Juliano Belletti struck another stunning long-range goal as Chelsea scored four times in 16 second-half minutes en route to a 5-0 romp at woeful Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The Brazilian, with a reputation for shooting from outrageous distances, thumped home a 30-metre effort six minutes after halftime to put the English Premier League leaders 2-0 up in a one-sided affair.

Salomon Kalou claimed two while Frank Lampard [Images] and Florent Malouda also cashed in as the Londoners put on a masterclass.

Chelsea have 20 points, three clear of Liverpool, who host Wigan Athletic later on Saturday. The top two meet at Stamford Bridge next week.

"From the first moment our football, our movement and passing ... that was the best we've played for a long time," Lampard told Sky Sports television.

"We are full of confidence and have got such a strong squad we're coping with the injuries we've got. If we keep it up for the season we've got a great chance," added Lampard after his 380th appearance took him to joint 10th on Chelsea's all-time list.

INJURY LIST

The visitors had several players missing through injury but were immediately into their stride, going ahead with a close-range effort by Kalou after 14 minutes.

Belletti's swerving special then opened the floodgates.

Kalou got his second, via a deflection after a neat knock-back by Malouda, before Lampard finished off another superb build-up with a diving header.

Malouda tapped in the fifth after a Nicolas Anelka [Images] shot slipped through goalkeeper Ross Turnbull's fingers and came back off a post as Chelsea secured their best away win in the league for five years.

Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari [Images] was particularly pleased by the contribution of his fringe players.

"I lost five or six players but the others did very well," he said. "We showed today we have 23 or 24 players and they showed a fantastic spirit."