STEVE McCLAREN last night labelled Middlesbrough's agonising 2-1 defeat by Chelsea as "a travesty of justice''.

Boro gave themselves a fighting chance of a famous victory after falling behind early in the game.

Yet, in the end, McClaren's men didn't even have a point to show for their spirited comeback thanks to Hernan Crespo's winner two minutes from time.

McClaren said: "It's a cruel game this football. I thought our performance was magnificent, especially in the second half. I couldn't fault the performance or the attitude of any of my players.

"It's very difficult to take any defeat. We lost here against Leeds and that was a travesty of justice - and I thought this was as well.

"I would have been disappointed with a draw - look at the bench Chelsea had out.

"But we paid the price for not getting a second goal when we were on top and a lack of concentration cost us at the end.''

Boro had won their three previous games, and McClaren added: "When you look at our last four performances, you can see that things are coming together.

"We're hard to beat and we have great quality and it bodes well for the future. I don't think you'll see any other team this season dominate Chelsea as we did in the second half.''

Quality was certainly a byword for the display of Spanish midfielder Gaizka Mendieta, who in his first game back after a three-match lay-off with calf trouble provided the inspiration for Boro's second-half recovery.

But McClaren said: "You didn't only see quality and technique, you also saw attitude and workrate.

"You always wonder how foreign players will adapt to the English game, and he will have no problem, as he showed here. He was also far from being match fit.''

Boro trailed to an Eidur Gudjohnsen goal before Szilard Nemeth equalised straight after half-time.

McClaren said: "I just asked for a bit more width and we got off to a great start in the second half.

"In the first half, we probably made one mistake. We had to defend, but there weren't as many clear-cut chances as we had in the second half.''

McClaren felt his side might have been awarded a late penalty when substitute Stewart Downing went down under the attentions of Glen Johnson.

"I've seen them given and we're disappointed,'' said McClaren, who was also unhappy with Malcolm Christie's booking for a 50-50 challenge on goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

"Malcolm had every right to go for the ball - I thought the booking was very harsh,'' said McClaren.

Manager Claudio Ranieri insists Chelsea can still not be considered the equals of Arsenal and Manchester United.

The Blues are only a point behind the table-topping Gunners with a game in hand, but Ranieri said: "We're not yet close to Manchester United and Arsenal. We're working to close the gap.''

Ranieri has spent around £110m since Roman Abramovich took control at Stamford Bridge, but the Italian boss admitted: "I don't have a best 11. At the moment, the best 11 are those who are playing.''

Read more about Middlesbrough here.