
:23:28. > :23:33.not have the bodies to get around Chelsea players or support Negredo?
:23:34. > :23:38.Again, I think Middlesbrough have wasted what I classed as a very good
:23:39. > :23:42.weapon in the armoury this season. They have left him isolated too many
:23:43. > :23:48.times all season. What is he supposed to do with this? The ball
:23:49. > :23:53.comes into him, by Chelsea players around him. When the ball eventually
:23:54. > :23:58.goes into him, if it gets to him, what's he supposed to do? He has no
:23:59. > :24:02.support, nobody looking to get a hold of him. Eventually he drops
:24:03. > :24:07.deeper, the Chelsea defence tell him he can have it because he won't
:24:08. > :24:12.affect the backline from there. To the white men to get closer? Yes,
:24:13. > :24:18.midfielders need to gamble more and get closer. Negredo is at his best
:24:19. > :24:22.in and around the box. Get the ball in towards his feet or get
:24:23. > :24:27.deliveries into the box and he can cause havoc. Nine goals of their 26
:24:28. > :24:32.this season he has scored, I feel like they have wasted, they have
:24:33. > :24:36.wasted what is a very good striker for this week. If we are talking
:24:37. > :24:41.attacking threat a lot of the Chelsea attacking threat throughout
:24:42. > :24:44.the whole season has come from the wingbacks. Certainly after the first
:24:45. > :24:50.ten games when they went to a back three. The players who benefited the
:24:51. > :24:53.most were Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso, Victor Moses has had
:24:54. > :24:59.problems getting in the team over a number of years at the club and
:25:00. > :25:04.Antonio Conte has identified him as a perfect wingback. He is quick and
:25:05. > :25:08.powerful and has been coached on the defensive side. When they are so
:25:09. > :25:13.attacking minded he does not have to worry so much because they have so
:25:14. > :25:20.much cover at the back. Alonzo, you look at him, he has the ability to
:25:21. > :25:23.score goals, six this season, Victor Moses has scored three. When it is
:25:24. > :25:27.one-on-one, Marcos Alonso on one side Victor Moses on the other,
:25:28. > :25:36.often they are the two most forward players on the pitch. And they have,
:25:37. > :25:41.only Diego Costa, Pedro and has erred have had more shots than
:25:42. > :25:47.Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses this season. Going forward will teams
:25:48. > :25:51.work out how to try to stop them? Yeah, I think against bigger sites
:25:52. > :25:56.like Manchester City, Manchester United, they work them out,
:25:57. > :26:00.Tottenham. They put more pressure on the wingbacks, that is one aspect
:26:01. > :26:04.where you think OK, Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses in the defensive
:26:05. > :26:07.side of things coming up against better opposition find it more
:26:08. > :26:14.difficult to cope. It interesting, the games they missed, Victor Moses
:26:15. > :26:17.injured during the Crystal Palace game and they lost, Marcos Alonso
:26:18. > :26:23.away at Old Trafford, they did really miss both those guys when
:26:24. > :26:26.they were out of the side. If as we assume Chelsea win the title they
:26:27. > :26:31.will be praised and examined over the next couple of weeks so let's
:26:32. > :26:35.focus back on Middlesbrough, the signings they brought in in the
:26:36. > :26:39.summer, were they not particularly ambitious with the players they
:26:40. > :26:46.brought in? I think they were very cautious. They did not really bring
:26:47. > :26:50.in enough experience, when you look at the stats of how many experienced
:26:51. > :26:55.players or players that had Premier League experience under their belt
:26:56. > :26:59.at the club, Stewart Downing 378 games, Brad Guzan the second
:27:00. > :27:04.goalkeeper for the vast majority of the season. The rest only had a
:27:05. > :27:07.handful of games between them so it was always going to be a really
:27:08. > :27:13.tough order for them to stay in the league. They had the momentum after
:27:14. > :27:19.promotion as most teams do but it wore thin quite early on and they
:27:20. > :27:24.just did not have the bite and experience. Cautious in your first
:27:25. > :27:27.season back is not necessarily a problem, Sean Dyche said they came
:27:28. > :27:31.up and went down and then decided this summer that they would roll the
:27:32. > :27:36.dice a little bit more with the players they brought in. You are
:27:37. > :27:40.going to get the fitting right? I would think Middlesbrough have got
:27:41. > :27:47.some decent players, the centre-halves, Gibson and Chambers,
:27:48. > :27:51.England internationals if not U21 internationals, sorry. In the
:27:52. > :27:55.midfield, Clayton, Adam Forshaw, decent footballers. But how they
:27:56. > :28:00.were set up and asked to play was too defensive. And now they have a
:28:01. > :28:06.managerial appointment to think about over the course of the summer.
:28:07. > :28:11.Certainly, it'll be a big decision, it will be interesting which
:28:12. > :28:15.direction they take, what decision Steve Gibson makes, it's quite
:28:16. > :28:20.enormous for the club's future. Thank you very much gentlemen, that
:28:21. > :28:22.is it from us this evening. Middlesbrough have lost their
:28:23. > :28:28.Premier League status and Chelsea are one step closer to the title.
:28:29. > :28:34.Goodbye. A game that both are desperate to win for a very
:28:35. > :28:37.different reasons. Fabregas floating it into words Marcos Alonso who
:28:38. > :28:46.already has too much room and almost gave Chelsea the lead. Trying to
:28:47. > :28:52.pick out Diego Costa. Fabio did not get there, Diego Costa did, Diego
:28:53. > :28:57.Costa scores. Marcos Alonso squeezing it home. Total dominance
:28:58. > :29:02.from Chelsea. Pedro! Inches away from number three. He knows his team
:29:03. > :29:05.as it stands are being relegated tonight. 'S base for Fabregas,
:29:06. > :29:08.Matic. MUSIC: Fire
:29:09. > :29:12.by Beth Ditto