A first-half blitz helped Chelsea dismantle an abject West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon to improve their European qualification prospects.
Fresh off a London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, the Blues picked up where they left off as Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke all netted in the opening 45 minutes.
Nicolas Jackson tapped in shortly after the break and finished well in the 80th minute to cap the win and take Chelsea above Manchester United into seventh, just two points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United. West Ham's continental hopes continue to drift after a third loss in four league matches and are now down in ninth.
How the game unfolded
Chelsea welcomed Thiago Silva back into the starting XI while a number of previously injured stars made the substitutes bench, including Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto, while West Ham's side featured the dangerous attacking trio of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus.
There were glimpses of intent from both teams but proceedings became mightily one-sided after Chelsea opened the scoring through a familiar source.
A sharp move resulted in Madueke crossing towards Jackson but the ball instead fell kindly for Palmer, who whipped in his 21st league goal of the season.
Things got worse for the visiting Hammers as home captain Gallagher lashed in inside the box to extend Chelsea's lead inside half an hour. Only six minutes later, the points had been wrapped up as Madueke got in on the act.
A Mykhailo Mudryk corner was met by Silva at the back post and the 22-year-old winger was in the right place to nod in from close range.
Gallagher then hit the woodwork from close range with the away defence looking increasingly beleaguered with every passing minute.
Half-time brought a substitution from David Moyes as James Ward-Prowse entered the fray, with an extraordinary turnaround needed both from a physical and mental perspective for West Ham to stand a chance of salvaging any pride from their trip to Stamford Bridge.
Unfortunately for Irons supporters, no such mentality switch arrived as their side conceded again in the 47th minute. Trevoh Chalobah's searching long ball got Madueke in behind and he squared unselfishly to Jackson who tapped home into an empty net.
A venturing Emerson Palmieri looked set to reduce the deficit against his former club as he surged into the box, but the Brazilian left-back instead hoofed his effort into the stands after Paqueta's precise pass.
Set-piece specialist Ward-Prowse gave Djordje Petrovic work to do for the first time as his dipping free-kick arrowed towards the top corner, the goalkeeper needing to claw it over the bar to safety.
Chelsea were comfortable slowing the pace after some reasonable openings for West Ham, though Madueke continued to give Emerson grief and create chances for his side.
Jarrod Bowen had struck the woodwork twice from corners and again hit the stanchion via a deflected effort, mere moments before Jackson raced away to rattle in his second and his side's fifth. The goal was eventually given by VAR following a three-minute stoppage to check the on-field offside decision.
GK: Djordje Petrovic - 7/10 - Rarely tested but did what was necessary to pick up a clean sheet.
RB: Trevoh Chalobah - 7/10 - Great ball forward got Madueke in behind for Chelsea's fourth goal.
CB: Thiago Silva - 8/10 - Lost Antonio to head across goal for Madueke to nod in.
CB: Benoit Badiashile - 7/10 - Never let Antonio wander far from his sight and had few issues at the back as Chelsea grew their lead.
LB: Marc Cucurella - 7/10 - Enjoyed popping up in central positions in attack and was forceful in defence, picking up a yellow card.
CM: Moises Caicedo - 7/10 - Lost out in midfield a few too many times but was accurate enough in possession. Bagged an assist for Jackson's second.
CM: Conor Gallagher - 8/10 - Showed great control as he volleyed Chelsea into a two-goal lead.
RW: Noni Madueke - 9/10 - Stooped to head in and showed composure to square to Jackson shortly after half-time. Was so inventive when running at Emerson and created chance after chance in a wonderful display.
AM: Cole Palmer - 8/10 - Kept his head to fire Chelsea into the lead and continued to pull the strings in attack for the rest of the game.
LW: Mykhailo Mudryk - 7/10 - Delivered some dangerous corners but didn't get as much joy in open play compared to the rest of the attacking quartet.
ST: Nicolas Jackson - 9/10 - Bunted the ball back for Palmer to open the scoring before tapping in his first and finishing clinically for his second. Now up to 13 league goals for the season.
Substitutes
SUB: Cesare Casadei (76' for Madueke) - 6/10
SUB: Christopher Nkunku (76' for Mudryk) - 6/10
SUB: Axel Disasi (82' for Silva) - N/A
SUB: Malo Gusto (83' for Chalobah) - N/A
SUB: Alfie Gilchrist (89' for Palmer) - N/A
Subs not used: Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Deivid Washington, Levi Colwill, Raheem Sterling.
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino - 9/10 - Saw his side completely overwhelm the visitors and managed to welcome some players back from injury. Happy days.
GK: Alphonse Areola - 6/10 - Made nine saves in total, preventing the score from getting too out of hand.
RB: Vladimir Coufal - 4/10 - Couldn't make his mark with any chopping tackles, instead being found out of position regularly.
CB: Kurt Zouma - 3/10 - Short of the mark from a physical perspective and did next to nothing in organising West Ham's defence as captain.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna - 3/10 - A bad outing on his 200th Premier League appearance. Mysteriously slipped under the cross before Palmer struck. Caught out horrendously as a long ball resulted in Jackson netting.
LB: Emerson Palmieri - 2/10 - Also at fault for Chelsea's fourth goal as Madueke was allowed acres of space. Couldn't get close to his opposite number at any stage.
CM: Tomas Soucek - 4/10 - Kept giving away possession in really dangerous areas.
CM: Edson Alvarez - 4/10 - Chelsea's midfield was too nimble for Alvarez, who was chasing shadows and offered little before coming off at half-time.
RW: Jarrod Bowen - 6/10 - Pretty unfortunate to hit the woodwork so frequently without scoring but didn't show enough in open play.
AM: Lucas Paqueta - 5/10 - Showed glimpses of his creativity but it was all too brief.
LW: Mohammed Kudus - 7/10 - Took it upon himself to drag West Ham up the pitch with his dribbling and got back well to make a handful of tackles. The sole good performer for the visitors.
ST: Michail Antonio - 4/10 - Ducked his responsibility to mark Silva and got little change out of the Brazilian or Badiashile.
Substitutes
SUB: James Ward-Prowse (46' for Alvarez) - 6/10 - Forced a save from Petrovic but did little else from open play.
SUB: Danny Ings (70' for Antonio) - 5/10
SUB: Aaron Cresswell (76' for Paqueta) - 5/10
Subs not used: Lukasz Fabianski (GK), Ben Johnson, Divin Mubama, George Earthy, Kaelan Casey, Maxwel Cornet.
Manager
David Moyes - 2/10 - Saw his side throw in the towel after going behind and couldn't provoke a response. Has still never won at Stamford Bridge.