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 on Monday.
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.
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 the ball into the empty net to break the deadlock.
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.
Sofiane Feghouli was the first to come close 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.
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