Saturday 27 December 2014 21:53, UK
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was delighted with his side's complete control of the game as they eased to a 2-0 Boxing Day win over West Ham.
The Blues were in charge from start to finish at Stamford Bridge and goals from John Terry and Diego Costa gave them a comfortable victory.
The win stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points and they now look almost certain to finish the year as league leaders.
"We deserved it, we played a very good game against a very difficult opponent," Mourinho told Sky Sports.
"We started well and could have scored before we did. When we scored, we had the game under control. In the second half, they had a reaction but with our second goal, the game was completely under control.
"I am happy with the way we played. We were very creative with the ball to try to open a very difficult defensive side. Defensively, we coped again like at Stoke with direct football and controlled Andy Carroll."
Not only were Chelsea impressive defensively, but they also looked a threat every time they went forward.
The front four of Willian, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Costa caused the Hammers defence problems all afternoon and the hosts could have won by an even greater margin.
"We are playing Fabregas football, Hazard football, Willian football, Oscar football, and Diego is adapting to that too," he said. "At Atletico, he was a different kind of striker but he is adapting well to the touch football we are playing when we have possession.
"Everybody is working defensively, the team is stable. (Nemanja) Matic gives us very good security and the bench is good. When I play players from the bench, they give me what we need at the time, like (Jon Obi) Mikel today when we wanted a bit more stability.
"I am really happy. We are doing very well, one more match until the end of the year and that’s good to finish first."
Asked whether his team are playing the football of champions, Mourinho said: "It’s the football of a team that leads and leads with all the credit they deserve.
"We are playing very well so it's the football that can put a team as leaders and clearly a title contender. But as I said, after Southampton we have only finished the first lap and there is still a lot to come."
