Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres struck after half time as in-form Chelsea comfortably beat Hull City 2-0 to move top of the Premier League on Saturday.
Hazard broke the deadlock with a powerful low finish, his ninth league goal of the season, before Torres marked his 200th Premier League appearance late on with a clinical finish.
Chelsea moved above Manchester City and New Year leaders Arsenal with 46 points from 21 games.
Chelsea’s fourth consecutive league victory was a no-nonsense performance from Jose Mourinho’s side as hosts Hull were stifled before being cut open.
Hull keeper Allan McGregor denied Oscar in the first half with a brilliant close-range save but could do nothing after 56 minutes when good work from David Luiz and Ashley Cole released Hazard who jinked to his right before firing home.
Chelsea keeper Petr Cech was never seriously disturbed as he notched up his 150th Premier League clean sheet and Torres made sure of the points after 87 minutes.
Hazard told BBC Sport: “I tried to give my best for the team and get the three points.
“Jose told me to work harder in training. I am 23, I’m old, I understand things in football now and in training I’ve been giving my best. I’m enjoying it here, I like this club and will keep going for a long time. We will see after February and March where we are, we are a young team.”
Everton will spend the night in the top four thanks to a 2-0 win over Norwich and Tottenham Hotspur also boosted their chances of finishing in the Champions League spots by earning a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, who slip to last place.
Sunderland moved off the bottom with a 4-1 win at Fulham, with Adam Johnson grabbing a hat-trick. West Ham beat Cardiff away 2-0.
