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Chelsea 2 - West Ham 0: Dominant Blues show their class to down Hammers
CHELSEA asserted their Premier League dominance with a comfortable victory over West Ham this afternoon.
Diego Costa scored Chelsea's second goal
Jose Mourinho named a strong side for the encounter while Sam Allardyce left Alex Song and Diafra Sakho on the bench.
And the Blues looked much the better side from the outset, keeping possession well and forcing West Ham back into their own penalty area.
When the opening goal came, the only surprise was that Chelsea needed a set-piece to break the deadlock, with John Terry poking home a Diego Costa flick on from close range in the 31st minute.
Chelsea were dominant against West Ham
West Ham managed to hold on until the break and briefly looked more lively in the early stages of the second half.
But Costa made it 2-0 with 62 minutes gone to all-but-end any chance of the Hammers mounting a fightback.
Allardyce's side mounted a late rally but Chelsea's clean sheet remained in tact when Morgan Amalfitano hit the post with four minutes remaining.
The result sees Chelsea consolidate their place at the top of the Premier League, while West Ham could drop out of the top four depending on other results after falling to their first defeat in six games.