Following hot on the heels of Thursday’s impressive 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues turned on the style once again to defeat ninth-place West Ham United 5-0.

A superb first-half showing saw us lead 3-0 at the break courtesy of goals from Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke, before Nicolas Jackson added a brace in the second half to complete the rout.

Return of the pack

Pochettino made one change to his starting line-up, as Thiago Silva returned to the heart of the defence, with Trevoh Chalobah moving to right-back and Alfie Gilchrist becoming a substitute.

The Blues were also boosted by the return of several first-team players to the bench, as Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, Malo Gusto, Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling were back in the 20-man squad.

Chelsea once again utilised a formation which saw them line up in a traditional 4-2-3-1 defensively but when in possession, left-back Marc Cucurella drifted inside into a deep-lying midfield role to good effect, allowing Gallagher to push further forward.

The opening quarter of an hour saw little goalmouth action, until a quick free-kick released Jackson and he forced a near-post save from Alphonse Areola, who then had to block a dangerous cross from Thiago Silva soon after.

The breakthrough

Madueke’s influence on the game continued to grow and it was from his cross that Chelsea opened the scoring. The winger’s delivery from the right saw Jackson’s effort blocked and when the ball rolled back to Palmer 12 yards out, his left-footed strike was too powerful for the diving Areola as it nestled into the corner.

West Ham could have equalised almost immediately, as Jarrod Bowen rattled the crossbar with a header from a corner, but it didn’t take long for the Blues to re-establish our dominance and create a host of chances, with Madueke, Chalobah, Jackson and Palmer all having efforts towards goal.

The second finally arrived just before the half-hour mark when an incisive pass from Palmer found Madueke on the edge of the penalty area and when he was tackled, Gallagher volleyed the dropping ball into the bottom corner with his right foot.

The goals keep coming

The chances kept coming and it was 3-0 six minutes later when Thiago Silva headed Mykhailo Mudryk’s corner back across goal and Madueke nodded in from close range.

There could have been a fourth soon after as Gallagher volleyed Palmer’s cross from the right on to the bar from inside the six-yard box.

Shortly before half-time, West Ham and Bowen then struck the woodwork yet again from close range but in truth, we were good value for the 3-0 lead at half-time.

West Ham’s fans would have been hoping for a reaction following the restart but instead, it was the Blues who piled on more misery.

Jackson doubles up

Just three minutes into the second period, a classy ball forward from Chalobah released Madueke and when one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he selflessly rolled the ball to Jackson, leaving the forward a simple tap-in for his 15th goal of the season in all competitions.

West Ham should have pulled a goal back on 53 minutes when Emerson smashed over the bar from close range and shortly after, James Ward-Prowse forced Djordje Petrovic into a good save with a trademark free-kick.

Bowen’s frustrating afternoon continued when he hit the crossbar for a third time with 11 minutes remaining and moments later, it was five.

A through-ball from Moises Caicedo saw Jackson break the offside trap and he calmly finished. The offside flag went up but after a VAR check, the decision was reversed and Jackson had his 16th goal of the season in all competitions.

What it means

Chelsea’s win moves us level with Manchester United on 54 points as we leapfrog the Red Devils into seventh ahead of their game with Crystal Palace tomorrow night.

Newcastle United remain in sixth on 56 points following their 4-1 win over Burnley yesterday as the Blues chase a European place in their final three games.

What is next

We now head to Nottingham Forest on Saturday before another away match against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday 15 May.

Our season will then conclude back at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 19 May when we welcome Bournemouth.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Chalobah (Gusto 82), Thiago Silva (Disasi 82), Badiashile, Cucurella; Gallagher, Caicedo; Madueke (Casadei 76), Palmer (Gilchrist 89), Mudryk (Nkunku 76); Jackson
Unused substitutes: Bettinelli, Sterling, Colwill, Deivid
Bookings: Cucurella 38
Goals: Palmer 15, Gallagher 30, Madueke 36, Jackson 48, 80

West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna, Zouma, Emerson; Soucek, Alvarez (Ward-Prowse 46); Bowen, Paqueta (Cresswell 76), Kudus; Antonio (Ings 70)
Unused substitutes: Fabianski, Johnson, Cornet, Earthy, Casey, Mubama
Bookings: Ogbonna 34, Emerson 45, Paqueta 45+2

Referee: Andrew Madley
Attendance: 39, 295