Chelsea thrash West Ham to give fans a Happy Christmas!
They made it tough, and the game was very edgy, but Chelsea did the job to get a much needed three points.
Chelsea 3 West Ham 0 (Silva, Abraham x2)
It was a Thiago Silva masterclass at Stamford Bridge on Monday night to send Chelsea fans away happy for Christmas, and we cannot ask for any more than that.
We thrashed a London rival, kept a clean sheet, and stopped them from hitting a single shot on target - if that doesn’t make you happy as a Chelsea fan then I don’t know what will!
Yes the score line doesn’t tell the whole story, the game was predominantly a very edgy and nervous one for Chelsea, who were certainly not at their best tonight. But after two defeats on the trot, tonight was all about getting the three points and putting themselves back in the Premier League top 5.
Silva was a beast though, and there is no way they would have got this result without him tonight, there are no two ways about it.
He was colossal at the back, scored the all important bullet header to open the scoring, and his quality on the ball to keep things calm when Chelsea needed it most, should never be under-estimated.
The veteran Brazilian international rolled back the years and he was the best player on the pitch, showing up players at least ten years his junior. But it was the 36-year-old who was named Man of the Match by Sky Sports, and it was Silva who absolutely bossed the Chelsea defence at a time when they needed him the most.
"I couldn't play like he's playing at 36. He has been a great addition” said Lampard about Silva after the game.
Chelsea were lucky on the night though, and the players knew that. But to send them into the busy Christmas period off the back of winning a London derby against a team that were just one place and one point below them in the league, relates to more than a successful night.
Lampard was pleased with the character coming off the back of two defeats, as he spoke after the game.
He said:
"The game was hard, we started really well. We stopped playing, and the Kovacic sub helped us. It wasn't vintage tonight.
“Without being beautiful, that's a really good result for us tonight. "We have to want more, to have a desire for more."
Great result, Happy Christmas to those who celebrate!