Chelsea 3 Middlesbrough 0

At the home of the team destined to become the Premier League champions of 2017, the players were not so fortunate.

• How Boro fans have been reacting

Boro’s top-flight status came crashing to an end in West London on a night when Chelsea ran the red shirts ragged to show why Antonio Conte’s men need just one more win to lift the title.

After waiting seven years for a return to the Premier League, Boro have dropped straight through the relegation trapdoor and will be playing Championship football again come August.

This time last year there were incredible scenes of celebration; how things have changed and the challenge facing chairman Steve Gibson is to ensure they are placed strong enough to go straight back up Newcastle United-style.

That will not be easy, with Sunderland facing the same prospect, in a league full of desperate teams seeking the riches of the top tier.

Gibson, however, needs to come up with a plan quickly, whether it includes head coach Steve Agnew or not.

Many had written Boro off even before a ball had been kicked and that quickly became apparent why. Chelsea dominated proceedings from start to finish and the only surprise was that the margin wasn’t wider.

For the 17th time this season Boro suffered a league defeat and, typically, this was the 19th time they have failed to score – albeit on this occasion it was against a Chelsea team heading for a third title in four years.

Diego Costa got things rolling in the 23rd minute with his 21st of the campaign and Italian wing-back Marcos Alonso increased the advantage 11 minutes later.

The comprehensive victory was completed with 25 minutes left when Nemaja Matic did what Costa and Alonso had done before him: found the net through Brad Guzan’s legs.

Head coach Agnew, who has won only one of his nine games in charge, needs to sit down with Gibson as soon as he can now that Boro’s fate has been sealed, although he will still be responsible for leading the side through the final two matches.

Agnew could make further changes in those remaining fixtures, but he resisted making too many here.

The only adjustment to the starting line-up to the side that drew with Manchester City was to include Adama Traore instead of the absent Cristhian Stuani.

Traore’s talent is unquestionable, whether he can fulfil his potential is the bigger issue and Agnew must have hoped the lightning winger could provide the perfect outlet on the counter like he did in another corner of London, Arsenal, earlier in the campaign.

That was when Boro looked more likely to stay up.

How things have changed since, and Traore looked like a lost boy at the Bridge because of how much defending Alonso forced him to do.

Chelsea are not sitting pretty at this stage of the campaign for nothing. This was the first of the two wins they required to win the title and Conte’s men were on point from start.

With their very first attack, Cesc Fabregas picked out former Sunderland man Alonso who was left in acres of space at the back post. His stinging volley was brilliantly stopped by Guzan, even if he was a little fortunate the ball bounced off the bar and to safety.

That was merely a sign of things to come. Time and again Conte, who had clearly identified a weak spot, had players sending balls into Middlesbrough’s right hand corner. Neither Fabio da Silva nor Traore could live with it.

Eden Hazard was the next to find space in that area when he was picked out unmarked. His volley across the six-yard box was perfect for Costa to finish, but George Friend had done just enough to distract him.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but pairing Traore with Fabio when there’s an attack-minded wing-back and either Harzard or Pedro to deal already wasn’t the best idea in the world.

That was the area where the first two goals arrived from.

The first was on 23 minutes when Pedro rolled to Fabregas, who arrowed a delivery to the same back post where Costa was on hand to control and finish beneath Guzan’s legs.

Fabio’s outstretched boot could not prevent that from happening, although he also helped keep the Spaniard onside.

He was even angrier with himself 11 minutes later when he was culpable for the second too.

This time Alonso was his man rather than Traore’s. The Italian worked free to convert beyond Guzan, who should have done better, after Cesar Azpilicueta had picked him out with another diagonal pass.

Guzan is leaving for Major League Soccer in the summer so a recall for Dimi Konstantopoulos should certainly be seriously considered in the final two games, prevented Victor Moses from adding a third seconds later.

But there was still more of the same after the restart, even though Pedro’s rasping drive within 38 seconds of the kick-off clipped the top of the crossbar to keep the deficit at two temporarily.

The only strange thing was that it took Chelsea longer than expected to add the third. Gary Cahill drilled a drive for Guzan to save, while Fabregas had an effort deflect inches wide too.

There seemed little chance of any Boro player scoring at Stamford Bridge again, so the wait goes on. It is now 16 years and counting since Alen Boksic netted here.

Chelsea’s next goal did arrive in the 65th minute and it was no surprise. Matic, who once had a trial at Boro, controlled another Fabregas assist before firing another finish through the legs of Guzan.

It was a sign of how good Chelsea were and how bad Middlesbrough were that it was four minutes after that when substitute Grant Leadbitter recorded his side’s first shot on target; a speculative 25-yard drive that was held routinely by Thibaut Courtois.

With the game already won, Chelsea’s players went into cruise control. Middlesbrough are down, now the challenge facing the whole club is to ensure they are not out ahead of the Championship return.