Hammers put back in their box by Chelsea

Chelsea 2 West Ham 0

It turned out to be a non-event; Chelsea were simply too slick for their neighbours from the east; too quick in thought and deed. And once John Terry had put Chelsea ahead there was only going to be one result. West Ham never really believed they could come to Stamford Bridge and win. The gulf between first and fourth — the positions these teams occupied on the final whistle — was immense. Chelsea had 23 shots to West Ham’s two, neither of which was on target.

“We are a much better team when we have the ball,” said Mourinho of his own side’s impressive evolution in the past few months. “Last year we were very strong defensively but lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball. The challenge was to bring that dynamic without losing the qualities of the team.