Chelsea have restored their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium this evening.
Goals either side of half time from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa saw the champions-elect take control of the contest, with the Hammers only able to muster a stoppage-time Manuel Lanzini consolation in reply.
Wins for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on Sunday had cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the table to seven points ahead of their first ever league trip to the London Stadium - one of only four grounds at which Chelsea have lost across all competitions this season, with all of them being in London.
The hosts began the match brightly too as they looked to replicate their EFL Cup triumph from October, but their attempts to find the fit-again Andy Carroll with crosses into the box enjoyed limited success against a sturdy Chelsea defence.
It was West Ham who enjoyed the majority of possession, but Chelsea took the lead out of nowhere after 25 minutes with their first meaningful attack of the match as they hit the Hammers with a blistering break.
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N'Golo Kante won the ball back deep inside his own half to launch the counter before Hazard raced forward and broke in behind the defence via a one-two with Pedro. The Belgian then had the wherewithal to take the ball around Darren Randolph in the West Ham goal before slotting it into the empty net to break the deadlock.
It was a devastating piece of play from the visitors, but such occasions were a rarity in the opening 45 minutes and it took until five minutes before the interval for West Ham to have their first shot on goal when Lanzini fired over from the edge of the area.
Chelsea did almost double their advantage shortly before half time, though, with Hazard's low cross just eluding Costa but eventually falling to Victor Moses, whose shot was blocked by Aaron Cresswell before Randolph denied Pedro from the rebound.
A second goal did arrive within five minutes of the restart as Costa took his Premier League tally to 49, and it was one of the easiest of his strikes as he bundled the ball over the line from close range after Pedro Obiang had flicked Cesc Fabregas's corner on at the front post.
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The Hammers felt that they should have had a penalty for a handball against Fabregas moments later, but Chelsea were quickly back up the other end and came close to a third when Marcos Alonso jinked his way into the box only to poke an unconvincing effort wide of the target.
Carroll then tried his luck from range before West Ham finally created their first real chances of the contest, coming close twice in quick succession after Chelsea had failed to clear their lines from a corner.
Sofiane Feghouli was the first to threaten with a low drive that beat Thibaut Courtois but was cleared off the line by Moses before Jose Fonte sent a towering header narrowly over as the hosts began to apply some pressure.
It was a rare moment of panic for Chelsea, though, and only a reaction stop from Randolph prevented them from putting the game to bed once and for all with a little over 20 minutes remaining when Hazard found Costa, whose fierce shot on the turn was pushed past the post by the West Ham keeper.
Fabregas also had a chance to extend the advantage in the closing stages when he curled an effort over the bar from the edge of the area, but just as it looked as though Chelsea would coast to the victory West Ham gave themselves a glimmer of hope by pulling a goal back.
A mistake from Cesar Azpilicueta saw the ball fall to Andre Ayew on the edge of the box, and he teed up Lanzini for a clinical low finish into the bottom corner - the Argentine's eighth goal in 11 Premier League London derbies.
It was too little too late from the hosts, though, as Chelsea saw out the match to pick up their 18th victory from their last 21 league games and take another step closer to the Premier League title.
West Ham, meanwhile, remain in the bottom half of the table and have now lost more Premier League matches at the London Stadium than they have won this season.
Barney Corkhill
