Chelsea stormed to the top of the Premier League table as they made it five straight wins with a resounding 5-0 success over Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte's men took advantage of Manchester City's draw with Middlesbrough to leapfrog the Citizens at the summit courtesy of a devastating display from start to finish.
Ronald Koeman opted for a back three to try and counter the home side's flourishing 3-4-3 system and it backfired spectacularly as the Toffees' previously stubborn defence was torn to shreds.
Chelsea's front trio continue to look completely revitalised under Conte and they were the architects of this statement of their title credentials.
Eden Hazard opened the scoring with a low strike from the left of the area before playing a role in the second just 70 seconds later as Pedro crossed for Marcos Alonso to fire under Maarten Stekelenburg.
Everton soon reverted to a more familiar system, but by that point Chelsea were in full flow and it could easily have been more than 3-0 by the interval after Diego Costa swept in Nemanja Matic's flick-on from Hazard's corner.
The Toffees have not won in the league at Stamford Bridge since 1994 and they endured further misery in the second half as Hazard snared his second after a lovely one-two with Pedro before the Spaniard got in on the act when he tucked home a rebound.
The result means Chelsea are now a point clear at the summit but have played a game more than both Arsenal and Liverpool who are each in action on Sunday.
Latest Stories
-
Trump proves he is serious on tariffs – but it’s not about trade
1 min -
Bawumia to commission electric buses on Wednesday
3 mins -
CSIR-SARI encourages farmers in Northern Ghana to embrace newly developed climate-smart, high-yielding Cowpea variety
7 mins -
Biden announces Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire deal agreed
8 mins -
MTN Ghana partners with Access Bank to offer smartphones to customers on flexible payment service
15 mins -
Our economy has come back to life – Finance Minister
22 mins -
We’ll replicate the biblical David and Goliath contest in Bole-Bamboi – NPP to NDC
24 mins -
Questioning Kufuor’s support for Bawumia is the height of impunity – Hackman to Alan
39 mins -
GOIL holds annual thanksgiving and farewell service for Group CEO
45 mins -
Businessman gifts new Police Station, School to Lente-Wute community
47 mins -
Heath Goldfields sues Herald Newspaper, Editor, over defamation claims
47 mins -
Vote out NPP for creating economic hardship -Prof Opoku-Agyemang
48 mins -
‘Women’s football has power to transform lives and communities’ – Gifty Oware-Mensah
50 mins -
Interplast Ltd wins double honours at 10th Ghana Mining Industry Awards
1 hour -
Coastal CSOs Forum embarks on study trip to enhance Ghana’s coastal resilience efforts
2 hours