MIDDLESBROUGH dramatically eased their relegation fears with a stunning victory over champions Chelsea that taught Jose Mourinho's men a lesson on Teesside. Fabio Rochemback fired the home side in front with less than two minutes gone and Stewart Downing added a second on the stroke of half time to leave the away sidefacing an uphill battle.

And the shock victory was complete on 68 minutes when Aiyegbeni Yakubu blasted home.

Mourinho had brought back his big-game players for the clash at the Riverside as he looked to further cement his side's position at the top of the Premiership table. He restored Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole to the side which trounced Everton 4-1 in the FA Cup, while former Boro midfielder Geremi was also handed a start.

But there was no place in the Middlesbrough squad for striker Mark Viduka, who was involved in a frank exchange of views with supporters after last Saturday's 4-0 humiliation by Aston Villa. However, if Middlesbrough were worried about the threat posed by the Londoners, they did not show it and it was they, against all odds, who took the lead with barely 80 seconds gone.

Yakubu found space on the left and he played it inside to Rochemback, who stepped inside John Terry and after evading Carvalho, fired a leftfoot shot through Cech to give the home side a dream start.

It was his first goal for the club.

With Michael Essien providing the fulcrum at the back of the midfield quartet, Chelsea set about the task of working their way patiently back into the game, but with the Teessiders having visibly grown in confidence, they were making little impact.

And the visitors' woes increased on 17 minutes when Gallas, who had earlier pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury, was replaced by Maniche with Essien dropping in at leftback. Gudjohnsen saw a close-range shot blocked with Lampard firing the rebound wide, but Crespo must have thought his chance had arrived two minutes later.

Essien's long-range shot wrong-footed Schwarzer, who could only palm it out towards Crespo, but as the Argentinian closed in, the keeper got a hand in to claw the ball away.

John Terry's frustration got the better of him on 43 minutes when he was booked for a scything challenge on Mendieta. And Middlesbrough increased their lead on the stroke of half-time when Downing picked up a loose ball on the left and drilled a shot across and past Cech as Mendieta tried in vain to get a touch.

Mourinho's response was to withdraw both Geremi and the ineffectual Joe Cole at the break and replace them with Carlton Cole and Wright-Phillips. The changes produced a few half chances in the second half but, with Chelsea camped out in the opposition's half, they were always open to the counter attack and it was no surprise when Middlesbrough scored their third.

After 68 minutes Yakubu ran on to Schwarzer's clearance and cut inside before blasting a right-foot shot home for his 13th Premiership goal of the season. He might have increased Chelsea's woes further on 76 minutes when he was wrongly given offside after racing clear, but a fourth goal would have made little difference to the overall picture.