Southampton 2-0

Independent:

Southampton 0 Chelsea 2

Eden Hazard and Diego Costa goals see Antonio Conte's side keep pace

Claude Puel's Saints were unbeaten at home so far this season until Hazard and Costa struck without response

Ian Winrow at St Mary's

If Chelsea are to sustain their challenge for the Premier League title, they may well point to this performance as one that validated the view Antonio Conte’s revitalised side can last the course.
Built on the foundation of a defence that has been impregnable since Conte reorganised his back-line four-and-a-half matches ago and inspired by a revitalised Eden Hazard, who scored the opening goal, taking his tally to five league goals, one more than he managed in whole of last year’s troubled campaign, this was a convincing victory at the home of a team that came into the game on the back of a run of steadily improving form.

Diego Costa confirmed the win with an outstanding second half effort, struck from outside the area, for his eighth goal in ten league games. While last weekend’s emphatic victory win against Manchester United may have been more eye-catching, but this was equally impressive as Conte’s side served up a display that will have been noted by the three teams who sit one point above them at the head of the table.

Claude Puel’s Southampton side had not lost at home since a very different Chelsea won here eight months ago and came into this game have conceded just two goals in five unbeaten games. That run was ruined when Hazard put the visitors ahead after six minutes and it quickly became clear the home side would struggle to become the first side to break down Chelsea’s three-man central defence since Conte made the switch when his side were trailing 3-0 at half-time at Arsenal 405 minutes of playing time ago.

The case for Chelsea as title contenders is growing in strength but Conte insists, that with the top of the table as congested as it has been in a very long time, judgement on their credentials should be withheld until the second half of the season.

“At this moment, it's not important for us to look at the table,” said the manager. “We are in a good position, but it's not important. It's more important to work very hard and trust the work will improve us.

“The only way that we must know now is to continue to work. Not look at the table. But, if you ask me a prediction or an expectation of our championship, now it's very difficult to talk about this.

“It's important to pass many games particularly in the first part of this season. And then you can see if you can stay up there in the title race. It's important to pass the first part of the season. Then, when you start the second part, our ideas will be more clear. We are working a lot. I'm seeing a lot of positive things in the team. We are not looking at the table, but continuing just to work.”

Hazard’s outstanding work in the opening moments of the game set the tone with the winger taking the opportunity to drift inside, exchange passes with the excellent Victor Moses before getting in behind Steve Davis and drilling an angled shot through the legs of Fraser Forster. The Belgian’s contribution did not surprise Puel, who managed Hazard at Lille, and the Southampton manager believes his former player is now back to his best.

“He has come back after last season's difficulties, and has come back at a very good level,” said Puel. “He played with this level, so it made it difficult for us. But we could have done better at his goal. But he's a very good player, of course, like Costa.”

Costa should have added a second when he was set free by Nemanja Matic shortly before the interval but Southampton’s threat had been so limited, it never seemed likely the miss would prove costly. However, ten minutes into the second half, the Spain striker made up for his mistake, making space outside the Southampton area and curling a long-range effort beyond Forster.

"Four wins in the league now, four clean sheets – we keep going,” said Gary Cahill, the Chelsea centre-back. "It’s too early in terms of any team talking about winning the league but it’s important to stay near the top. We want to be up and among it. I can’t see anyone running away with it this season."

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Forster; Martina, Fonte, Van Dijk, Bertrand (McQueen 78); Clasie (Boufal 61), Romeu; Tadic (Hojbjerg 78), Davis, Austin; Redmond.
Subs not used: Taylor, Yoshida, Ward-Prowse, Olomola.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses (Ivanovic 87), Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro (Willian 78), Costa (Batshuayi 88), Hazard.
Subs not used: Begovic, Oscar, Terry, Chalobah.

Referee: M Jones (Cheshire)
Attendance: 31,827

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Guardian:

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Diego Costa turn on style to sink Southampton

Southampton 0 - 2

Dominic Fifield at St Mary's

Chelsea’s title challenge under Antonio Conte seems more persuasive with every passing week. This was arguably a more impressively constructed victory than that handed to them so obligingly by Manchester United the previous Sunday, a win chiselled out against one of the form teams in the division and a side who had not lost here since February. Southampton ended up feeling forlorn. Given the hosts’ underlying qualities to win this comfortably was remarkable.

Chelsea, then under Guus Hiddink’s interim stewardship, had been the last team to prevail at Southampton’s expense on the south coast, but that had been a success squeezed late and improbably from an even contest. This, in contrast, was a masterclass in how to exert almost complete control despite the home side hogging the ball for the majority of the play. Conte’s side, so expertly drilled, kept their opponents at arm’s length throughout. Their celebrations in front of the away support at the end, with the manager barely able to contain his delight, reinforced the impression the collective is suddenly strong.

This was a show of new-found strength. So much has been made of the Italian’s three-man defensive block – a system adopted out of desperation back when Chelsea had been exposed too often as vulnerable – but they seamlessly morphed into a five when required, with wing-backs working feverishly at both ends of the pitch and a midfield crammed with energy and industry. They have adapted superbly to the change in formation and have not been breached in 410 minutes of Premier League football, all but five of which have been with a trio of centre-halves blunting their opponents’ intent.

A team that had appeared so fragile against the fluid movement offered up by Liverpool and Arsenal in recent weeks have unearthed steel. Picking passage through these resolute massed banks of blue must feel an onerous task. It was one utterly beyond Southampton.

Thibaut Courtois made one save of relative note, from a Dusan Tadic free-kick, and watched Charlie Austin head over the bar and have another effort ruled out for offside, but a team who had been on the charge up the table over recent weeks would have expected to inflict more damage than that. Claude Puel cited fatigue as a contributory factor, but figuratively thumping your head against a brick wall for 90 minutes can presumably have that effect. “It is so difficult to play against,” added the Frenchman through a sigh.

The goal the Spain international curled so gloriously beyond an exposed Fraser Forster from just outside the penalty area 10 minutes into the second half, as Cuco Martina limply hung out a leg in a half-hearted attempt to block, was his eighth this season and 40th in only 64 top-flight outings, a record all the more staggering given his own rather fitful contribution through last season’s toils.

Costa may not always see eye-to-eye with a manager every bit as intense on the touchline as the striker is out on the turf, but a player whose temperament has so often left him open to sanction has led the line through four league wins without accruing the fifth yellow card of term that will see him serve a ban. The 28-year-old has effectively played on the edge of suspension for well over a month, retaining his snarl but ensuring his infamously physical and inflammatory approach has not crossed the line. At some point the yellow will come Costa’s way but, at present, it is more appropriate to acknowledge the goalscoring contribution he is making to the team.

Then there is Hazard. It had been the Belgian who eased the visitors aheadat St Mary’s, a cleverly delivered move upfield culminating in Moses slipping a return pass round Ryan Bertrand for the winger, evading Steve Davis, to collect. He took his time to tease out Davis’ sliding tackle before cutting inside and ripping a low shot through Forster’s legs at his near post.

It was the third successive game in which Hazard had scored, swelling his season’s tally to five. He has managed more goals in 10 games this season than he mustered in all 31 last time round and feels less of an indulgence when he contributes like this. “He has come back to a good level after last season’s difficulties,” said Puel, who had handed Hazard his first-team debut while at Lille. The 25-year-old was a constant threat here, as he has been all season, and was denied further reward only by Forster’s excellence and a timely José Fonte interception.

Southampton should not wallow in this mismatch overly long. They have Internazionale to come here on Thursday in the Europa League, when Puel will seek an immediate response. They are more than capable of claiming that tie so impressive has their own recent form proved, but here it was Chelsea who imposed themselves more coherently. It took them 20 games and into the new year to gather this many points last season. This time round theirs is an unnerving presence hovering on the leading trio’s shoulder.

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Telegraph:

Southampton 0 Chelsea 2: Conte's clinical Blues show title credentials with counter-attack masterclass

Jeremy Wilson

It is hard just now to know whether it is the performances of Chelsea or Manchester United which provide the more damning illustration for how Jose Mourinho’s once stunning coaching career is suffering an equally spectacular dip.

Mourinho’s current difficulties at United have been well documented but perhaps even more revealing is how, with largely the same group of players as last season, Antonio Conte continues to inspire Chelsea’s revival.

From being only a point off the relegation zone when Mourinho was sacked shortly before Christmas last year, Chelsea are back where they have largely belonged over the past decade as legitimate title contenders.

A run of four straight Premier League wins – including that 4-0 victory against Mourinho’s United – has put them into a top four with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool that is now separated by just a single point.

Such form has been underpinned by not conceding a single Premier League goal since Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta came together in a back three but, while the 3-4-3 formation is something very new, the attacking inspiration has been derived from a very familiar old source.

In beating Southampton here on Sunday 2-0, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Diego Costa simply delivered another timely reminder that form might by temporary but class is permanent. The Southampton manager, Claude Puel, had actually given a 16-year-old Hazard his debut at Lille back in 2007 and his old protégé was excellent here in scoring Chelsea’s first and then creating their second to take his own personal Premier League goal tally for the season to five. Hazard managed only four during the whole of last season.

Similarly, Costa is now on a run of eight goals in 10 Premier League games after contributing only 12 through the whole of last season. Conte last night described that most unwanted campaign in Chelsea’s recent past as “history” but, pointedly, also stressed that Hazard and Costa were not the only underachievers.

“I think the last season is there, and you can see it,” the Chelsea manager said. “It’s history. It was bad, but not only for one player but many players. The season wasn’t good for all the team. You win and you lose together. Never as only one player. I want to see my players always working together and enjoying playing football together, and to win together. Sometimes to lose together, too.”

This was ultimately a very comfortable win together for Chelsea even if Southampton, who had not previously lost at home this season, had actually started on the front-foot.

In his planning for the match, Puel would have identified the areas behind Chelsea’s wing-backs as a potential area of vulnerability and Dusan Tadic did quickly drift into that space down the right. He cut inside and then back outside the Chelsea defence before flashing a dangerous cross along the six-yard line.

It seemed like the pattern for the match had been established but a combination of some slick Chelsea passing and slack Southampton defending soon completely changed the dynamic of the game.

Hazard had driven forward into space down Southampton’s left that had been vacated by Ryan Bertrand and darted into the penalty area following an exchange of passes with Victor Moses. Steven Davis tried to track Hazard’s run but was then much too hesitant with his attempted tackle as the Chelsea player dragged the ball back inside and smashed a low angled shot between the legs of goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Only six minutes had elapsed but Chelsea already had Southampton exactly where they wanted. They then brilliantly sat back and absorbed Southampton’s attacks, with wing-backs Moses and Marcos Alonso as deep-lying as any conventional full-back, either side of a three-man central defence.

The selfless team play of Alonso and Moses has been one of the big features this season of Chelsea’s improvement and was later specifically praised by Conte. N’Golo Kanté and Nemanja Matic were also content to sit deeply in central midfield and break up Southampton’s attacks before launching rapid counters for Pedro, Hazard and Costa.

It could barely have worked better and so, even with possession statistics that were heavily weighted in Southampton’s favour, the best chances were all falling to Chelsea.

Hazard again burst forward and had a curling shot saved by Forster before Matic dispossessed Jordy Clasie and then put Costa clear on goal. His finish just lacked precision and was blocked by Forster’s leg but in the 55th minute he more than made amends from an even more difficult position.

Hazard provided the assist this time and, from 25 yards, Costa cut inside and took advantage of a defensive lapse in concentration by the Southampton right-back Cuco Martina to curl a wonderful finish past Forster.

Costa had several chances for a second but was just unable to meet Hazard’s cross before also failing to finish after Forster had only parried Moses’s powerful drive.

Puel responded by bringing on record signing Sofiane Boufal – the scorer of a wonderful winner against Sunderland in the EFL Cup on Wednesday – but the closest Southampton came to troubling Chelsea was late on when substitute Sam McQueen crossed for Charlie Austin, who had just drifted offside before finishing past Thibaut Courtois.


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Mail:

Southampton 0-2 Chelsea: Eden Hazard and Diego Costa score in either half to give Antonio Conte's side a fourth successive Premier league win

Eden Hazard gave Chelsea an early lead as he fired through the legs of Fraser Forster in the sixth minute

Hazard and Diego Costa went close to adding further goals before the interval but Forster saved
Costa did make it 2-0 soon after the break with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box
Southampton had plenty of possession but Claude Puel's side created few clear-cut chances

By MATT BARLOW FOR THE DAILY MAIL

If the four-goal demolition of Manchester United was a resounding statement of Chelsea’s renewed intent, then this display was no less impressive.

With goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa they strangled Southampton, scored early and never looked likely to relinquish their grip on the game.

They might have won by a greater margin but Antonio Conte clenched his fists and let out a roar of satisfaction as his team stayed within a point of the Premier League leaders.

Conte’s new three-man defence is solid, claiming another clean sheet, and his side were fluent and dangerous in attack. They have developed a menacing new look since the Italian followed his heart and shook this misfiring set of players into a different formation. His 3-4-3 system is getting the best from his best players.

Not least Costa, who tops the Premier League goal charts with eight from 10 games, and Hazard, who has five, more than he scored in the whole of last season.

When this old one-two are happy and in good touch the goals flow for Chelsea and points follow. They shared 34 when winning the title under Jose Mourinho in 2014-15.

Some may have wondered if the 4-0 win against United was inspired by the collective desire to avenge Mourinho, a manager they fell out of love with, but it feels like Conte’s team might be on to something bigger than settling a personal grudge.

Chelsea worked tirelessly at St Mary’s, a blur of movement with vital mileage from unsung wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso. The sight of Moses forging up and down the right flank must be a delight for the Chelsea hierarchy because it offers hope to all those young, gifted and ambitious players out on loan from Stamford Bridge.

Moses was influential, afforded space by Claude Puel’s lopsided tactical system which offers Nathan Redmond a licence to drift freely from the left and link up with Charlie Austin.

Ryan Bertrand at left back was over-loaded in the first half and Moses was involved in the opening goal which put the visitors in control from the sixth minute.

Hazard, who was handed his senior debut by Puel when at Lille, was the scorer, trading passes with Moses and twisting past Steven Davis before driving a low finish through the legs of Fraser Forster at the goalkeeper’s near post.

Southampton produced some pleasing patterns and enjoyed attractive spells of possession without converting it into clear chances until they changed the system and sent on Soufiane Boufal.

Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill have adjusted to their roles in the back three and are protecting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. It is now 410 minutes since they conceded in the Premier League, a goal scored by Mesut Ozil on September 24.

They are earning some good fortune, too.

When a rare opportunity fell to Austin, he mistimed his header from a free-kick delivered by Davis and was well off target.

A desperate penalty appeal following a nudge from behind by N’Golo Kante on Austin was a sign of Southampton’s frustration as half-time approached.

While Saints performed neatly without much threat, Chelsea might easily have extended the lead on the counter-attack, with Forster making fine saves to deny Hazard and Costa as half-time approached.
Alonso was turned inside-out by one dizzying piece of footwork from Dusan Tadic in the opening minutes, but he stuck to his task, gradually won the duel and was an attacking force in the second half.

Costa scored Chelsea’s second, a brilliant curling finish from outside the box, although the comical defending by Cuco Martina left much to be desired.

Rather than close down, Martina turned away and cocked his leg behind him, hoping it might block the route to goal, then shuffled backwards and repeated the same move.

His routine may provide inspiration for Ed Balls on Strictly Come Dancing, but Martina did not stop Costa wrapping his right boot around the ball and bending it past Forster and inside the far post.

Saints wobbled briefly as if they might disintegrate. Costa clipped another effort wide from a Hazard cross and Forster saved from Moses, but Puel’s team regrouped and summoned a belated response. Austin climbed above Cahill to head over and Luiz deflected a Martina cross against his own bar. Austin found the net seven minutes from time only to see it ruled out for offside.
Replays showed it was the correct decision. It would be the last chance.

Southampton’s positive run of results comes to an end and Chelsea bound on, with a fourth win on the spin, 11 scored and none against and a glint in the eye of Conte, a man energised by signs of progress.

SOUTHAMPTON (4-3-3-): Forster 6.5; Martina 5, Fonte 6, Van Dijk 6.5, Bertrand 6 (McQueen 78); Romeu 6, Clasie 5 (Boufal 61), Davis 6; Redmond 6, Tadic 5 (Hojbjerg 78), Austin 5
SUBS NOT USED: Taylor, Yoshida, Ward-Prowse, Olomola
 MANAGER: Claude Puel 6

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 7, Cahill 6.5; Moses 7.5 (Ivanovic 87), Kante 7 Matic 7.5, Alonso 6; Pedro 6.5 (Willian 78), Costa 8.5 (Batshuayi 88), Hazard 8
SUBS NOT USED: Begovic, Oscar, Terry, Chalobah
GOALS: Hazard 6, Costa 55
MANAGER: Antonio Conte 7

REFEREE: Mike Jones 6
ATTENDANCE: 31,827

MAN OF THE MATCH: Diego Costa
* Ratings by Matt Barlow

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Mirror:

Southampton 0-2 Chelsea: Blues make it four in a row with comfortable win - 5 things we learned

BY NEIL MCLEMAN

Antonio Conte's men coasted to victory at St Mary's to make it four successive wins, and without conceding a league goal since the loss at Arsenal

Goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa ended Southampton's long unbeaten home record – and lifted Chelsea within a point of the Premier League lead.

The Saints had not lost at St Mary's since the Blues won here in February. But Hazard gave the visitors the lead after only six minutes when he turned inside Steven Davies to drill home his fifth goal of the season – more than the Belgian scored in the whole of the last campaign.

Claude Puel's side dominated possession but Thibaut Courtois's only first-half save came from a Dusan Tadic free kick.

Costa was denied by Fraser Forster when sent through on goal by Nemanja Matic just before the break. The Spain striker made no mistake after 55 minutes when he was given time and space on the edge of the Saints box by Cuco Martina before curling his shot into the top corner.

Forster made futher saves from Hazard and Moses while Charlie Austin had a late effort disallowed for a borderline offside decision.

Here are five things we learned:

1. The Blues are in this title race

Sir Alex Ferguson was wrong for not naming the Blues among his five title contenders.
Four consecutive Premier League wins wihout conceding a goal since the Arsenal defeat have removed any doubt that Conte's side are in the hunt (and seven points clear of Manchester United).

2. Saints are good but not top class

After another summer of upheaval which saw the departure of another manager and three top players, Southampon's run of seven domestic matches without defeat came to an abrupt end despite dominating possession.
There other defeats this season came away to Manchester United, Arsenal and Inter Milan.

3. Chelsea's three centre-backs work – without John Terry

Under the former Italy coach, Chelsea look very Italian. Solid at the back, then they break forward with speed and class.
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa are back from their sabbaticals and Pedro is the player he was at Barcelona.
But there is no place for Terry in this slick formation.

4. Van Dijk is the next player to go in the annual Saints sales

Claude Puel claimed on Friday that the Dutch defender can become one of the to five centre-backs in the world.
The former Celtic star combines good tactical awareness with the physical strength to compete with Diego Costa. He is better than Dejan Lovren, who Liverpool bought for £20million.

5. No revenge for Romeu and Bertrand

As well as selling Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, Jose Mourinho also disposed of Ryan Bertrand and Oriol Romeu during his second spell as Chelsea boss.
The Spaniard battled away but the England left-back was out of position for the opening goal.

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Star:

Southampton 0 Chelsea 2: Eden Hazard and Diego Costa make it four wins on the bounce

ON the day the clocks went back Eden Hazard continued to turn back time to keep Chelsea in the thick of the Premier League title race.

By Alex Crook

Hazard’s alarm dip in form last season was one of the main factors in Chelsea’s pitiful defence of their championship crown.

The brilliant Belgian continued his revival under Antonio Conte by scoring one goal and making another for the equally rejuvenated Diego Costa as the Blues cruised to victory at St Mary’s.

Only Tottenham had conceded fewer goals this season than Southampton but it took Chelsea just six minutes to shatter that impressive defensive record.

Victor Moses played in Hazard down the right and the wing wizard dummied Steven Davis too easily before slotting past Fraser Forster from a tight angle.

Hazard has now scored more league goals this season than in the WHOLE of last term.

Man-of-the match Hazard almost doubled his and the Blues’ tally seven minutes before half time, cutting in from the left before curling into the arms of Forster at the far post.

Forster came to Saints’ rescue three minutes later, denying Costa with a smart save with the legs after Nemanja Matic had robbed Jordy Clasie in midfield.

Hazard was instrumental in Costa extending Chelsea’s advantage with his eighth goal of the season ten minutes into the second half.

David Luiz played a short free kick to Hazard down the left flank and the Belgian teed up Costa to curl an unstoppable shot, thanks to Cuco Martina’s feeble attempt to block, beyond a despairing Forster from 25 yards.

Costa now tops the Premier League scoring charts – one goal ahead of Manchester City hitman Sergio Aguero.

The Spaniard should have completed a quick-fire brace moments later when he sliced over from the edge of the six-yard box after Moses and Hazard had combined neatly down the right.

Southampton introduced club record £16m signing Sofiane Boufal from the bench for the final half an hour in a desperate bid to salvage their eight-month unbeaten home run.

It should have been 3-0 on 64 minutes when Forster spilled Moses’ shot and the rebound found its way to Pedro but the Spaniard took too long to get his shot away, allowing Oriol Romeu to block.
Southampton, who themselves were protecting a five-match unbeaten run in the league, found it tough going to penetrate Chelsea’s stubborn back five.

When Stamford Bridge old-boy Ryan Bertrand did work an opening 21 minutes from time Charlie Austin could only divert his header over the goal.

Northern Ireland international Davis also clipped the top of Courtois’ crossbar as Claude Puel’s men threatened to set up a grandstand finish.

The form of Moses has been another highlight of Conte’s short tenure in west London and the Nigerian was once again superb on the south coast.

It needed an excellent save from Forster to beat away Moses’ power-packed left-foot effort after gliding in from the right.

Southampton did have the ball in the net in the 85th minute but Austin’s effort was correctly ruled out as he had strayed offside in the process of eluding Luiz.

Chelsea are now just one point off top spot after four straight wins and but for some wasteful finishing from substitute Michy Batshuayi could have added to their tally in stoppage time.
Hazard played a lovely reverse ball to Matic, which the Serbian back-heeled into the feet of Batshuayi but the £33m summer but blazed over.

Saints boss Puel discovered Hazard as a raw 16-year-old when he was in charge of Lille. With friends like him, the Frenchman does not need enemies.

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Express:

Southampton 0 - Chelsea 2: Eden Hazard and Diego Costa earn Antonio Conte's side victory

EDEN HAZARD and Diego Costa, the twin axis of danger in this Chelsea side, are the men that Antonio Conte is building a title challenge around.

By TONY BANKS

It is no surprise of course, the pair have been the mainstay of Chelsea for the best part of three years now.

But Conte has drilled something more out of the duo this season – and right now the Belgian and the Spaniard are as good a partnership as any in the Premier League.

Both struck early in each half at St Mary’s yesterday, and as Chelsea diligently protected each goal with their new found resolve and efficiency, for once this promising Southampton team this season simply ran out of ideas.

Hazard has now scored in each of his last three Premier League games as Chelsea have won four on the bounce, scoring 11 and conceding none.

Costa has netted three in his last four, and has eight in total this season. Last season the pair spent most of the campaign arguing with former manager Jose Mourinho, each a pitiful shadow of the player they had been in 2014-15, when they were instrumental in Chelsea winning the title.

At one point Hazard walked off the pitch infuriating his manager, in another game Costa openly rowed with the Special One on the touchline.

But this morning, as Chelsea sit fourth, with just one point covering the top four, Conte’s methods and philosophy appear to be bearing fruit.

The Italian has worked the pair hard, and each has responded to the new, harsh demands. Hazard did not score his first goal in the league until April last year.

Now, after destroying Manchester United and his old manager last week, and yesterday dismantling Southampton with another brilliant display, he is a different player.

Eager, alert, and when he has the ball at his feet, devastating. In the summer the rumours were that Costa could be off, but Conte persuaded him to stay. He too has a new hunger and maybe a new maturity – he has avoided being cautioned now for three games.

Against United last week Chelsea were ahead in 30 seconds. It took a little longer yesterday, but once again they grabbed early control of the game and did not let go.

Knocked out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday at West Ham, there are two trophies to aim for, the League and the FA Cup. So there is little margin for error.

John Terry, who had a torrid time at the London Stadium, was back on the bench for a game that looked awkward with Saints unbeaten in five League matches.

But six minutes in Steven Davis allowed Hazard to run into the area onto Victor Moses’ pass. Then Davis was too easily turned, and Hazard rammed his angled shot through Fraser Forster’s legs.

It was a bad goal to concede, and Saints struggled all afternoon to recover, though Jose Fonte nodded wide, and Dusan Tadic saw his free-kick pushed round the post by Thibaut Courtois.

Every time Chelsea broke though they looked dangerous, and Hazard saw his shot saved before Costa missed a glorious chance to make it two, stopped by Forster when clean through.

Ten minutes after the break the game was over as a contest, it was the duo who combined to do the damage again. Hazard slipped in Costa on the edge of the area, and the Spaniard took one stride before curling a beautiful shot into the far corner.

Southampton had plenty of the ball, but Chelsea’s new three man defence and diligently covering midfielders simply gave them no sniffs of goal.

Charlie Austin found every avenue blocked, and even when, for once, Ryan Bertrand’s cross found him, he nodded over. 

And then when he did have the ball in the net, was ruled offside. In fact, Chelsea could have added to their score, Forster saving superbly from Hazard and Victor Moses.
The closest Saints came was when Davis’s header deflected onto the bar.

Claude Puel’s team have come a long way this term, but yesterday they were outfoxed. At West Ham, Conte had rested Hazard and Costa, and his side were impotent.
Their importance to this team cannot be over estimated.
Chelsea fans had better hope the dynamic duo stay fit.

Southampton (4-1-3-2): Forster 6; Martina 6, Fonte 7, Van Dyke 6, Bertrand 6 (McQueen 78, 6); Romeu 6; Davis 6, Tadic 6 (Hojberg 78, 6), Clasie 5 (Boufal 61, 5); Redmond 6, Austin 6.

Next Up: Inter Milan (h), Thurs EL.

Chelsea: (3-4-3): Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 7, Cahill 7; Moses 7 (Ivanovic 87), Kante 7, Matic 7, Alonso 7; Pedro 7 (Willian 78, 6), Costa 7 (Batshuayi 89), Hazard 8. Goals: Hazard 6, Costa 55.

Next Up: Everton (h), Sat PL.

Referee: M Jones (Chester)

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West Ham United 1-2

Independent:

The Hammers' winning ways continue amid violent scenes at the London Stadium

West Ham United 2 Chelsea 1: Goals courtesy of Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes handed Slaven Bilic's men their third consecutive victory

Jack Pitt-Brooke

This was nearly the night when the London Stadium finally felt open for business. Its ninth game, at the end of its third month, and West Ham United gave the stadium and its crow the performance they deserved, the performance everyone had been waiting for.

And then, in the final minutes of the match, a mass confrontation flared behind one goal, between home and away fans. It was quickly quelled but the damage was done, not least to popular memories of this evening with everyone who was here.

Except for the trouble, this could have been one of the great nights in West Ham’s recent history. Of course any defeat of Chelsea, to reach a cup quarter-final, would mean the world to West Ham. But this win meant more than that. Because it reminded West Ham, for the first real time this season, of a few things that had been slipping into doubt. That there is still a good team here, with a good manager, if only they can all pull in the same direction. Or that leaving their old home does not mean that they have lost themselves, if they can still produce nights like this.

Whether West Ham can go to Old Trafford and win is a long shot, and their league form certainly has to improve a long way. But this night felt like a turning point, a confirmation that the defeats of Crystal Palace and Sunderland were, if not the start of something, then at least the end of their spiral. Here, at long last, was something to build on, something to believe in.

In that sense this was a rare night when West Ham fans got exactly what they were hoping for. After too many bad outings at the London Stadium, too many fresh reminders of what this place is not, they  needed a performance to get behind. Against someone stronger than Bournemouth, Sunderland, Accrington or Domzale, their four home scalps before tonight.

Who better to come here, then, than Chelsea? A cross-town rival, but not one at their best, with Antonio Conte resting many of his best players. By the time Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro came on, the game had already been lost. West Ham had taken it away from Chelsea’s youngsters and fringe men, playing with an industry and intensity that was beyond anything they had produced all season.

Both teams have stabilised in recent weeks thanks to a new 3-4-3 system, providing a run of clean sheets desperately needed for both managers. Here, though, West Ham were operating without a recognised striker, so few were the options at Bilic’s disposal. He picked his three most dangerous players, Michail Antonio, Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, in his front three, hoping they would be incisive enough to pick through Chelsea’s lumbering backline.

It was a risk but it worked. Just 10 minutes in, Antonio won a free-kick from Gary Cahill. That led to a corner, which came out to Mark Noble 30 yards out. He swung in a cross, and Cheikhou Kouyate jumped above John Terry to head it in.

The ground erupted and West Ham continued to drive forward, fuelled by the best atmosphere they have enjoyed here. Antonio skewed one shot just wide, before beating David Luiz down the left and crossing to Lanzini, who could not get enough on his flick. Asmir Begovic had to save well from Payet’s free-kick and Pedro Obiang from distance, and West Ham were wondering at the break how they were not ahead by more.

Anxiety is natural, but they need not have worried. Three minutes after the restart West Ham had scored again. Begovic smothered Payet’s far-post shot but when the ball came back out to Edimilson Fernandes, Chelsea did not switch on. So Fernandes cut inside Ola Aina, onto his left foot, and beat Begovic into the far bottom corner. When Noble shot just wide from distance, Chelsea knew they were in a game. Diego Costa was thrown on, then Eden Hazard, then Pedro.

This was a different Chelsea team, so attacking that it had Pedro as left wing-back and Oscar in central midfield. They had created half-chances beforehand but now they had an extra fizz, an extra edge. For too long in the opening hour they had looked like they wanted it less than their hosts, second to every loose ball, as Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang cleaned up in midfield.

Conte admitted afterwards that he did not expect West Ham to score their second so soon, and so quickly threw on Costa, then Hazard, then Pedro when they did. This was a new Chelsea team, with an extra fizz, an extra edge. Luiz found Costa, who pulled it back to Willian, but he dragged his shot wide. The next time they combined Willian played in Costa, whose chip faded away from the post.

But there was a moment to get back into the game, and Chelsea missed it. West Ham, by the end luxuriating in the feel of imminent triumph, could slow the play down and threaten on the break. By the time Chelsea pulled one back, as Gary Cahill bundled in a corner, the game was up. That was the last kick of the night, even if by that point most people’s eyes had switched to the stands.

========================

Guardian:

Cheikhou Kouyaté inspires West Ham but clashes mar win over Chelsea
West Ham 2 - 1 Chelsea

David Hytner

It had always promised to be an incendiary tie and, for 90 minutes, it looked as though it would be celebrated for the football, which was fast, open and exciting. West Ham United finally delivered the performance that they had wanted to electrify their new stadium and they put themselves on the right side of the result, too. They are into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where they will face Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But all of the good things from West Ham and Chelsea would be marred in stoppage time during a couple of minutes when supporters from both clubs hurled insults and projectiles – including coins and a couple of ripped-up seats.

The trouble had flared when Chelsea fans made for the exit at the back of the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand and some of their counterparts from West Ham moved towards them. The stewards fought to keep them apart but, with a bottleneck having formed, the situation very quickly came to look very ugly.

Slaven Bilic’s reaction during his post-match press conference said it all, after he was asked, on the second question, to talk about the crowd trouble. Exasperation did not begin to cover it. “This game deserves to be talked about a little bit more,” he said.

He was right, because it was a thriller. And yet, when such a substantial number of supporters can behave in such a bone-headed manner, the prominence afforded to the bad stuff comes with a grim inevitability.

There were 11,000 empty seats in the stadium for various reasons, with one of the theories taking in the reticence of some fans to attend, given the possibility that there would be problems. There had already been disturbances in the stands and outside the ground at some of West Ham’s previous home matches. And this was Chelsea – not Bournemouth or Watford.

It remains incongruous to see West Ham playing in this vast bowl, in which the noise can often appear to drift away on the breeze but there was a good atmosphere at the outset, and the tie crackled to life when Cheikhou Kouyaté opened the scoring. Chelsea had looked comfortable but they were rocked by Kouyaté’s goal and it was because players are simply not supposed to score with headers from just inside the penalty area.

The defender met Mark Noble’s cross, after West Ham had recycled a corner, with astonishing power and he brought the precision, too. Kouyaté had been two yards inside the Chelsea box and his effort kissed the inside of Asmir Begovic’s post on its way in. John Terry, back in the Chelsea team for his first action since 11 September, had been the blue shirt closest to Kouyaté.

The tone on the field had been set by a 50-50 challenge between Noble and Gary Cahill in the first minute – neither player held back – and it was one of those games that featured so many subplots. It felt unusual, for example, to see both teams in a blood-and-thunder English cup tie playing with three-man defences.

Antonio Conte had made seven changes from Sunday’s home win over United and they created chances at the outset. Terry converged onto a Willian corner to touch over the crossbar while N’Golo Kanté burst into the area, checked and shot. Darren Randolph, who started ahead of Adrián, made a smart save to his right.

Kouyaté’s moment of brilliance had a liberating effect on West Ham, and they had the opportunities to add to their lead during the first half. West Ham appealed in vain for a penalty when Kanté nibbled at the back of Dimitri Payet but the ball ran on to Michail Antonio and, gloriously placed, he swept narrowly past the post.

Manuel Lanzini flicked wide with his outside of his right boot, from Antonio’s low left-wing cross, when he might have been better advised having a swing with his other foot and both Payet and Pedro Obiang worked Begovic before the interval.

Chelsea had plenty of opportunities, too, and they could not understand how they were not rewarded before the break. Nathaniel Chalobah tested Randolph from distance and Kanté might have shot, when well-placed on the left-hand side of the area, rather than looking for a cutback. Michy Batshuayi lifted over from Oscar’s low cross – a bad miss – and Oscar himself then watched a toe-poked shot deflect just wide.

West Ham took charge early in the second half and it was a moment that Edimilson Fernandes will always cherish. The 20-year-old summer signing from Sion, who was making his fifth appearance for the club, collected Noble’s square pass, cut inside and drove a low left-footed shot into the far corner.

Chelsea thought that they had wriggled off the hook after Begovic had blocked from Payet at close quarters, following Antonio’s cross, but Aaron Cresswell won the ball back from Kanté’s clearance and he moved it on to Noble. The stadium roared when Fernandes found the net and it felt like a golden moment for West Ham.

Conte sent on his big guns – Diego Costa and Eden Hazard – while Pedro also came on for the left wing-back, Ola Aina. The manager could be pleased with the never-say-die spirit of his players. They pushed until the end, and they created a flurry of chances.

Oscar felt that he should have had a penalty for handball against Kouyaté while Willian dragged wastefully wide, Hazard hit the top of the post and Costa lifted over Randolph but wide of the goal. At the other end, Payet shot high on the break before Cahill got one back at the very last following a Willian free-kick. By then, however, the trouble had kicked off. The occasion would take on an altogether different feel.

========================

Telegraph:

West Ham 2 Chelsea 1:

Hammers' new home gets cup tie to remember, but crowd trouble overshadows derby win
Sam Wallace

Down at the London Stadium, it finally felt like home for West Ham on a night when they claimed a cup victory over wealthier, more celebrated opposition and there was some of that familiar do-you-want-some posturing that certain men of a certain age enjoy more than Christmas.

Slaven Bilic’s team progress to face Manchester United away in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, and for the first time since they moved into the Olympic Stadium there was an atmosphere that felt a bit like the old days at Upton Park when the touchline was just a gentle cigarette lighter lob from the stands. They took the lead on 11 minutes through Cheikhou Kouyate and never looked back.

Afterwards, Bilic begged for the focus to return to his team’s performance and not the stand-off in the stands which saw some seats ripped up, coins thrown and generally a lot of aggressive pointing from people who should know better. Pity the poor stewards caught in between them all and while it looked bad on television pictures there have been much worse nights than this over the years.

Bilic said that while it was going on, his priority was to remind Aaron Cresswell to keep his mind on the game and not the violence, or whatever it was that was happening in the stands. He condemned it as “unacceptable” and said that the club would do their best to tackle the problems the new stadium has thrown up.

Antonio Conte made seven changes from the team that beat Manchester United and paid the price but he deserves credit for picking 21-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah for his first senior start and Ola Aina, 20, for just his second. Both started well and although there were mistakes there have been many Chelsea managers in the past who have refused to dip into the academy graduates in this competition.

“We have good young players and they need to play,” Conte said. “They played a good game with the right intensity and concentration, it’s a pity because when you lose it’s normal to see the bad things but in this game I found a lot of positive things.”

What cost Conte in the end were the performances of his senior players, especially the likes of Willian, Oscar, and the returning John Terry who was well-beaten for Kouyate’s first goal. He substituted Michy Batshuayi before the hour and the effect that his replacement, Diego Costa, had on the match was notable.

Chelsea had chances in those closing stages with Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro on the pitch but they never looked confident enough to convert them until their very last touch of the game which Gary Cahill lashed into the goal. By then Edmilson Fernandes had scored his first goal for West Ham, three minutes after half-time, and Conte was forced to send on his more experienced players.

In the battle in midfield, Mark Noble came out on top over N’Golo Kante and West Ham’s three-man defence looked very solid. There was another fine performance from Michail Antonio who pinned David Luiz out on the right side in the first half and spun off down the line to create a chance for Manuel Lanzini.

That was another of those moments that showed, in spite of the rush of victory over United, that there will still be a great deal that must be done if Chelsea’s three-man defensive line is to be a success. John Terry, adapting to this new way of life at Chelsea for the first time, was largely protected from the general anxieties of conventional centre-halves at the centre of a back three, although he will look back on the West Ham goal with regret.

On that occasion he was simply beaten to the ball by a more aggressive, assertive leap from Kouyate who was first to Noble’s cross from the left on 11 minutes and nodded it past the dive of Asmir Begovic. It is not often that Terry gets caught out by those kinds of goals and Chelsea, after a bright start, found themselves chasing the game.

Bilic’s team have been unbeaten against Crystal Palace and Sunderland since he adapted to a shape similar to Chelsea’s, with three at the back and, for this tie, Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Antonio deployed as a front three. Payet seemed to have a good shout for a penalty on 15 minutes when Kante tried to nick the ball away from him in the area and brought the Frenchman down.

On that occasion the referee Craig Pawson allowed play to go on and there was a good chance for Antonio to finish that he wasted. Generally speaking, West Ham had the better chances in the first half, Antonio beating Luiz  and crossing for Lanzini who flicked the ball wide. Pedro Obiang had a sweet low hit well saved by Begovic.

Batshuayi missed the best chance of Chelsea’s first half just before the break and it got a lot worse for them within three minutes of the restart when they made a mess of clearing a shot saved by Begovic and ended up conceding the second West Ham goal. It was Willian who failed to read Kante’s clearance and allowed Cresswell to seize possession, square to Noble who picked out Fernandes to drill in the second.

Conte said later that he was pleased that his team had chased the game until the very end which was correct – they never gave up but the players had given themselves too much to do by then. The second goal, he said, had caught his team out and changed the dynamic of the game.
Fernandes, the Swiss Under-21 who cost £5.5 million from Sion, was tidy along the right side and took his chance very well. It prompted Conte to start pulling out the young ones and rolling out his big guns to try to retrieve the situation. After Costa came on, Hazard and Pedro followed soon after in the place of Chalobah and Aina.

Costa created one good chance for Willian but also missed the chances that came his way, standing on the ball on one occasion – a moment that bizarrely convinced referee Pawson to book Winston Reid. Free on goal late on, the Chelsea striker lashed one wide and West Ham held firm until the very last Chelsea attack when Cahill slammed home a loose ball in the area.

===============================

Mail:

West Ham 2-1 Chelsea: Cheikhou Kouyate's incredible header and Edimilson Fernandes strike secure passage to League Cup last-eight for hosts

Cheikhou Kouyate sent West Ham into an early lead through a pinpoint header from the edge of the box
Edimilson Fernandes struck with his left foot to double West Ham's lead against Chelsea on Wednesday
Gary Cahill scored from close range for the visitors in the dying minutes of the encounter
N'Golo Kante missed an opportunity to open the scoring for Chelsea during the opening exchanges

By MATT BARLOW FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Bilic was rightly proud of the achievement and fought for the right to bask in it a little longer, rather than discuss events surrounding security and segregation.

Who can blame him? The West Ham has suffered this season but there have been signs of a breakthrough since the international break, last month.
Scratchy victories against Crystal Palace and Sunderland were followed by this, a fluent attacking performance, with traces of last season, and the result could have been more emphatic.

Cheikhou Kouyate headed West Ham into the lead and Edmilson Fernandes put them two goals up with his first goal for the club, early in the second-half, before they were forced to dig in to defend as Chelsea unleashed Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro from the bench in a late bid to rescue the tie.

Gary Cahill pulled one back with virtually the last kick of the game but it was too late for the visitors.
Antonio Conte had paid a heavy price for making seven changes to the team which impressed against Manchester United, four days earlier, and discovered the limitations of this squad.

Chelsea had won three without conceding a goal since Conte switched to his preferred back-three formation but he will know the squad is not built with such a system in mind and the imbalance was clear as he rested some of the regulars and gave others a much-needed run.

John Terry, injured at Swansea six weeks ago, was back in the centre of the defensive trio, flanked by David Luiz and Cahill, and it was Chelsea’s captain who was beaten in the air by Kouyate for the opener.

Mark Noble angled the ball from the West Ham left towards the edge of Chelsea’s penalty box where Kouyate climbed early, up above Terry and flashed a header inside the post.

It might have been more. Manuel Lanzini and Aaron Cresswell combined on the left to set up Dimitri Payet who thought he had been nudged from behind by N’Golo Kante as he prepared to shoot.
Referee Craig Pawson ignored Payet’s appeal for a foul as the ball spilled to Michail Antonio, and he dragged it wide with his left foot when he ought to have hit the target.

The first save of the game had been by Darren Randolph from N’Golo Kante but the rhythm of the game soon shifted. Chelsea were not the compact and efficient unit they were against United.
The wing backs, Ola Aina and Cesar Azpilicueta, both defenders by trade, were deep which allowed the home team to dominate midfield areas.

West Ham sliced Chelsea open with relative ease. Antonio rolled away from Luiz in an inside-left channel and found Lanzini who applied a disappointingly feeble finish with the outside of his right foot when the pass was begging to be smashed with his left foot.

Asmir Begovic flew to his right to deny Pedro Obiang on the half-volley from distance before a Chelsea flurry before the interval.

Michy Batshauyi was denied by Randolph and then skied a golden opportunity to equalise from a cross supplied by Oscar, who also went close in this spell of pressure.
But Fernandes burst the momentum when he made it 2-0, three minutes after the break.
Conte made a tweak to this back-three, moving Luiz into the centre with Terry left and Cahill right but they remained vulnerable.

Begovic saved from Payet before Noble worked to recycle possession and found Fernandes on the right, who cut inside and beat the ‘keeper with the help of a slight deflection from Terry’s heel.
Antonio close again before the Chelsea manager sent on Costa, Hazard and Pedro in a bid to rescue the tie. Batshuayi, Nathaniel Chalobah and Aina were the three to make way.

Within seconds of making his way onto the pitch, Hazard had been taken out by a fierce tackle by Noble. Welcome to the cup tie. West Ham were braced to defend their lead – and they had to defend because Conte’s team summoned a strong finish.
There was one penalty appeal for hand-ball and another for a trip by Winston Reid on Hazard. Neither were given by referee Pawson who took the view the visitors were falling over when they reached sight of goal.

Oscar flicked a chance into the side-netting but Bilic’s back-three of Reid, Kouyate and Angelo Ogbonna looked stronger and more resilient than Chelsea’s.
Willian pulled a chance wide after linking up with Costa on the break. Costa went close, six minutes from the end, clipping a shot over Randolph but wide.
Terry glanced a header wide from a free-kick by Willian before Cahill pounced in stoppage time when West Ham’s focus finally wilted and they failed to clear another Willian set-piece.

By this time, eyes were drifting towards the scuffling in the stands. Bilic said he had to remind Cresswell to keep his mind on the game.
The goal was too late to change the direction of the game. West Ham move into the last eight, and Manchester United.
More importantly for Bilic, they are back in the groove

MATCH FACTS

WEST HAM (3-4-3): Randolph 7; Kouyate 7, Reid 7, Ogbonna 6.5; Fernandes 6.5 (Feghouli 67, 6), Noble 7.5, Obiang 6.5, Cresswell 6.5; Lanzini 6 (Ayew 78), Antonio 7 (Zaza 82), Payet 7
Subs not used : Adrian, Nordtveit, Collins, Fletcher
Booked: Noble, Reid
Manager: Slaven Bilic 6.5

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Begovic 6; Luiz 6, Terry 5, Cahill 6; Azpilicueta 6, Chalobah 6 (Hazard 6.5), Kante 6.5, Aina 6 (Pedro 67, 6); Willian 6.5, Batshuayi 5 (Costa 55, 6.5), Oscar 6
Subs not used : Eduardo, Alonso, Matic, Solanke
Manager : Antonio Conte 5

MOM: Mark Noble
Referee : Craig Pawson 6
Attendance : 49,597

HOW MANY CHANGES DID BOTH SIDES MAKE FOR THE LEAGUE CUP TIE?

WEST HAM 2
Just minor tweaks for Slaven Bilic, after the 1-0 win over Sunderland — although he did switch goal-keepers.
IN: Randolph, Cresswell.
OUT: Adrian, Zaza.

CHELSEA 7
Antonio Conte gave Nathaniel Chalobah his first start of the season as the Italian rotated his entire forward line for the trip across London.
IN: Begovic, Terry, Aina, Chalobah, Willian, Oscar, Batshuayi.
OUT: Courtois, Alonso, Hazard, Moses, Matic, Pedro, Costa.

Manchester United 4-0

Independent:

Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0

Jose Mourinho has side stuck in reverse as Blues hit top gear to run riot
Pedro's goal after 29 seconds set the tone for a quick and dangerous Chelsea side against a laboured and predictable United that have serious problems

Mark Ogden

Awful, shambolic, clueless and humiliated, but definitely not special.
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea’s Special One, is looking very ordinary at Manchester United, but it took a 4-0 hammering against his old team at Stamford Bridge to expose the magnitude of the job he now has on his hands at Old Trafford.

By the end of his first return to Chelsea with United, the Stamford Bridge crowd were sarcastically chanting Mourinho’s name and giving out ‘oles’ as Antonio Conte’s team stroked the ball around against their shell-shocked opponents.
Mourinho has landed into a black hole at United. He has inherited a team which cannot defend properly or attack with intent.

It is a team bereft of top quality, with expensive additions such as Paul Pogba repeatedly failing to shine and Henrikh Mkhitaryan seemingly already ostracised to a life outside the squad.
Mourinho had insisted United would challenge for the title this season, but this defeat leaves them five points adrift of the top four and facing a battle to qualify for the Champions League.

Chelsea, meanwhile, having romped to victory with goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante are beginning to look the team Mourinho guided to the title just 18 months ago.
There was a certainly a flatness to Mourinho ahead of this game; none of the old bravado, just a quiet, respectful tone, almost as though this fixture was an ordeal that he simply had to endure.

Within Stamford Bridge, it was also muted. With this game falling close to the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Matthew Harding, the former Chelsea director, all banners relating to Mourinho and the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard were removed, with only those referring to Harding visible around the stadium.

So there was no Mourinho reception, not even a polite applause as he took his seat.
He was out of it less than a minute later, mind you, thanks to an awful defensive misunderstanding between Daley Blind and Chris Smalling gifting Chelsea their opening goal through Pedro after just 29 seconds.

Mourinho had obviously sent his team out with a strict game-plan, but it was in shreds once Pedro – who came close to signing for United prior to his arrival at Chelsea from Barcelona last season – stroked the ball into the net.

Marcos Alonso’s ball from left-back should have posed no trouble to the United defence, but Smalling allowed it to run behind him, mistakenly believing that Blind was in place to clear.
Blind hesitated, created a gap between himself and Smalling and allowed Pedro to snatch the ball before rounding the stranded David De Gea in the United goal.
Mourinho reacted without reaction. He was motionless in the technical area, projecting a mask of indifference when he must have been seething inside.

It was an awful way to concede and Blind, once again preferred at left-back ahead of Luke Shaw, who was not even on the bench, proceeded to have a terrible first-half.
At one stage, Mourinho made his way to the technical area when the Dutchman was taking a throw-in, simply to pat him on the back in reassurance.

United, with the injured Wayne Rooney also not making the squad, attempted to respond quickly after Pedro’s opener, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw a shot blocked by David Luiz before he headed another chance over the bar from six yards.

The Swedish forward started the season well, but he is now looking as though he is feeling the pace of the Premier League after three years of rather less intensity in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
Ibrahimovic embodied United’s attacking efforts in contrast to Chelsea’s. They were laboured and predictable, while Chelsea were quick and dangerous and the home team’s second came on 21 minutes following another defensive lapse by United.
Ander Herrera failed to clear a Victor Moses corner and the ball dropped to Cahill, who volleyed home from six yards.

United responded again, with Marcus Rashford seeing a shot blocked by Cesar Azpilicueta, but Mourinho will have watched his team and worried about their predictability.
And at the other end, Blind continued to suffer his nightmare, losing possession to Pedro before being rescued by a crucial De Gea save.
That was the signal for Mourinho to turn to his substitutes, sending them out to warm up, three at a time.

Ten years ago, during his first spell in charge of Chelsea, Mourinho would have thought nothing of making the change there and then, but he waited until the interval to replace Marouane Fellaini – hurt by a wild knee-high challenge by David Luiz – with Juan Mata.

Mourinho could have made three changes quite easily. Stamford Bridge has never been a happy hunting ground for United – Sir Alex Ferguson’s treble winners lost 5-0 here just five months after lifting the European Cup in 1999 – but the Portuguese will have been dismayed by his team’s meek surrender.

Mata’s introduction enabled United to at least enjoy more control and possession of the ball early in the second-half, but it was soft possession and Chelsea were hardly troubled as the visitors passed and passed, but barely troubled Thibaut Courtois.

Pogba, the £89m midfielder, was anonymous again, doing little to justify his exorbitant fee, with Nemanja Matic and Kante tying him in knots in the centre of the pitch.
Hazard was just as anonymous as Pogba under Mourinho for Chelsea last season, but the Belgian was outstanding in front of his former manager and it was he who set the seal on United’s defeat.
The Chelsea number ten began the move on the edge of the United box, cutting onto his right foot before laying the ball off to Kante.

Kante then fed Matic, who returned the ball to Hazard inside the penalty area. Hazard took a touch, moved the ball outside Smalling and passed it into the net. Game over.
But while the game was won, Chelsea hadn’t stopped inflicting the pain on Mourinho, with Kante inflicting another wound on 70 minutes with their fourth.

Kante, supposedly a destroyer, displayed true flair by dancing around the hopeless Smalling before guiding the ball past De Gea.

Chelsea, having wobbled with heavy defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, are now beginning to motor under Conte.
But Mourinho still has not been able to get United out of reverse.

Teams

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso, Pedro (Chalobah, 71), Diego Costa (Batshuayi, 78), Hazard (Willian, 78). Substitutes not used: Begovic, Aina, Terry, Oscar.

Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly (Rojo, 52), Smalling, Blind, Herrera, Fellaini (Mata, 45), Lingard (Martial, 65), Pogba, Rashford, Ibrahimovic. Substitutes not used: Romero, Darmian, Carrick, Young.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Attendance: 41, 424

==================

Telegraph:

Chelsea 4 Man Utd 0: Jose Mourinho suffers nightmare return as Eden Hazard-inspired hosts run riot

Jason Burt
 
Jose Mourinho arrived to block out the emotions but Manchester United calamitously failed to block out Chelsea as their manager was embarrassed on his return to Stamford Bridge. Utterly, unconditionally humiliated. The 'Humiliated One', in fact.

This was an embarrassing scoreline, an embarrassing performance and embarrassing tactics from United. It was the kind of display that should lead to a reckoning with abject contributions from the likes of world-record signing Paul Pogba, Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini and stand-in captain Chris Smalling. “You’re not special anymore,” sang the Chelsea fans briefly during the first-half and there was nothing special about Mourinho or United.

For Chelsea this was a sweet victory; or rather a sweet and complete rout as Mourinho suffered his biggest ever defeat in the Premier League. Chelsea were ‘at it’ from the off – scoring after just 30 seconds – and rarely relented. Their manager Antonio Conte simply does not allow that and this is the clearest evidence yet that things are coming together under the demanding, meticulous Italian as they moved into the top four.

How different this was to Mourinho’s previous return to the Bridge, in 2010, when he claimed an imperious triumph on his way to winning the Champions League with Inter Milan in a result that holed another Italian manager, Carlo Ancelotti. Then Mourinho appeared at the height of his powers; a master of the universe; a forceful reminder of what Chelsea let go. Here he seemed powerless in his technical area as he surveyed the carnage.

Mourinho will also have seen the keen motivation of some of the players he left behind at Chelsea, and others he has previously dealt with, when he was sacked last December after that remarkable meltdown. And so it was no surprise that Eden Hazard scored, that Diego Costa played well as did David Luiz while two others not given a chance by Mourinho – Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso (at Real Madrid) – were also excellent.

Before them United’s back six were statues; mannequins and their manager also stood frozen on the touchline as the game ran way from him from inside minute one. He later took umbrage at Conte’s attempts to whip up the crowd, when the magnificent United away support were making far more noise, and when the score was 4-0, but that was a pretty pathetic response. “I didn’t do anything to humiliate Mourinho,” Conte later said. But he did. His team destroyed United.

Mourinho needs to get his own house in order. Here that house was on fire. There were blazes all over the pitch, out-of-control causes for alarm that United have to put out if they are to get close to finishing in the Champions League places never mind challenging. They appeared off-the-pace, slow and ponderous and half the speed of Chelsea.

Just like the manager this team looks tired and lacking in ideas and although Mourinho will cop the flak there should be no excuses either for this highly-paid, expensively-assembled team with Wayne Rooney left behind injured but unsure where he stands and Henrikh Mkhitaryan again not in the squad. United looked like Chelsea did last season under Mourinho.

Conte has settled on his formation; his system; his approach. He has settled on his personnel. He is not rushing back John Terry, for example, who would have forced his way in under previous managers and he is using what is available to him well. Moses has found a way in at wing-back, as has Alonso, with David Luiz, who United believe should have been sent off rather than only yellow-carded for a studs-up challenge on Fellaini, nevertheless working well at the centre of a back-three and Nemanja Matic revitalised in midfield alongside the superb N’Golo Kanté. Eden Hazard has been allotted a clear and achievable role – and is fit – and firing and Diego Costa has his desire back while there is a place for Pedro.

The Spaniard capitalised on that in opening the scoring. The goal came as he latched onto Alonso’s angled pass, aimed at Diego Costa, and with Smalling dithering, Blind slow to react and David De Gea rushing out, Pedro rounded the goalkeeper and rolled the ball into the net.

Midway through the first-half it was two and, effectively, game over with more defensive chaos from United – who later lost Eric Bailly for what Mourinho feared was a serious knee-ligament injury. Kanté won a corner, proving too strong for Blind ,and when the kick came in from Hazard the ball flew over Fellaini and Matic, struck Antonio Valencia and then hit Ander Herrera before dropping to Gary Cahill whose half-volley ricocheted off Blind and into the net. Pinball.

Fellaini was hooked at half-time and on came Juan Mata. United had racked up a couple of chances – Zlatan Ibrahimovic should have done better with a header and there was a fine double save from Thibaut Courtois who denied first Herrera and then blocked Jesse Lingard’s follow-up before he thwarted Lingard again – but Chelsea could have added to their advantage before they did eventually claim a third goal.

That, again, owed much to United’s defensive frailty with Hazard toying with Mata before sending the ball inside to Kanté who found Matic whose first-time pass picked out Hazard. Mata failed to track him, Smalling stood off and Hazard curled a wonderful low shot beyond De Gea.
It only got worse for United as Kanté collected the ball, Pogba failed to respond and then barely attempted a challenge as the midfielder easily cut back to simply beat Smalling – once more beaten –with the space opening up for him to then send a shot back across De Gea and into the corner of the goal.

It provoked a chorus of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from some Chelsea supporters aimed at Mourinho but it was quickly drowned out by a warmer chanting of the former manager’s name. Mourinho acknowledged that but there was no comfort and no consolation as Courtois denied Ibrahimovic and, in injury-time, substitute Marcos Rojo who both delivered fizzing shots. For Mourinho, after the warm hugs before kick-off with Terry and former assistant Steve Holland, it was the flattest, darkest of returns.

Jose speaks

"We started bad and after 30 seconds we are losing 1-0.
"We are close to 1-1 but another defensive mistake costs us. Then close to 2-1 and they have a counter attack to make it 3-0 Then we are close to 3-1 and they make it 4-0.
"When you come with a strategy you can't concede after 30 seconds.

"We came to have an offensive approach, We wanted to create chances and goals and took risks in the second half.
"But they were winning having done nothing. After that they played well, and counter-attack very well.
"We made incredibly defensive mistakes, individual defensive mistakes, and you pay for that.
"But then we had chances, and we had control of the game, but control is a bit dangerous because Chelsea have great players to have on the counter attack.

"I don't want to speak about it [the ref]. Today sets us back in terms of points, we are six points from top of the league, three or four from the top four [actually five].
"Now other teams will have to play against each other, and we have to win our matches, which are not easy, but we have to win them to close the gap.

"After two draws and one defeat from last three matches, we need to win.
"The reception was fine, I was not expecting anything different. The friends are friends, and the ones who are not friends are not friends. The crowd were good.
"What I said to Conte at the end of the match is between me and Antonio.

===============================

Guardian;

N’Golo Kanté seals Chelsea rout of Manchester United to ruin Mourinho return
Chelsea 4 - 0 Man Utd
Mourinho blames defensive mistake as Chelsea thump Manchester United

Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge

For José Mourinho perhaps the only consolation from a traumatic day is that the Chelsea supporters were not impertinent enough to barrack the returning manager or gloat too much at his misfortune other than the chorus of “olés” that formed the soundtrack to parts of the ordeal.

Not that there was any discernible sympathy, either. They did not sing his name until the fourth goal went in and, when the public announcer mentioned his presence before kick-off, it was a strange kind of indifference bearing in mind, as he frequently reminds us, nobody else has brought more trophies or drama to this stadium. The match started, Chelsea took the lead before a single player in red had touched the ball and nothing will have hurt Mourinho more than his team’s capitulation and the impression it left that the modern-day Manchester United are a long way behind the great Chelsea sides he once managed.

It was certainly remarkable to see a team who defended with such resilience at Liverpool last Monday look so vulnerable and accident-prone. Chelsea were ahead after 29 seconds and Pedro’s early breakthrough set the tone. This was the most satisfying victory of Antonio Conte’s short reign at Stamford Bridge. It was also Mourinho’s worst experience in United’s employment and the defeat was compounded by a potentially serious injury to Eric Bailly, thought to be damaged knee ligaments.

For the most part Mourinho was remarkably undemonstrative, hands embedded in his pockets, while a few yards to his left Conte was never still –cajoling, pointing, shouting, leaping and generally doing his best impression of a man with his socks on fire. Occasionally, though, Mourinho would just hold out his arms, as if imploring his players for more or asking what was going on. He has rarely looked so helpless and it was almost a surprise Chelsea did not make it even more harrowing for him after N’Golo Kanté cracked in the fourth with 20 minutes still to play. Gary Neville, in his television role, described United’s defending as “garbage”. Mourinho called it “humiliating” and Chelsea found great joy exposing their opponents on the day the London club marked the 20th anniversary of Matthew Harding’s death.

Perhaps an argument could be made that United might have been spared if David Luiz had been shown the red card he deserved for a studs-up challenge on Marouane Fellaini late in the first half. It would, however, be a flimsy argument given the scale of the away team’s inadequacies. They were already two goals down by that stage. Chelsea had quickly sensed their opponents’ shortcomings and the game had not even reached the half-hour before Mourinho instructed his substitutes to warm up, as if contemplating changes.

Chelsea moved the ball with speed and purpose. They are unbeaten now in their past 11 fixtures against United and they soaked in the “olés” during that period late on when Conte was able to remove Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, two of the chief tormentors. Kanté, football’s own Duracell bunny, is starting to look like the all-action hero who helped Leicester City to the title. Costa is always better when he plays to his strengths rather than picking imaginary fights and, though the Premier League’s leading scorer was not on target, he was a key figure.

United did sporadically threaten but no team can defend this generously and expect to get away with it. Costa might be the first opponent this season who has physically overwhelmed Bailly. Daley Blind was far too susceptible and Smalling, more than anyone, must have been in Mourinho’s mind when the manager talked of “incredible defensive mistakes”.

Smalling wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Wayne Rooney, missing here with a training-ground injury, but this is far from the only time he had come up short and he must bear a degree of liability for three of the goals.

Kanté beat him far too easily to complete the rout and, eight minutes earlier, Hazard had also eluded the same player when Chelsea moved into a 3-0 lead. Hazard had threatened all afternoon and Juan Mata, who replaced Fellaini at half‑time, did not track his run in the passing exchange, involving Kanté and Nemanja Matic, that finished with the Belgian aiming a low shot to David De Gea’s left.

Conte’s only complaint seemed to be that the crowd were not showing enough appreciation in the last few minutes. His gesturing to raise the volume promoted a whispered lecture from Mourinho at the final whistle – a classic diversion technique, regular José-watchers might suspect – but that should not dilute Conte’s satisfaction about the way the game panned out after an eccentric start. Costa took the kick-off, Chelsea embarked on some routine keep-ball possession, then Marcos Alonso turned a long pass forwards, giving Pedro something to chase, and it must have been startling for Mourinho to see the way Smalling, Blind and De Gea let the former Barcelona player beat them all.

Blind was the first to dither. Smalling was even more disoriented, though to give him the benefit of the doubt he might also have been distracted by the sudden appearance of De Gea, charging out of his penalty area when it would have been much wiser to stay put. Pedro deserves credit for his speed and anticipation but from United’s perspective it was a succession of errors. Pedro’s first touch took him wide of De Gea, leaving the goalkeeper hopelessly exposed, and he made the left-foot finish look easier than it probably was. “Incredible,” Mourinho lamented of his team’s defending, “and I say ‘incredible’ in capitals.”

The second goal came from Hazard’s corner and an accidental ricochet off Ander Herrera that left Gary Cahill with the chance to take aim from six yards out. His volley went in off Blind and the referee Martin Atkinson’s failure to send off Luiz four minutes before the interval, showing him only a yellow card, meant it was always unlikely the home side would surrender their winning position.
Instead, United had to chase the game and that, in turn, meant leaving more gaps in defence. Chelsea could not match their 5-0 victory against United from October 1999 but they did show Mourinho they can get by without him.

“We are six points from the top of the league, not 16,” the United manager argued. But he looked shellshocked.

=============================

Mail:

Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United:

Jose Mourinho endures miserable return to Stamford Bridge as Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante net for Antonio Conte's side

Jose Mourinho endured a miserable return to Stamford Bridge as Manchester United lost 4-0

By IAN LADYMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL

The really painful news for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United is that their opponents didn't have to be that good to embarrass them.

Antonio Conte's team are improving and showing some of the ruthless, clinical football that once characterised Chelsea under the bloke sitting in the away dug-out on Sunday.

But Chelsea will play better than this and win by less. That is why this is not necessarily their story. No, this was an afternoon that told us more about Mourinho and United and two images of this desperately humbling day summed it all up.

The first came after N'Golo Kante had left Chris Smalling on the seat of his pants to score Chelsea's fourth.

On the touchline, as Conte bounded around like a schoolboy on the last day of term, Mourinho looked as though he was about to make one of those 'chin up' gestures he made famous during his time at Stamford Bridge. It turned out he was merely wiping water from his mouth. It was just as well. It was far too late for defiant gestures that his players could not match.

Then, at full time, Mourinho pulled Conte close to deliver a lecture. It did not look pleasant, it looked desperate. At last some emotional energy from somebody associated with United, but, as had been the case with their defending, it all seemed rather too little and too late.

With the score at 4-0, the shots on target stats had actually stood at 4-4. That told us a few things. It told us that Chelsea had notswarmed all over United like bees, peppering shots towards David de Gea's goal.

It just told us that they had been far too good in the one area that really mattered and strengthened the theory that this United team are not equipped to survive when dragged into a bout of punch and counter-punch.

Deep down, Mourinho knows this too. That is why he sent his team out to play in the same manner as they did in drawing creditably at Liverpool a week ago. The Portuguese has always been a pragmatist but the limitations of this current team are drawing him deeper and deeper into his shell.

At United, they say Mourinho seems subdued. Not just in public, but in private. The charismatic, confident coach they hired has arrived in body only.

They say they are working with Mourinho-lite and his team are threatening to reflect that. If a manager does not believe, how can his players?

On Sunday, Mourinho's return to the place where we first felt we knew him began quietly — a quick hug for John Terry and one for a groundsman — and in terms of his team's football it continued in that vein.

Chelsea would have been mugs had they not taken advantage and once their Spanish forward Pedro gave them the lead within 30 seconds, the water was only flowing one way.

United took some stick for their performance at Anfield. That was wrong as they got a point.
Here, the plan was almost identical — in terms of personnel and formation — but it was blown apart before a red shirt had even sniffed the ball, and when that happens the criticism that comes your way will bury you. Mourinho described the opening minute of the game as 'an incredible mistake and I mean incredible in capitals'.

He was right, too. A diagonal hoof upfield from Chelsea left back Marcos Alonso saw Smalling and Daley Blind hesitate and as De Gea advanced injudiciously from his penalty area, Pedro was able to ease past the United goalkeeper and roll the ball into the empty net.

It was the former Barcelona forward's first shot on target all season. Somehow that seemed appropriate in terms of what followed. At times, it looked easier to score than not against a United defence Gary Neville described on television as 'garbage'.

There was one moment in the first half that could have changed the direction of the game. David Luiz should have been sent off for a studs-up challenge on Marouane Fellaini and it was strange that referee Martin Atkinson didn't do more than show the Brazilian a yellow card.

That apart, the story was one of periods of United possession undermined by a complete lack of control whenever they didn't have the ball.

The second goal was a poor one to concede, too, as Gary Cahill crashed home from a corner after Ander Herrera failed to control in the 21st minute. At the other end, Thibaut Courtois saved from Herrera and from Jesse Lingard.

United's threat was not invisible but at times in football some things just seem inevitable, and so it was here. Mourinho made changes at half-time as Juan Mata replaced Fellaini, Marcus Rashford was released to play up front with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and United moved to something akin to 4-1-3-2.

Again United enjoyed some territory but the back door was open for a Chelsea team playing swift attacking football with which their opponents' forwards are currently not familiar.

Hazard warned United once as his scamper and shot rebounded from a defender's leg before, in the 61st minute, he ran off Mata's shoulder on to a pass from Nemanja Matic, stood up Smalling and curled the ball round him into the far corner with his right instep. It was a sumptuous finish but the devil was in the detail. Once Mata didn't track Hazard, the odds were with the Belgian.

United collapsed in a heap again 10 minutes later when Kante fooled Smalling on the way to scoring his first Chelsea goal and the fourth of his team's stellar day.

Mourinho's subsequent chastising of Conte was unnecessary and summed up his day. Mourinho now heads into a Manchester derby on Wednesday with his team's season at a critical point already. For all their limitations, United are only six points off the top of the Premier League.

Currently, though, Mourinho has issues to solve relating to Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan — who he refuses to select — and Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, from whom he is getting nothing at all.
United managers should always look up and not down, but Mourinho will know how close the likes of Watford, Southampton and Bournemouth are in his team's rear view mirror.

Improvement must arrive very quickly indeed if this battering at the Bridge is to stand out as his season's low point by the start of winter.

He now heads in to a Manchester derby against City on Wednesday with his team's season at a critical point already.

For all their limitations, United are only six points off the top of the Premier League. Currently, though, Mourinho has issues to solve relating to Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – who he refuses to select – and Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, from whom he is currently getting nothing at all.

United managers should always look up and not down but Mourinho will know how close the likes of Watford, Southampton and Bournemouth are in his team's rear view mirror. Improvement must arrive very quickly indeed if this Battering at the Bridge is to stand out as his season's low point by the start of winter.

PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6.5; Azpilicueta 6.5, Luiz 6.5, Cahill (c) 7.5; Moses 6.5, Kante 7.5, Matic 7, Alonso 6.5; Pedro 7 (Chalobah 71, 6), Costa 7 (Batshuayi 78), Hazard 8.5 (Willian 77)
Unused subs: Begovic (GK); Aina, Terry, Oscar
Goals: Pedro 1; Cahill 21; Hazard 62; Kante 70
Booked: Luiz, Pedro, Alonso
Manager: Antonio Conte 8.5

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 5; Valencia 6, Bailly 5.5 (Rojo 52, 5.5), Smalling (c) 5, Blind 5; Herrera 5.5, Fellaini 5 (Mata 46, 5); Rashford 5.5, Pogba 4, Lingard 5.5 (Martial 65, 5); Ibrahimovic 5
Unused subs: Romero (GK); Darmian, Carrick, Young
Booked: Bailly, Pogba
Manager: Jose Mourinho 4

Attendance: 41,424
Referee – Martin Atkinson 5
Man-of-the-Match – Eden Hazard
Ratings by ADAM SHERGOLD

=================================

Mirror:

Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United: Blues run riot on Mourinho's nightmare return - 5 things we learned

BY DAVE KIDD

United were behind after 30 seconds and things didn't get any better as Pedro, Cahill, Hazard and Kante found the net for Chelsea

Jose Mourinho suffered abject humiliation on his return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea obliterated his Manchester United side – seizing the lead after 30 seconds and never easing off.

Goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard handed Mourinho the heaviest Premier League defeat of his career as he faced the club where he won three titles for the first time in a competitive domestic match.

With Chelsea operating at an entirely different pace to their sluggish visitors and United's defence suffering a series of collective brain freezes, Mourinho's men now find themselves five points adrift of the Champions League places having taken just five points from their last six league games.

And midway through the second half, United were caught with a devastating one-two when Hazard cut inside Smalling and drilled home the third before Kante was virtually waved through to score the fourth – as Chelsea sauntered to within a point of leaders Manchester City.

1. Conte's switch pays off

Antonio Conte has switched things around tactically in a way Jose Mourinho used to do.
It's the ability to identify a problem and fix it in a decisive way which marks out a top manager.
Mourinho, at his best, had that knack. Over the past couple of years it has been less apparent.
Yet after Chelsea's 3-0 drubbing at Arsenal last month, Conte re-shaped his side into a 3-4-3 and has seen them win three on the bounce since, scoring nine goals and conceding none.
It's a system which seems to suit every member of this Chelsea starting line-up – including wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso, two men rejected by Mourinho at Chelsea and Real Madrid respectively.

2. Pedro shines against former boss

Mourinho's hijacking of Pedro back-fired.
Manchester United looked certain to sign Pedro from Barcelona in the summer of last year but when Ed Woodward was caught napping, Mourinho swooped to sign him for Chelsea.
While Pedro has often been on the periphery over the past 15 months, his quick thinking put Mourinho's gameplan through the shredder as he opened the scoring after just 30 seconds.
It meant that the Special One was unable to park the bus, even at a place where used to have his own personal parking space.

3. Ibrahimovic needs to be more lethal


The Swede has failed to score in five Premier League matches and has managed just one in eight in all competitions.
For the third match running, Ibrahimovic missed a clear, crucial opportunity, this time when he headed over an Antonio Valencia cross from just four yards out with the score at 1-0.
Despite his physical presence, Zlatan has never been a great scorer of headers – and he's missed two glorious chances with his nut in the space of six days. At Paris St Germain, he would receive shed-loads of chances, at United he'll need to be more clinical.

4. The 'rats' are all right

Eden Hazard and Diego Costa were two of the players branded as 'rats' by Chelsea fans in the immediate aftermath of Mourinho's sacking last December.
Yet both have rediscovered their peak form under Conte.
Hazard, who has admitted he enjoys playing in this narrow front three, netted his fourth league goal of the season – as opposed to a big fat zero at the same stage last term.
Costa didn't score yesterday but was full of menace and has seven to his name this season.

5. Fellaini disrupts fluency

United are not fluent enough with Marouane Fellaini in the team.
While the Belgium has obvious qualities for a side intent on keeping things tight and snatching a goal from a set-piece, he slows things down for a side wishing to attack with any sort of tempo.
It appeared when David Moyes signed him that while not a bad player, Fellaini simply isn't a United player – and little has changed since.
Mourinho may have to lose his obsession with height and ditch him.

John Cross' player ratings

Chelsea
Courtois 7 - Made a couple of good saves but United didn’t work him that often.
Azpilicueta 7 - Looks perfectly at home in a back three, top quality defender.
Luiz 7 - Booked. Caught Fellaini with a high challenge which left stud marks.
Cahill 7 - Smashed home Chelsea’s second and celebrated as if it meant the world.
Moses 7 - Clearly had a point to prove against Mourinho. Industrious and hard working.
Kante 8 - Scored a wonderful goal and bossed midfield. Terrific all round performance.
Matic 8 - Brilliant assist for Hazard’s goal. Had a very good game in midfield.
Alonso 8 - Booked. Played well at left wing back, Conte’s new system suits Chelsea.
Pedro 7 - Booked. Shown the yellow card for celebrating his opening goal. Spoilsports.
Hazard 9 MotM - Scored a wonderful goal and looked to have so much to prove. Excellent.
Costa 8 - Was a menace in the first half, bullied United’s defence and made them nervous.
Subs
Chalobah 7, for Pedro, 71 mins
Batshuayi, for Costa, 77 mins
Willian, for Hazard, 77 mins

Manchester United
De Gea 6 - Made a couple of good saves but was helpless on Chelsea’s goals.
Valencia 6 - One good cross for Ibrahimovic but was part of a shambles of a defence.
Bailly 5 - Booked. Went off injured early after catching Hazard but was fortunate ref missed it.
Smalling 4 - Had an absolute nightmare on Chelsea’s opening two goals. Indecisive.
Blind 4 - Clumsy performance. So poor defensively and conceded possession countless times.
Herrera 5 - Tried to get United moving forward but was completely overwhelmed in midfield.
Fellaini 6 - Substituted at half time after getting injured in the first half.
Lingard 6 - Tried hard and saw one long range effort well saved by Courtois.
Pogba 5 - Another poor game. Chelsea fans took delight in singing: “What a waste of money.”
Rashford 6 - Had very little impact on the game and had to cover for the hapless Blind.
Ibrahimovic 6 - Headed over a big chance at just 1-0 down. Isolated but was very poor.
Substitutes
Mata, for Fellaini, 46 mins, 5
Rojo, for Bailly, 52 mins, 5
Martial, for Lingard, 65 mins, 5

==========================

Sun:

BATTERED AT THE BRIDGE Chelsea 4 Manchester United 0: Jose Mourinho stunned as the Blues thrash United at Stamford Bridge

Red Devils boss says goodbye to 'Special One' tag as his side are humiliated by former club in west London

BY WALLY DOWNES JR

JOSE MOURINHO’S ego took a battering on his return to Stamford Bridge with Chelsea hammering Manchester United and Blues fans mocking their former idol.

A howler from the United defence after just 34 seconds, that let Pedro score, set the tone for the Portuguese’s embarrassing afternoon.

And goals from Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante killed United off and left them six points off the top of the table and only seven off the drop zone.

The fastest goal of the Premier League season so far came when Marcos Alonso dinked a hopeful ball down the line that befuddled the centre-back pairing of captain Chris Smalling, Daley Blind and keeper David de Gea. Pedro nipped in to poke home leaving Mourinho with a stunned smile as he turned away in shock.

And Smalling was again at fault for United’s second. The defender was supposed to be marking opposite captain Gary Cahill at corners, but he lost his man and the England defender smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

David Luiz got away with a spiteful challenge on 40 minutes. Marouane Fellaini had been dishing it out a bit but the Brazilian went over the top with a knee-high tackle that left the Belgian wiggling about on the floor in pain, briefly.

On 62 minutes, Mourinho’s nightmare was complete. Hazard, accused last season of downing tools for his former boss in the wake of the Eva Carneiro row, made a mockery of Smalling’s marking and poked home.

And the best was still to come when N’Golo Kante – the defensive midfielder famous for his discipline and selflessness – danced through the pathetic United defence, leaving Smalling all at sea, and scuffed the ball perfectly past David de Gea.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

Mourinho’s return to the Stamford Bridge touchline was muted, to say the least. No welcome-back roar from anyone.

£30m defender Luke Shaw couldn’t even get on the bench for this United horror show. Daley Blind started at left-back and Marcos Rojo was a second-half sub.

Jose's return got a lot louder after his side shipped the first goal after just 34 seconds. Stand-in skipper Chis Smalling let Pedro in to score.

A section of Chelsea fans turned on Mourinho after the second goal was thumped in by Gary Cahill. The unoriginal ‘You’re not special any more’ rang out.

Conte looks like a well-dressed crab as he shuffles up and down the touchline side-to-side. His technical area is a waste of paint for how much time he spends in it.

With United staring another embarrassing league defeat down the barrel at half-time, Mourinho rolled the dice and replaced Marouane Fellaini with playmaker Juan Mata. It looked like it might work – until Hazard struck.

Smalling had a nightmare. He dithered for the opener, lost Cahill for the second, allowed Hazard too much time and space for the killer third and was made to look like a pub player by Kante for the fourth.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic disappeared when his side needed him most. Chelsea might have been vulnerable without John Terry but the Swede never tested them.

Kante’s goal was brilliant. The idea that such a defensive player, known mainly for his running and tackling, could do that to the Manchester United defence caused giggles.

Mourinho has now lost three of his first nine top-flight matches as Manchester United manager. His third defeat as Chelsea boss came in his 64th Premier League fixture.

=============================

Star:

Chelsea 4 Man United 0: Jose Mourinho humiliated on return to Stamford Bridge

HAPPY Birthday Roman Abramovich, and many happy returns.

By Paul Brown

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho had an unhappy return to Chelsea

Antonio Conte joked in the build-up about giving Chelsea’s billionaire owner the gift of victory against the man he’s paid off twice, and he did just that – in style.

Blues fans who spent so long adoring Jose Mourinho sang: “You’re not special any more” as goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante routed Manchester United.

And surely no-one enjoyed it as much as Abramovich, who never did see completely eye to eye with Mourinho during either of his spells at Stamford Bridge.

The Russian billionaire is 50 tomorrow, and his side are back up to fourth, five points ahead of Mourinho’s United and just one behind leaders Manchester City.

But it was the manner of victory which will stick in the minds of both men, because this was a humiliation for Mourinho on his return to his old club.

Where Liverpool couldn’t find a way to score against United in 90 minutes at Anfield, Chelsea took just 31 seconds at the Bridge.

De Gea has saved their bacon many times over the years, and it was his two saves which helped United earn a point last Monday.

But the Spaniard was guilty of a huge error of judgement here, racing off his line but failing to get anywhere near a Marcos Alonso flicked long ball.

Chris Smalling also failed to deal with it, allowing Pedro to nip in and slot home into an empty net to give Chelsea, unchanged from the team that beat Leicester, a dream start.

It was the former Barcelona winger’s first shot on target of the season, and boy did he enjoy it, racing straight over to the home fans to celebrate.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed the best chance of the game at Anfield with a wayward header, and he soon missed another here, heading a searching Antonio Valencia cross over the bar.

With Wayne Rooney missing because of a thigh injury, the only change from the United team which drew with Liverpool was Jesse Lingard coming in for Ashley Young.

But it got even worse for the visitors when Cahill fired in the second off Daley Blind in the 21st minute after Nemanja Matic won a header from a corner.

He too made the most of his celebration, roaring with delight, chest puffed out and mobbed his team-mates.

Some of these players were booed by Chelsea fans last season after Mourinho was axed. They looked like they were enjoying getting their own back.

Thibaut Courtois was finally called into action shortly afterwards, making a fine double save from Ander Herrera’s long-range effort and then Lingard’s close-range follow-up.
It was brutal at times. David Luiz was particularly lucky to escape a red card for a dangerous, studs-up tackle on Marouane Fellaini’s knee which left him writhing in agony.
          
Fellaini did not come back out for the second half so Juan Mata took his place. But Chelsea were straight back on the attack with Costa having a goal ruled out for offside.

Conte was as animated as his team, shouting, screaming and waving his arms around. Mourinho was as subdued as his, pacing around quietly with a grim look on his face.

United started to show signs of a rally when Lingard forced a diving save from Courtois. But it didn’t last long.

Kante was given all the time in the world to pick a pass on the edge of Chelsea’s box and found Matic, who quickly picked out Hazard.

Of all the players Mourinho criticised publicly during his last spell here, Hazard got it more than most. He took revenge by firing in the third to effectively kill this one off.

But criminally, not a single United player attempted a tackle in that move, and the same was true when Kante added to the embarrassment.

By the end, Chelsea fans sang Mourinho’s name in mockery. They also sang: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” It’s not quite that bad yet, but something certainly needs to change.

Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 6, Cahill 7; Moses 6, Matic 7, Kante 6, Alonso 7; Pedro 7 (Chalobah 71), HAZARD 8 (Willian 78), Costa 7 (Batshuayi 78). Subs: Begovic, Oscar, Terry, Aina

UP NEXT: West Ham (a) EFL Cup, Wednesday

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 5; Valencia 6, BAILLY 7 (Rojo 52, 6), Smalling 5, Blind 5; Herrera 6, Fellaini 5 (Mata 46, 6); Lingard 6 (Martial 65, 6), Pogba 4, Rashford 6; Ibrahimovic 5. Subs: Carrick, Young, Romero, Darmian

UP NEXT: Manchester City (h) EFL Cup, Wednesday

Referee: Martin Atkinson 6
Star man: Eden Hazard – electric
Star shocker: Paul Pogba – so poor

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Express:

Chelsea 4 - Man Utd 0: Pedro, Cahill, Hazard and Kante strike to spoil Mourinho’s return

ONCE UPON a time Eden Hazard walked off the pitch to snub Jose Mourinho. On Sunday, he simply walked through his team.

By TONY BANKS

The night that Hazard decided he was injured and walked off at Leicester despite his manager wanting him to stay on was the lowest point of Mourinho’s second reign at the club.

Three days after that dismal 2-1 defeat last December, the Special One was sacked and Hazard, along with Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, booed by angry Chelsea fans in their next game.

On Sunday at Stamford Bridge Hazard played like a man possessed, a man with a point to prove. He scored one glorious goal, made another - and when the crushing fourth went in, he raced over to celebrate deliriously with scorer N’Golo Kante and the entire Chelsea team. This result clearly meant something to the Special One’s former players.

Because what Hazard and co did was quite simply humiliate their former manager. Manchester United were not just beaten by the most significant performance yet from Antonio Conte’s Chelsea team, they were torn apart. The goals came from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Hazard and Kante. But they could have come from anywhere at any time, so poor were United.

On Monday night Mourinho had given a master class in defensively organising his team as they frustrated Liverpool at Anfield. The old master has not lost it, the pundits said.

Yesterday he was undone after just 30 seconds as that much vaunted defence fell disastrously asleep. And it only got worse. It was the most un-Mourinho-like performance probably ever seen from a Mourinho team.

United lacked punch in attack, were sloppy in midfield, and chaotic at the back. The sight of the £89 million man Paul Pogba simply waving an ineffective foot at Kante as he jinked through for that fourth goal signifies that all is not well in the Portuguese’s camp.

The wags afterwards were saying this shows that Mourinho can still get a performance out of Chelsea - just ten months too late.

But there is no question that this was a triumph for Conte. The Italian has not had an easy ride since taking over at Stamford Bridge, and had insisted he would need time to repair the damage of last season - and by implication the wreckage left by Mourinho.

Defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal had raised doubts, but since switching to a three at the back system it has been three wins, nine goals scored and none conceded. This win though sent out a message that Conte’s methods may just be beginning to pay off.

Roman Abramovich’s celebrates his 50th birthday today, and he will not have had a better present. Before kick off yesterday it was all about the return of Jose, but also a commemoration of the life of Matthew Harding, the popular vice chairman who had tragically died in a helicopter crash 20 years ago on Saturday.

United could not have been more generous visitors. After just 30 seconds Marcos Alonso lofted a harmless ball over the top. Chris Smalling left it to Danny Blind who was asleep, and Pedro nipped in to take the ball round David De Gea and score.

United should have levelled when Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed over from six yards - but that was as good as it got. Kante and Nemanja Matic bossed the midfield for Chelsea, and Victor Moses was again a revelation at wing back. Mourinho’s team fell apart again as Hazard’s corner was inadvertently flicked on by Antonio Valencia - and Cahill slammed the ball home.

Anders Herrera forced a good save from Thibaut Courtois as United fought to get back into the match, but every time Hazard got the ball it was panic stations.

Just after the hour the Belgian, whose fall-out with Mourinho was perhaps the most blatant of all of the disintegrating relationships last year, fed Kante, who moved the ball on to Matic, and there was Hazard racing onto the return to slide his shot home.

United were by now a shambles, and when Pedro flicked the ball on for the galloping Kante to race into the penalty area, the Frenchman emulated Hazard as he dribbled round his defender to shoot home. Humilation complete - and there were still twenty minutes left on the clock.

Mourinho had never lost a game in England by such a margin. But then as he knows, English football can be a Hazardous business.