Chelsea routed Huddersfield Town 5-0 in the English Premier League action, thanks to a pair of braces by Gonzalo Higuain and Eden Hazard, getting back into the win column after a stunning 4-0 defeat three days ago at the hands of Bournemouth.
The bounce-back victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday provisionally puts the fourth-placed Blues three points ahead of crosstown rival Arsenal, who will visit defending champion Manchester City on Sunday, reports Efe news.
Higuain, who moved from Juventus to Chelsea on a six-month loan deal during the winter transfer window, opened the scoring 15 minutes into his third game with the Blues.
The former Real Madrid forward's first goal with Chelsea came when he received a clever pass from French midfielder N'Golo Kante and fired a close-range shot past Danish goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
Hazard doubled the home side's lead in the dying minutes of the first half on a penalty conversion, a goal scored after defender Cesar Azpilicueta was fouled inside the area.
Chelsea picked up where they left off after the intermission, mounting several attacking forays that eventually paid off in the 64th minute. On the play, Hazard dribbled around Lossl and put the ball into the wide-open goal to complete his brace and make the score 3-0.
Higuain then completed a brace of his own five minutes later by connecting on a powerful shot from the edge of the area.
With four minutes to go before second-half stoppage time, David Luiz rounded off the lopsided win when his header off of a corner kick deflected off of Huddersfield's Elias Kachunga and into the goal.
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton defeated Everton 3-1 to earn their third consecutive Premier League win.
Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves opened the scoring in the seventh minute on a penalty conversion, while Everton drew level 20 minutes later on a goal by midfielder Andre Gomes.
Raul Jimenez gave Wolverhampton the lead for good in the dying minutes of the first half, while Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker made the score 3-1 in the 66th minute.
In other Premier League action, eighth-placed Watford was held to a scoreless draw by host Brighton and Hove Albion; in matches pitting teams in the bottom half of the table, Southampton played to a 1-1 tie with Burnley and Crystal Palace prevailed 2-0 over Fulham.
Earlier in the day, South Korean forward Son Heung-min lifted Tottenham Hotspur to a late 1-0 win over Newcastle United when he scored on a shot from the edge of the area in the 83rd minute that Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka badly misplayed.
The win provisionally moves Tottenham into the second spot in the Premier League table with 57 points, one ahead of City.
--IANS
gau/ksk
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
