Middlesbrough 2-0

Independent:

Martin Hardy

Will an FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford be enough to unite the fragmented football club that is Chelsea? It is the latest question to emerge from a season of chaos. You would not bet on it, but then you would not bet on anything at Stamford Bridge right now.
Rafael Benitez has met vitriol whichever way he has turned since he succeeded Roberto Di Matteo as the interim manager. It will reach new levels against Manchester United in that sixth-round tie a week on Sunday – should he still be at the Bridge. Held in contempt by Sir Alex Ferguson, loathed for his association with Liverpool by the United supporters, Benitez will be the loneliest man in football that afternoon when he walks along the touchline, still believing he can emerge from the mess of a season with silverware.
It remains possible, following this relatively comfortable victory against a Middlesbrough side struggling for form and confidence in the Championship. Perhaps Monday's exchange at Chelsea's Cobham training ground, where Benitez questioned attitude, will be a turning point. For the remainder of his tenure, he has three months to either squeeze the side into the top four of the Premier League, or land the FA Cup or Europa League. If he does that, his CV will feel refreshed.
Either way, for Chelsea supporters, not much has changed. Benitez never had anything to gain with them and they will be allowed to fly flags on Saturday to condemn their own manager when West Bromwich Albion, led by former Chelsea favourite Steve Clarke, arrive at Stamford Bridge.
Despite eight changes to the Chelsea team that lost at Manchester City, Middlesbrough, with one win and one draw from their previous nine games in the Championship, were last night still facing a side that cost Roman Abramovich £125m to assemble. They are staggering figures, but the team was weaker for the changes, so much so that by half-time the best opportunity had come the way of the home side.
John Terry had been restored to the heart of the Chelsea defence and it was into this area that Nicky Bailey aimed an outswinging cross in the 26th minute – following good work by Faris Haroun – but Scott McDonald headed wide. That came four minutes after the struggling Fernando Torres had shot tamely at Boro goalkeeper Jason Steele.
That was as near as Steele came to a save in the first half. Petr Cech was a similarly unused figure for large spells of that first 45 minutes.
It was Torres, however, who scored Chelsea's first goal six minutes into the second half. After Yossi Benayoun had laid the ball off to the edge of the Middlesbrough penalty area, Ramires shot goalwards and the ball deflected in off Torres, the Spaniard knowing little about it.
Torres could have really boosted his flagging reputation just before the hour when he beat the offside trap but with space and time was closed down and his shot deflected for a corner.
Eden Hazard's introduction added an edge to the visitors. In the 72nd minute he took a pass from Ramires and quickly curled a shot narrowly wide of Steele's goal.
Seconds later he created Chelsea's second goal. Hazard was released by a clever Oscar back-heel and squared the ball to Victor Moses, who tapped home from close range. It looked simple, even if nothing at Chelsea is.

Man of the match Ramires.
Match rating 4/10.
Referee M Atkinson (West Yorkshire).
Attendance 27,856.
Sixth round draw
Saturday 9 March  Everton v Wigan (12.45pm, ITV); Manchester City v Barnsley
(5.30pm, ESPN)
Sunday 10 March  Millwall v Blackburn (2pm, ESPN); Manchester United v Middlesbrough (4.30pm, ITV)

=================

Guardian:

Chelsea ease past Middlesbrough to reach FA Cup quarter-finals
Louise Taylor at the Riverside Stadium

For a while it seemed as if Rafael Benítez's players feared Middlesbrough's home was armed with hidden tripwires destined to leave them lying flat on their faces.
Eventually, though, an initially tentative Chelsea had the measure of Tony Mowbray's impressive team, booking an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United at Old Trafford as it became clear that the only genuine Hazard on the pitch was their very own Eden.
Hazard, an influential second–half substitute – who says Benítez cannot do anything right? – helped create the second goal for Victor Moses after Ramires fired a half-volley beyond Jason Steele via Fernando Torres's shoulder.
They played highlights of Middlesbrough's 3-0 Premier League win over José Mourinho's Chelsea from 2006 throughout the stadium concourses before kick‑off and Boro's hopes of repeating that feat in an FA Cup context were bolstered by the visitors' team-sheet. Nathan Ake made his first start for the visitors, Paulo Ferreira began a game for the first time this season and Yossi Benayoun started his first match in blue since May 2011.
With Demba Ba on the bench, Fernando Torres was deployed as Chelsea's lone striker and George Friend, Boro's left-back, would have presumably been quick to dispute suggestions that the Spaniard has lost his speed. Creditably, despite being out-paced by the Spaniard on several occasions Friend, a £100,000 signing from Doncaster last summer, seemed well up for the challenge, making one splendid sliding tackle on the £50m forward which may have prevented a goal.
André Bikey did even better to block Oscar's shot following Victor Moses's cross but with Bikey and his fellow centre-half Stephen McManus taking turns to thwart Torres, Chelsea's early monopoly of possession was unproductive.
The promising Ake began well with Ramires, comfortably controlling midfield, but Mowbray's players began condensing the space around them, curbing that deep-lying pair's room for manoeuvre.
Even more encouragingly from the Boro manager's viewpoint his players were beginning to break slickly, with one such counterattack concluding with Scott McDonald meeting Nicky Bailey's cross before directing a header a yard wide. Benítez cannot have been overjoyed to see McDonald lose Ferreira with consummate ease.
Soon afterwards Bikey hobbled off, perhaps injuring himself with a kick aimed at Torres's bottom, but Seb Hines's introduction failed to interrupt Boro's improvement. Or Chelsea's temporary regression.
Mowbray's team might have taken the lead when Mustapha Carayol deceived Ferreira courtesy of a nifty switch of feet before unleashing a venomous shot from the edge of the area which Petr Cech could only parry. Happily for Chelsea, John Terry was on hand to clear the rebound before any home player could pounce.
Not only had Boro enjoyed the better openings but, amazingly, Steele was not required to make a significant save throughout the entire first half. Almost imperceptibly players such as Rhys Williams, Grant Leadbitter and Faris Haroun had relaxed into a passing groove sufficiently incisive to possibly prompt the odd Chelsea counterpart to remember their names. "We had a go," said a sanguine Mowbray. "For 50 minutes we had the better chances."
Few neutrals would have believed that Boro had lost seven of their previous nine Championship games, winning only one during a dismal sequences which threatens their promotion hopes.
Mowbray's team tend to struggle during Jonathan Woodgate's regular injury induced absences but despite being without their key defender and best player, here they looked reasonably assured.
Or at least they did until the 51st minute when Oscar crossed and after finding his path to goal blocked, Benayoun nudged the ball back to Ramires. The midfielder's half volley from the edge of the area was helped on its journey into the back of the net by a deflection off Torres. "I think Fernando was trying to get out of the way," said Mowbray, clearly a subscriber to the school that Torres should not claim it as only a second goal in his past 16 games. More significantly, Benítez's players had regained control and Hazard, on in place of Benayoun, curled a shot about a foot wide.
His introduction was to prove inspired, unsettling Boro's previous composure. He helped created his side's second goal by playing a one-two with Oscar culminating in a feint and square pass to Moses, who shot Chelsea into the sixth round.
Any creative tensions between Benítez and his players would fade into insignificance if the Spaniard comes face to face with Sir Alex Ferguson in the next round, but there is no guarantee the Spaniard will be there to do so now.

=================

Telegraph:

Henry Winter

Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 2

Rafael Benítez won a game and then probably lost his job. Half an hour after guiding his team through to an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United,Chelsea's interim manager unleashed all his pent-up anger over his precarious “interim” position, making his role even more precarious. Chelsea and Benítez was never a sensible marriage and a decree nisi surely awaits.
Maybe Benítez sensed the end of his ill-fated Chelsea sojourn was nigh anyway. Maybe he could not care any more. So he castigated those Chelsea fans who constantly disparage him, the 1,895 who last night sang “we don’t care about Rafa; he don’t care about us; all we care for; is Chelsea FC”. Benitez insisted it was a “group” with an agenda.
First mistake.
Those berating him loudly last night were the travelling support, those who spend small fortunes traipsing around the country, the continent and this season the world. The most loyal. The most passionate. The faithful. Anyway, back at the Bridge, the hard-core following’s views are shared by the majority. Benítez was never wanted.
A good, trophy-winning coach in his time at Valencia and Liverpool, Benítez was always a strange appointment at the Bridge because of his past comments about Chelsea fans. Even if those words, notably about their “stupid plastic flags”, have been taken out of context and spiced with more conjecture down the years it was still a gamble by the Chelsea board.
Roberto Di Matteo had led Chelsea to the Champions League and FA Cup, was admittedly enduring a few travails, but did not deserve dismissal. Following a contentiously-sacked fans’ favourite was always going to be difficult for Benítez. Chelsea fans have been denigrated for not accepting Benítez but it is their club, their obsession. They are censured by other clubs’ supporters for lacking passion, for being “plastic”. Yet their reaction to Benítez reflected the emotion they feel for Chelsea, and their anger over a perceived slight. They do not forget.
As he sat in the Middlesbrough press room, in front of an advertising hoarding for a chain of fish and chip restaurants, Benítez continued with what sounded to his stunned audience as a farewell speech. He criticised the board for making his job title “interim”, signalling his short-term status at the Bridge.
Second mistake.
Never bite the hand that feeds. Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s benefactor, is hardly going to be impressed by an employee questioning him.
Benítez was accompanied by Chelsea’s director of communications, Steve Atkins, but the Spaniard seemed very isolated. The man who never walked alone at Anfield was without succour or assistance here. He talked and talked himself further and further towards the exit door.
In truth, Benítez always has been alone at Chelsea. The players do not seem to have responded to him. He lost the final of the Fifa Club World Cup in Yokohama, a bauble that Abramovich craved. Chelsea have slipped to fourth in the Premier League, he had an “exchange of opinions” with senior players at Cobham but insisted the players were behind him. Too true. Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole were certainly behind him, sitting on the bench, as Benítez rotated.
There were echoes of Andre Villas-Boas’ decision to put Lampard and Cole on the bench in Naples last season.
This worked out better. Poor before the break, Chelsea improved markedly in the second half, a reality that will lead to inevitable speculation over who spoke the most stirring words in the dressing room at the interval, Benítez or possibly John Terry.
Chelsea emerged a far more assertive force after the break. Oscar wriggled in from the right, clipping in a cross that was controlled by Yossi Benayoun, who worked the ball away from Nicky Bailey and Seb Hines. Ramires took charge. His shot took a substantial deflection off Fernando Torres, who was credited with the goal by the Riverside announcer. Torres seemed lifted by this apparent windfall. He fired in a shot that Jason Steele pushed away. Then he ran into the box on the hour but was dispossessed far too easily by George Friend, who strolled away with the ball until fouled by Torres.
Benítez had seen enough of Benayoun, removing him after his involvement in the goal and replacing him with Eden Hazard.
Tony Mowbray also made a change, withdrawing Curtis Main, who had worked hard but could not outwit Terry. Ishmael Miller came on to partner Scott McDonald.
Chelsea were building towards a second goal. Hazard was the catalyst, running towards the Boro box, exchanging passes with Oscar and continuing into the area. Oscar’s return was accurate, allowing Hazard to square the ball across for Moses to apply the coup de grace.
Chelsea were now in control. Oscar scampered forward and stroked a low shot just wide.
Hazard had made a real difference, playing with confidence. As the Chelsea fans continued to sing their dislike of Benítez, the Spaniard continued to make his changes.
David Luiz came on for the excellent Moses. Oscar was then rested with 10 minutes remaining and Marko Marin given a run-out. Boro refused to go out of the Cup meekly. Merouane Zemmama hit a free-kick that Petr Cech saved low to his right. Then Grant Leadbitter swung over a corner, Cech missed the flight but Hines headed wide.
Miller volleyed left-footed over. Boro still pushed for a consolation. Miller was denied by Cech and Zemmama shot wide but it was too little, too late. Chelsea won and their fans saluted the team warmly, while continuing to castigate Benítez. Chelsea had a good 45 but it is a possible P45 that will be debated on Thursday.


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Mail:

Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 2: No win for Benitez but Blues edge through to United tie

By COLIN YOUNG

Rafa Benitez was thrown a gentle lob and threw back a smile, a shrug and an honest answer.
‘Who scored the first goal?’ he was asked.
‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘They were asking me in the dressing room and we will look at the video and decide.’
He might not now.
After the dust had settled on the discussion about who scored the opening goal in Chelsea’s win over Middlesbrough, which was claimed by Fernando Torres, like all good or bad strikers, Benitez stunned the packed room at the Riverside.
He shifted seamlessly into a rant which took in ‘a group of Chelsea supporters’ and, more significantly, Roman Abramovich, although the owner was not named.
Victory over Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough was secured with a second goal from Victor Moses after Ramires’s seventh goal of the season, which Torres tried to claim as his 16th when the Brazilian’s shot hit the Spaniard’s shoulder on its way in, had put Chelsea ahead.
But it may not be enough to save Benitez after his stunning attack on supporters who had chanted ‘we don’t care about Rafa’ for large periods of a tepid and unimpressive performance from a side which had eight changes to the one beaten at Manchester City.
Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Demba Ba and former Middlesbrough keeper Ross  Turnbull were among those on the bench, John Terry was recalled as captain, Nathan Ake made his debut and Paulo Ferreira appeared for the first time since May.
Benitez, who earlier in the week claimed his players were behind him, signed the team sheet — then probably signed his Chelsea death warrant with the kind of outburst which cost him his job at Inter Milan.
He has the worst win percentage of any of Abramovich’s managers at 52 per cent compared to Jose  Mourinho at 70 per cent and Roberto Di Matteo, the man he replaced, at 63 per cent.
He was fortunate his Chelsea reign didn’t end in defeat as his team could have been behind before half-time.
They managed just one shot on target in the first half — a weak Torres effort which underlined his determination to claim his second goal in 1,130 minutes of action.
Boro finished with 12 shots to Chelsea’s eight but it was Scott McDonald’s header that might have changed the night.
Fine work in the corner from Faris Haroun helped create the chance and the Belgian winger, one of a number of Boro players just back from injury, cleverly danced past Ryan Bertrand and Yossi Benayoun to find Nicky Bailey standing unmarked. The former Charlton midfielder, filling in for Stuart Parnaby at right back, delivered a pinpoint cross which former Celtic striker McDonald headed wide.
On the other flank, Mustapha Carayol caught Petr Cech by surprise with a bouncing shot from distance which hit the Chelsea keeper’s chest and bounced away from McDonald so Terry could clear.
The damage was done to Middlesbrough’s hopes of an FA Cup shock with that shot from Ramires just six minutes into the second half.
Ferreira marked his rare appearance with a deep cross into the penalty area, where Benayoun, another player handed a rare opportunity by Benitez, cleverly played the ball back to Ramires on the edge of the box.
The Brazilian midfielder’s rising shot took a deflection through the crowd to put it out of the reach of keeper Jason Steele, who was at full stretch as it flew into the top corner.
Torres emerged indicating the ball had hit his shoulder and Boro’s stadium announcer Mark Page duly credited the striker with the goal.
Chelsea then dominated after the introduction of Hazard, who almost marked his return to action 10  minutes later with a goal from a delightful curling effort which flew only just wide.
Within seconds, however, the  Belgian supplied Moses for the  second goal from close range, seizing on a lovely back heel from Oscar to slide the ball for Moses to tap into an empty net.
There were 27,856 at the Riverside Stadium, a brief reminder of what used to be on Teesside and an incentive for Tony Mowbray’s side ahead of Saturday’s promotion clash against Championship leaders Cardiff.
Mowbray said: ‘An atmosphere helps footballers, the Riverside has a Premier League feel to it and we did ok. But you look at Hazard coming off the bench and the quality of the second goal and we have no complaints. We gave it a go and it was a good lesson.’
But it wasn’t Mowbray’s post-match comments which mattered. The damage had already been done by the time he walked into the press room.

=================

Mirror:

The final curtain: Rafa Benitez sees Chelsea earn FA Cup trip to Old Trafford
Martin Lipton

Not quite the proverbial goal "in off his backside" but pretty close to it.
No matter how little he knew about it, Fernando Torres will claim the strike that ended a run of just one in 16 matches, even if the prize of a trip to Old Trafford in the last eight is hardly a game Chelsea will feel confident about.
But for Torres, now a £50million Aunt Sally for the majority of Chelsea fans, a goal is a goal. For Rafa Benitez, a win is a win, especially one that was easy enough in the end.
And while this struggle to overcome yet more modest FA Cup opposition was hardly conclusive proof that the Blues dressing room is "100 per cent behind" the interim manager, the job was done.
Not with a swagger or with authority. Chelsea are no longer - it seems - the team that once travelled anywhere with impregnability drilled into its essence, even if substitute Eden Hazard galvanised the Blues.
Fortunately for Benitez, neither are Tony Mowbray's side currently anything like the team which was top of the Championship as Chelsea were preparing to ditch Roberto Di Matteo in November.
In the end, Torres' lucky strike - he was not even looking at the Ramires shot that ended up, via an inadvertent deflection, in the Boro net - followed by a poke home by Victor Moses after great work by Hazard settled a dull, dour, dire affair.
Just as it should have been. Despite naming a team which saw a first start for Nathan Ake, a first this season for Paulo Ferreira and a first for the club since May 2011 for Yossi Benayoun, Chelsea had no excuses for anything other than victory.
Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas Boas and Di Matteo have all been sacked in the gap between Israeli's starts although there have been stouter characters for Benitez to place his faith in.
Chelsea, though, even this unfamiliar version, began well, Moses terrifying left-back George Friend, Oscar probing, Ake making a good impression and the comfort blanket of John Terry.
Yet the initial spell, which should have brought a goal from Oscar, shooting horribly weakly after Moses' turn of pace killed Friend on half-way, was deceptive.
Before that, Moses and then Benayoun had failed to make contact as the ball whizzed across Jason Steele's box.
For too much of the time, though, Torres was looking like....well, like Torres, ineffective and lightweight, his early shot - the only one Chelsea got on target in a desperate opening half, little more than a back-pass for Steele to collect.
Ake aside, Chelsea were woeful at best and Boro began to sense something special.
Scott McDonald had their first chance, missing the target with a header from George Bailey's cross - from 10 yards out, he should have done better - and even Petr Cech, such a model of Chelsea consistency, had a wobble.
Cech's poor clearance, four minutes from the break, allowed winger Mustapha Carayol to cut in from the left flank and let fly, the ball bouncing off the keeper with nobody in red there to profit.
Not entirely worth the long haul up to Teesside for the modest band of Chelsea fans, although their journey was rewarded six minutes after the break.
Moses and Oscar combined down the right, Benayoun was crowded out but the half deflection allowed Ramires to take aim.
To the naked eye, it was the Brazilian's goal, with the aid of a huge deflection. Closer inspection, though, confirmed the ball hit Torres' back to beat Steele.
After his recent drought, the Spaniard was always going to claim it and he had a chance for another soon afterwards, springing the offside trap but seeing his rising shot tipped over.
It needed the introduction of Hazard, though, to really spark Chelsea into life.
The Belgian was inches wide from the edge of the box after receiving from Ramires and seconds later tore through the home defence, spurning the chance to go for glory to provide Moses with the tap-in that wrapped it up.
Oscar, dribbling through a rapidly-tiring home defence, was close to a third and while Mowbray's men had a few half-chances at the end, the game was dead.
So were Boro. Rafa, though, lives to fight another day.

How they rated:

Middlesbrough (4-4-2): Steele 6; Bailey 7, McManus 7, Bikey 6 (Hines, 37, 6), Friend 6; Haroun 5, Williams 6, Leadbitter 7, Carayol 7 (Zemmama, 74, 6); McDonald 7, Main 6 (Miller, 62, 6)

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 6; Ferreira 5, Ivanovic 6,Terry 6, Bertrand 6; Ramires 7, Ake 7; Moses 7 (Luiz, 76, 6), Oscar 6 (Marin, 80, 6), Benayoun 5 (Hazard, 58, 7); Torres 5

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Man of the Match: Moses - always offered a spark

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Sun:
Middlesbrough 0 Chelsea 2
Mark Irwin

RAFA BENITEZ effectively signed his own Chelsea death warrant after declaring war on the fans who hate him and the board who appointed him.
The Spaniard’s patience finally snapped as he suffered another bucketload of abuse from the travelling supporters who have made his life a misery.
But it was his astonishing broadside at the decision-makers who named him ‘interim’ manager which has finished him off.
For no other boss during owner Roman Abramovich’s 10-year reign at Stamford Bridge has ever dared to deliver such criticism of the way the club is run.
Benitez insisted he will be off at the end of the season no matter what.
But it will be a miracle if he is still in charge for Saturday’s game against West Brom after his outburst.
And even taking the club through to the last eight of the FA Cup will not be enough to save his bacon now.
Benitez has been in charge for just over three months but it must already feel like a lifetime.
And all that pent-up frustration exploded last night.
The final straw came as the 1,895 Blues fans hailed the win with yet another burst of that old classic ‘F*** off Benitez, you’re not wanted here’.
And it seems the message has finally permeated the thickest skin in football.
At least it looks like he is going out on a win after Fernando Torres deflected Ramires’ goalbound 51st-minute strike into the net off his back, before a Victor Moses tap-in from Eden Hazard’s pass across goal sealed a trip to Manchester United a week on Sunday.
But those goals were soon rendered immaterial as Benitez made his way to the Riverside Press room.
Many at the club suspected the seething Spaniard had gone loco before this match even started when they saw his teamsheet.
Because among the eight changes to the side beaten at Manchester City on Sunday were Nathan Ake, Yossi Benayoun and Paulo Ferreira, all making their first Chelsea starts of the season.
For Ake, 18, it was his first senior start after one minute as a stoppage-time substitute on Boxing Day.
But his selection was trumped by Benayoun, whose last start in May 2011 was THREE managers ago.
At least they had John Terry back to lead them out after Monday’s training-ground row with Benitez — and this was just the sort of test the frustrated skipper needed to prove his fitness.
They also had Torres back up front, although that did not appear to be such a popular decision with the disgruntled Chelsea fans.
With only one goal in his previous 15 appearances — against League One Brentford — this was the ideal chance for the £50million Spaniard to improve his strike-rate.
But nothing is straightforward for Torres, whose body language told the tale of a man who wanted to be anywhere but Teesside last night.
Chelsea’s malaise even spread to the normally dependable Petr Cech, who spilled a routine low shot from Mustapha Carayol in the 38th minute and was fortunate that Terry was on hand to hoof the loose ball clear.
Whatever Benitez said during the interval clearly had an effect and, within six minutes of the restart, his team were finally ahead.
Oscar’s cross from the right was only partially cleared and though Benayoun was unable to bring the ball down for a shot, he managed to tee it up for the incoming Ramires.
The Brazilian’s rising drive was probably heading for the top corner without Torres’ deflection.
Seven minutes later, Torres could have got on the scoresheet himself when he got behind a square Boro back four — but his rising shot flew over with the help of a touch off keeper Jason Steele.
Moses’ tap-in made that one immaterial as Chelsea secured a trouble-free passage through.
Yet even if they go on to lift the old trophy at Wembley in May, Benitez will not be there to join the Blues party.

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

STAR MAN - VICTOR MOSES(Chelsea)
Chelsea: Cech 6, Ferreira 6, Ivanovic 6, Terry 7, Bertrand 6, Moses 7, Ramires 6, Oscar 6, Ake 7, Benayoun 5, Torres 5. Subs: Hazard (Benayoun 58) 7, Luiz (Moses 76) 5 Marin (Oscar 79) 5. Not used: Turnbull, Cole, Lampard, Ba.

Middlesbrough: Steele 6, Bailey 6, McManus 6, Bikey 6, Friend 6, Carayol 6, Leadbitter 6, Williams 7, Haroun 6, Main 6, McDonald 6. Subs: Hines (Bikey 36) 5, Miller (Main 62) 5, Zemmama (Carayol 73) 5. Not used: Leutwiler, Emnes, Ledesma, Smallwood

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Express:

Middlesbrough 0-Chelsea 2: Torres gets lucky
Richard Lewis

Torres saw a shot from Brazilian midfielder Ramires deflect off his shoulder and fly in after 51 minutes to give the holders a grip of this drab fifth-round tie.
Chelsea sealed their triumph at the Riverside when Victor Moses touched the ball home in the 73rd minute.
Chelsea’s interim-manager Rafa Benitez had insisted beforehand that his team were behind him – and their unity worked as they were hardly troubled by the Championship side.
It wasn’t quite in off his backside, but Fernando Torres will take a goal however it comes.
The misfiring £50million striker deflected Ramires’ 51st-minute shot into the net off his shoulder, scoring for just the second time in his last 16 matches. Some forwards may have been embarrassed to claim it, but when you’re on £170,000-a-week you justify it in any way you can.
Torres’ bizarre goal was the first of Chelsea’s two strikes against Tony Mowbray’s battling Boro which sent Rafael Benitez’s side through to face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup quarter-final in 10 days’ time.
Chelsea were poor in the first half but penetrative after the break, especially after Eden Hazard’s introduction off the bench as the Belgian gave them a much-needed injection of searing pace.
Chelsea’s performance will not have Sir Alex Ferguson’s title leaders quaking in their boots, but expect a bristling clash in the last eight.
Seven years ago Chelsea came to the Riverside at the summit of English football and were trounced 3-0 by Steve McClaren’s Boro.
But how times have changed since those days with the Teesside club now battling to restore their top-flight status and with the Blues having gone through no less than seven managers since Jose Mourinho’s tenure.
There has also been a change in fortunes for both managers from that day in 2006. Mourinho has been under pressure at Real Madrid while former England boss McClaren was fired earlier this week by Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the Dutch league three years ago.
Chelsea went into last night’s fifth round tie in indifferent form having been beaten last weekend by Manchester City, following a win in midweek in the Europa League.
For Boro this has been a winter of discontent as Mowbray’s side have slipped from the top of the Championship to outside the play-off places, following a run of just one win in their last nine league games.
A healthy Riverside crowd greeted both sides – Boro drastically dropped ticket prices in a bid to generate a more intimidating atmosphere – with Mowbray opting for Aussie Scott McDonald to fire them up front.
Yossi Benayoun made his first Chelsea appearance since 2011 and Dutch teenager Nathan Ake was selected for his first start in a Blues shirt by Benitez, his presence in the line-up so unexpected the 18-year-old midfielder didn’t even make the programme.
Boro fans with long memories may have heaved a sigh of relief after 42 seconds, as that was all it took Roberto Di Matteo to score for Chelsea against their side in the 1997 FA Cup final – a showpiece the Blues won with plenty to spare.
Oscar’s early pass flashed across the face of England Under-21 keeper Jason Steele’s goal and a brilliant run and cross by Victor Moses found Oscar, whose fierce shot looked goalbound, before Andre Bikey’s block.


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Star:

A TORRIFIC BIT OF LUCK

By Ian Murtagh

FERNANDO TORRES scored only his second goal of 2013 – and didn’t know a thing about it.
The under-fire striker was credited with the 51st-minute goal which broke the deadlock at the Riverside last night – but it hardly announced a return to form.
Ramires’ shot from the edge of the box, after being teed up by Yossi ­Benayoun, might have found the net without his team-mate’s assistance but it skimmed off Torres’ head and looped over Boro keeper Jason Steele.
It summed up Chelsea’s performance last night. Not very pretty but they got the job done. Just.
The introduction of Eden Hazard in the 58th minute gave the Blues a belated spark and after going close himself, he carved out a second goal for Victor Moses 15 minutes later.
The Belgian played a delightful one-two with Oscar before squaring the ball to Moses, who could not miss.
But this was hardly a ringing ­endorsement of Rafa Benitez.
A listless Chelsea were fortunate to go in level at half-time against opponents with the worst form in the Championship this year.
In seasons gone by, Chelsea would have swept aside lower ­division outfits with the minimum of fuss but the swagger has gone out of their game.
And while Boro weren’t good enough to take advantage, for more than an hour, their performance did nothing to suggest Benitez can win over his army of critics in the dressing room and in the stands.
After a tentative start, it began to dawn on Boro that Chelsea were no great shakes these days.
Tony Mowbray’s side grew in confidence and should have been ahead at half-time.
Scott McDonald knows what it’s like to find the net against European champions – he once scored the winner for ­Celtic against AC Milan.
But his radar was off when he headed Nicky Bailey’s cross wide with the goal beckoning. Then Petr Cech fumbled ­Mustapha Carayol’s 20-yard shot in the 40th minute and John Terry had to hack the ball away before McDonald could pounce on the rebound.
Steele did not have one shot to save in the opening 45 minutes and still had not made a save when ­Ramires’ shot struck Torres to hand Chelsea the lead after Boro’s ­defence failed to clear ­Oscar’s cross.
Boro went into the game badly out of sorts with seven defeats in nine games, but the side ­ Benitez sent out was a massive gamble with eight changes from the ­Manchester City defeat.
It was a night crying out for someone like Frank Lampard but the interim coach went for the untried, untested and the unused.Dutch teenager Nathan Ake was handed a full ­debut and did well. ­Benayoun started his first Chelsea game since August 2011 while Paulo Ferreira made his season bow.
Boro at least started ­better than they did the last time the teams met in the competition.
That was in the 1997 Cup final when Roberto Di Matteo scored after just 42 seconds, paving the way for a 2-0 Chelsea triumph.
The visitors did go close in the seventh minute ­following a Ramires run through midfield traffic.
He fed Oscar, whose ­angled ball into the box just eluded Moses’ outstretched leg.
The same pair combined again after 11 minutes with Oscar getting on the end of Moses’ low cross only for Andre Bikey to block his goalbound shot.
Roared on by the Riverside crowd, Boro came more into it as the first half wore on.
They should have taken a 25th-minute lead when Bailey flung in a cross from the right which found the unmarked ­McDonald but from 10 yards, he headed wide.
Chelsea improved after the restart and had chances to stretch their lead ­after Torres’ fortuitous goal. Torres himself fired narrowly over the bar in Chelsea’s next attack ­despite a poor first touch.
And then substitute ­Hazard curled a fine effort inches wide before Moses sealed victory with his 73rd minute goal to set up a quarter-final tie away to Manchester United.