Crespo saves the day

Argentinian hitman Hernan Crespo came off the bench to grab a late winner as Chelsea kept their Premiership challenge firmly on track with a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough on Sunday.

The home side looked to have done enough to secure at least a point after Slovakia striker Szilard Nemeth had cancelled out Eidur Gudjohnsen's early strike for the vistors.

But they were undone by the brilliance of man-of-the-match Damien Duff.

The Irish winger had provided the pass for Gudjohnsen's 17th minute opener.

Then, with only two minutes left, he twisted and turned his way into space near the right touchline and sent over a superbly judged cross to the back post which Crespo met with a textbook downward header past Mark Schwarzer, two minutes from the end of regulation time.

The win moves Chelsea back to within a point of Premiership leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

It was also the perfect tonic for Claudio Ranieri's side after their shock Champions League defeat by Besiktas in midweek.

Middlesbrough's fifth defeat in eight matches so far this season.

At Villa Park, Juan Pablo Angel scored a stunning equaliser then had a late penalty saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen as Aston Villa blew their chance of taking all three points in a 1-1 draw against Bolton here on Sunday.

After a turgid opening 45 minutes, the encounter exploded into life within a minute of the restart when Bolton striker Kevin Nolan ran on to a Kevin Davies flick-on, turned past Turkish defender Alpay and fired his shot into the corner of the net.

But Villa got back on level terms just before the hour mark with a well-worked move which finished with Angel striking a superb shot into the top of the net from the edge of the area.

The home side piled on the pressure in the closing stages and their efforts paid off when former Real Madrid defender Ivan Campo wrestled Angel to the ground in the 85th minute.

The Colombian striker's spot kick was struck firmly but too close to Jaaskelainen, who was able to save diving to his left.