Chelsea made it three wins from three at Middlesbrough this afternoon with goals in either half from Didier Drogba and Alex.

Drogba's effort came early on in a comfortable victory, while Alex waited until the second half to net his first Blues goal, firing in a long-range missile from some 35 yards.

It wasn't Chelsea's best display of the season, but the side did enough against a Middlesbrough side that lacked any edge going forward.

Chelsea arrived at a sunny, yet chilled Riverside hoping to end the recent poor run of results on Teesside, with Drogba returning from suspension to spearhead Chelsea's attack, while Alex and Paulo Ferreira deputised for the injured John Terry and Ashley Cole at the back.

It was the perfect start for the Blues, as Didier Drogba scored his third goal of the week after his brace for the Ivory Coast on Wednesday.

After eight minutes of Chelsea being in the ascendancy, he calmly exchanged passes with Lampard, strolled through the Boro offside trap and slotted the ball calmly past Mark Schwarzer low into the keeper's bottom-right corner, the perfect way to silence any speculation over his future.

It took the hosts some time to find any kind of rhythm, but when they did they very nearly found an equaliser.

O Neil's cross was whipped dangerously to the edge of the six-yard box, where Mido sent a glancing header toward Petr Cech's bottom corner, but the goalkeeper would not be beaten, pushing the ball away to safety.

Chelsea were still the better side though, keeping the ball well with one-touch passing as the home side chased shadows. When we did mix it up, Lampard's rangy diagonal pass released Belletti down the right, but his cross came too early into a sparsely populated penalty area.

Chelsea's next attack offered more, as another passing routine opened up space for Joe Cole, who beat Woodgate to the ball, and was chopped down on the edge of the area.

Drogba and Malouda lined the ball up, and after the Frenchman stepped over, Drogba curled the ball low, but Schwarzer watched it wide and into the side netting.

Middlesbrough threatened with a couple of deep crosses from the right, one of which Riggott headed over after 34 minutes, but the visitors still looked good for the lead going in at the break.

It had not been a classic, with Middlesbrough regularly surrendering possession cheaply, while the Blues had struggled to turn possession into anything clear cut.

It was as you were with no changes at half-time, and Boateng was soon booked for a foul on Carvalho, who had broken forward following an early Middlesbrough corner.

Soon after Mido hit the target with a header again, this time from Downing's cross, but it was straight at Cech.

This sparked a period of Middlesbrough pressure, forcing a string of corners that could have been avoided had Chelsea successfully cleared lines.

Avram Grant's men survived the storm though, and gradually regained the upper hand, doubling the lead when Alex netted his first Chelsea goal.

Essien was fouled 35 yards from goal, and from the free-kick Lampard laid off into the oncoming Brazilian's path.

What followed was truly superb, as the defender drove an unstoppable shot high into Schwarzer's right-hand corner, leaving him clutching for thin air.

At 2-0 and an hour played, the game looked out of Middlesbrough's reach, despite manager Gareth Southgate opting to replace captain Boateng with the younger Lee Cattermole.

As the game began to peter out, mistakes began to creep into Chelsea's game, as first Malouda was booked for a mistimed tackle on Woodgate, and then Ferreira swung and missed the ball.

Still, Middlesbrough offered little going forward, with Mido often isolated up front against the impressive pairing of Carvalho and Alex.

At the other end Malouda nearly made it three, but had his goalbound shot blocked. He was then replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips, with Joe Cole moving out to the left.

It was the sub who was fouled 25 yards from goal, and, despite crowd calls for Alex to have another go, it was Lampard who took his turn, but this time the ball floated wide.

Four minutes from time O' Neil had Boro's best chance of the game, as Chelsea dithered in defence, he found space but wastefully fired his shot over the bar.

There was precious little other action in the closing stages, with Sidwell and Shevchenko both making cameo appearances from the bench, as Drogba left the field to a standing ovation from the travelling support.

It was an impressive performance from the lone striker, but he was pipped to the man of the match award by Lampard in the middle, who not only dictated much of the play but made some important interceptions in what was an impressive, if slightly disjointed display.

Three away wins on the bounce leaves Chelsea in a far healthier position than some expected, with Schalke and then Manchester City next up at Stamford Bridge.

For highlights of today's game, log on to Chelsea TV Online, or alternatively for the full 90 minutes, tune in to Chelsea TV, from Sunday at 6pm.

Middlesbrough (4-1-4-1) Schwarzer; Young, Riggott, Woodgate, Taylor; Boateng (c) (Cattermole 67); Tuncay (Craddock 83), O' Neil, Rochemback, Downing; Mido.

Goals
Booked Boateng 47
Sent Off

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Ferreira; Essien (Essien 81), Lampard, Mikel; J Cole, Drogba (Shevchenko 84), Malouda (Wright-Phillips 75).

Goals Drogba 7, Alex 56
Booked Malouda 71

By Andy Jones