Scolari salutes five-star Chelsea´s spirit

Luiz Felipe Scolari saluted Chelsea's team spirit after his injury-ravaged side destroyed Middlesbrough 5-0 on Saturday.

Scolari's men arrived at the Riverside Stadium with seven first-team stars including Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and Petr Cech sidelined, but the Blues made light of those injuries with a stunning display to consolidate their position on top of the Premier League.

Salomon Kalou's double and goals from Juliano Belletti, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda gave Chelsea their biggest win under Scolari and their best away result for five years.

The significance of the performance wasn't lost on Scolari, who highlighted the determination of his stand-ins to prove their worth.

“I lost five or six players that had played all the games but the other players came in and played very well,” Scolari said. “We showed people that we have 23 or 24 good players.

“We play as a group and a team. Each player that I put in played well and tried to do their best.

“They have a fantastic spirit. Some of them want to play every game even if they are injured. They showed this to the other players and then they want to go together.”

Lampard claimed Middlesbrough had been on the receiving end of Chelsea's best performance in recent memory.

“With our movement and passing that was the best we have played for a long time,” Lampard said. “I've said that a couple of times this season but this is the best.

“We showed a great attitude to come here after the international week when people might have expected us to have a bit of a dodgy start in the early kick-off.

“We were quick out of the blocks. Boro weren't at their best and they would admit that.”

Chelsea are unbeaten under Scolari but England midfielder Lampard warned his club-mates not to get carried away.

“There are a lot of great teams up there but if we can play as well as we did here for the rest of the season we have got a great chance,” he said. “We can't take our foot of the pedal because the minute you stop working hard things can change.

“We have got a really strong squad here to cope with the injuries we've got to top players.

“We've got a good balance, players are playing well and the manager is giving us confidence. We just need to keep it going.”

The quality of Chelsea's performance was no consolation to Boro boss Gareth Southgate, who described the defeat as a “humiliation.”

“You lose at home and it is hard to take,” said the former England defender. “But when you are beaten like that, it is a very humbling experience for all of us.

“There's a danger when you play a side of Chelsea's class that that can happen, but I don't think they had to be at their best, and yet they annihilated us.”

He added: “It's a lonely place when you are standing on the touchline and your own fans are very disgruntled with things, and understandably so.

“It's painful, but we have to learn from the experience as a group.”