Crespo enters the spirit

It was on such autumn days with a chill wind blowing off the River Tees that Chelsea teams of the past have been prone to exposure, especially under the kind of Middlesbrough revival in the second half.

Apart from one slip by giant young German defender Robert Huth a minute into the second period which provided Middlesbrough's Szilard Nemeth with an equaliser, Chelsea, superbly-marshalled by Terry, held firm and always looked dangerous on the break. And no-one more so than Duff. His darting runs were always a problem for Middlesbrough and it was his deep cross that set up the winner for Crespo. "In the first half we kept the ball well and had chances," said Terry. "But in the second half, it was a totally different ball game. Robert made the mistake but he is a very good player and he has a great future.

"It was an excellent result when you see that we were without people like Marcel. He is such a great character in the dressing room as well. But we have shown we have players like Robert to come in. With such a young back-four and to come to a difficult place like Middlesbrough and win, it is very promising.

"And we always have a chance with the front players we have at the club. If one is not on top of his game, the manager knows he can put another one in. For instance, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink went off at half-time and Eidur went off before the end. And we had Hernan Crespo and Adrian Mutu to come on!"

It was that variety of options that did for Middlesbrough in the end. And if there were contenders to compete with Terry for Chelsea's most influential player, then they were midfielders Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard. Both players formed a central midfield that was rock-like - with Makelele making vital interceptions and Lampard a series of foraging runs - upfield when the opportunity arose and towards his own goal when the occasion demanded.

"We may be up near the top but we are not an Arsenal and we are not a Manchester United," was Ranieri's after-match assessment. He may want to under-play Chelsea's title chances but the fact is that his team are in third spot behind the two clubs who have dominated the Premiership for a decade. They are point behind Arsenal with a game in hand. If the spirit survives and the egos are not bruised too often, then the duopoly may well be broken.