Chelsea 5-0 West Ham: Player ratings as Blues batter hopeless Hammers

A first-half blitz helped Chelsea dismantle an abject West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon to improve their European qualification prospects.

Fresh off a London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, the Blues picked up where they left off as Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke all netted in the opening 45 minutes.

Nicolas Jackson tapped in shortly after the break and finished well in the 80th minute to cap the win and take Chelsea above Manchester United into seventh, just two points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United. West Ham's continental hopes continue to drift after a third loss in four league matches and are now down in ninth.

Chelsea welcomed Thiago Silva back into the starting XI while a number of previously injured stars made the substitutes bench, including Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto, while West Ham's side featured the dangerous attacking trio of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus.

There were glimpses of intent from both teams but proceedings became mightily one-sided after Chelsea opened the scoring through a familiar source.

A sharp move resulted in Madueke crossing towards Jackson but the ball instead fell kindly for Palmer, who whipped in his 21st league goal of the season.

Things got worse for the visiting Hammers as home captain Gallagher lashed in inside the box to extend Chelsea's lead inside half an hour. Only six minutes later, the points had been wrapped up as Madueke got in on the act.

A Mykhailo Mudryk corner was met by Silva at the back post and the 22-year-old winger was in the right place to nod in from close range.

Gallagher then hit the woodwork from close range with the away defence looking increasingly beleaguered with every