Middlesbrough vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Diego Costa netted his 10th Premier League goal of the season to earn Chelsea a 1-0 win over a resolute Middlesbrough side at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday and move the Blues to the top of the table.

The west London side have now won six league games on the bounce, not conceding a single goal in the process. 

It was a game of numerous excellent chances, particularly for the dominant visitors, but Costa's opportunistic first-half strike proved the difference in the end. 

Both clubs provided their lineups ahead of kick-off:

The hosts started brightly and looked dangerous on the counter-attack, getting beyond Chelsea's defence twice in the opening exchanges but failing to carve out a genuine chance on goal.

Gaston Ramirez and Adama Traore looked particularly threatening; one of the latter's bursting runs down the right resulted in Middlesbrough's best chance of the half when Alvaro Negredo headed wide from eight yards 10 minutes before half-time.

Despite Middlesbrough's early efforts, though, Chelsea had the better of the action in the opening 45 minutes.

Pedro almost opened the scoring in the 28th minute when he received the ball in space near the penalty spot after a Victor Moses cutback, but Victor Valdes made a brilliant save to tip his former Barcelona team-mate's shot over the bar, per BBC 5 live Sport:

The home goalkeeper was then called into action again soon after, pushing away a drilled Marcos Alonso effort at his near post.

Aitor Karanka's men did well to keep out the Blues, but Costa eventually undid them from a 41st-minute corner.

The defence barely cleared Eden Hazard's delivery, and when it dropped back down into the six-yard box, Costa was quickest to react and hooked a finish into the net. 

Per OptaJoe, the striker's contributions for Chelsea this season have been remarkable, and his 10th goal of the term was what separated the two sides when the half-time whistle went in the north east:

Middlesbrough were far from out of the contest, though, and after Alonso again forced Valdes into making an early save in the second half, it was the hosts who had arguably the best opportunity in the first 10 minutes after the break.

Following excellent work from Marten de Roon in the 55th minute, Ramirez received the ball with time and space on the edge of the box, but his curling effort did not find the target.

With 25 minutes remaining, a brilliant team move nearly ended in the Blues' second goal, but Pedro's side-footed shot rattled the underside of the bar and ricocheted away.

A fantastic cross-field ball from David Luiz had set up Costa to nod down to Pedro in space, but the woodwork spared the hosts.

Middlesbrough then almost came up with an unlikely equaliser, forcing Thibaut Courtois into his first real save of the match from Negredo's near-post effort in the 78th minute.

Chelsea's narrow lead made for a tense finish as Middlesbrough looked to earn a point, but the Blues' back line held strong to ensure they ended the weekend top of the Premier League pile.

Post-Match Reaction

Conte was delighted after the match to have picked up three points against Middlesbrough given the trouble they caused both Manchester City and Arsenal, per Squawka:

Boro boss Karanka paid tribute to his players despite the home defeat keeping them just one point above the relegation zone, per Sky Sports (via BBC Sport's Shamoon Hafez).

"I am really pleased with the attitude of my players," Karanka said. "We knew it was going to be hard, but we are in the Premier League, and one mistake gets you punished. ... I am not worried about the look of the league table at the moment because all I am concerned about is the performances."