Andre Schuerrle scored a second-half hat trick as Chelsea extended its lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over bottom-place Fulham on Saturday.
After a sluggish first-half performance, Chelsea overpowered its west London neighbor to capitalize on Arsenal losing at Stoke and go four points clear at the top.
Eden Hazard, as influential as ever in the Chelsea midfield, created Schuerrle's first two goals and striker Fernando Torres set up the third.
Having created so much danger before the break at Craven Cottage, Fulham only managed to score a 74th-minute goal through Johnny Heitinga.
But it was just a consolation, and there was no way back for Fulham in the first home game under Felix Magath, its third manager of the season.