Goals either side of the break from John Terry and Diego Costa secured a 2-0 victory for Chelsea over West Ham United at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
Skipper Terry broke the deadlock from close range with 31 minutes on the clock, before Costa completed the scoring with 62 minutes played when he fired a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest to determine if the result was a fair one, or whether the scoreline flattered the hosting West Londoners.
Match statistics
CHELSEA
Shots: 28
On target: 9
Possession: 65%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 8
WEST HAM
Shots: 6
On target: 0
Possession: 35%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 14
Was the result fair?
The truth is, had Chelsea scored four or five unanswered goals, West Ham could have had few complaints. The Blues were the dominant force over the course of the 90 minutes and anything but a comfortable home victory would have been extremely unjust.
Chelsea's performance
When the Blues recently dropped points at Sunderland and Newcastle United, there were some that wondered if Chelsea were actually as good as they had been made out to be. Well, they have answered that question emphatically - first at Stoke City on Monday night and today against the Hammers.
From the first whistle until the last, the entire side appeared to be on the same wavelength. The passing and movement off the ball was fluid, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian at their creative best. Also pleasing for Jose Mourinho would have been the performance of Costa, who looked back to his physical best.
If the Chelsea boss is to have one complaint, it will be that they didn't convert more of their openings. Ultimately, though, the three points are all that matters and that is exactly what the home side collected.
West Ham's performance
With the Hammers having showed some positive form this season, there were some suggestions before this match that they could cause Chelsea some problems. The thinking was that with Andy Carroll on the pitch, he could give the likes of Terry and Gary Cahill a torrid afternoon in the air.
However, the frontman was often isolated and during his time on the pitch, West Ham failed to send one dangerous cross into the area. Elsewhere, other in-form players, such as Stewart Downing, didn't make an impact. In an attacking sense, it was a disappointing showing from Sam Allardyce's side.
At the back, they defended bravely and Adrian between the posts was in fine form, but most teams would have struggled to contend with Chelsea on this form. Looking at it in a little more depth, a positive result from this game was always going to be a bonus for West Ham. It's their upcoming home games where they will be looking to pick up points.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Eden Hazard: With Luis Suarez gone, Hazard is staking a major claim to be regarded as the Premier League's best player. The Belgian was at his fluid best this afternoon, producing a string of mesmerising dribbles that the West Ham rearguard found impossible to shackle. He set up Costa's goal and would have had at least one himself had it not been for some good goalkeeping from Adrian in the West Ham net.
Biggest gaffe
West Ham had one golden chance all game and Morgan Amalfitano fluffed it. He did ever so well initially to fashion out the opening for himself three minutes from time, but having committed Thibaut Courtois off his line, he could only strike the post with his casual effort. Had he scored, it would have set up an interesting final few minutes.
Referee performance
Such was Chelsea's dominance, there was not too much for Michael Oliver to deal with. He did make one mistake in booking West Ham defender James Collins when he had clearly won the ball in a challenge with Costa, but aside from that, it was a largely unspectacular outing from the match official.
What next?
Chelsea: There's little rest over this festive period for all Premier League clubs. On Sunday, the Blues travel to the St Mary's Stadium to take on Southampton.
West Ham: On the same day, it's another London derby for the Hammers as they play host to Arsenal at Upton Park.
Liam Apicella
