MIDDLESBROUGH, England – Didier Drogba demonstrated his true worth to Chelsea after a typically assured finish laid the foundations for a comfortable 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The striker’s eighth-minute goal settled early nerves at the Riverside Stadium and Brazilian defender Alex, standing in for the injured John Terry, set the seal on an invaluable win with a wonderfully executed free kick 12 minutes into the second half.

Drogba was back to what he does best after a week of controversy. The Ivory Coast international may regret telling the France Football magazine that he wished to leave Stamford Bridge in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure but until January, at the earliest, he has no other option but to give his best for the Blues and their increasingly sceptical supporters.

Drogba required just eight minutes to soften the blow of his outburst as he raced clear of Middlesbrough’s lethargic back line and conjured up the type of cool finish which has turned heads across the continent.

The athletic African had talked about plying his trade in La Liga or Serie A and his third goal of the season, following fine work from the Frenchman, Florent Malouda, and the Chelsea captain, Frank Lampard, was a strike worthy of any of Europe’s leading leagues.

For now it is the defenders in England’s Premier League who must deal with one of world football’s deadliest predators and Middlesbrough may well have conceded again had Drogba not misplaced a simple pass to Lampard.

Instead the Teesiders gradually gained a foothold in a high-tempo fixture and the Egyptian forward, Mido, was unfortunate to see his powerful header pushed clear by Chelsea’s Czech international goalkeeper, Petr Cech.

Chelsea, of course, were far from finished and after enduring a spell of sustained Boro pressure the visitors created another inviting opening 14 minutes before the break.

Joe Cole, the England international midfielder, broke clear and only a terrible tackle from the former Real Madrid defender, Jonathan Woodgate, halted his progress.

Presented with a free kick 19 yards from goal, Drogba curled the ball beyond the Middlesbrough wall only to see his careful strike fall the wrong side of Mark Schwarzer’s left hand post.

Chelsea’s early goal apart, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate was able to take some comfort in the fact that his team had not been overrun by the two-time champions.

Summer signing Gary O’Neil had caused Grant’s team problems going forward and Mido’s physical presence had clearly unsettled the Portuguese international, Ricardo Carvalho, during an often frantic first half.

Had Mido converted a 49th-minute header there may have been talk of a home victory on Teesside but once again Cech was equal to the former Tottenham forward’s best efforts.

Eight minutes later that miss proved all the more costly as Chelsea doubled their advantage.

Middlesbrough’s Brazilian midfielder, Fabio Rochemback, fouled Michael Essien and Alex unleashed a fearsome free kick from 35 yards. Schwarzer had no time to react as the Brazilian’s brilliant strike flew into the top right hand corner.