CHELSEA 3 WEST HAM UNITED 0

Fernando Torres netted his first Chelsea goal as the Blues thumped West Ham 3-0 in difficult conditions at Stamford Bridge.

The heavens opened just before kick-off but Frank Lampard scored under thunder and lightning to give Chelsea the lead just before half time. Florent Malouda added the third in stoppage time at the end of the game following substitute Torres' late strike.

It had to be a strong display from Chelsea against a troublesome West Ham side who did have chances. The win maintains the six-point gap between the second-placed Blues and Manchester United at the top.

There was one change to the side which beat Birmingham midweek, withBranislav Ivanovic starting at right-back instead of Paulo Ferreira.

Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda once again flanked Didier Drogba in attack while John Terry's start took him one away of 500 for Chelsea.

West Ham were without Matthew Upson. Keeper Robert Green took the captain's armband while the defender was replaced by Danny Gabbidon. Former Blue Carlton Cole was flanked by Demba Ba and Jonathan Spector in attack as Avram Grant matched Chelsea's 4-3-3.

Petr Cech was the first keeper called into action, gathering a loose ball after Freddie Sears tried to break into the box. The goal-kick led to a chance at the other end when Florent Malouda found himself one-on-one with Green only for the shot to be blocked. That was a good chance not taken. 

Chelsea took command. John Mikel Obi, Ashley Cole and Malouda all came close to scoring inside the opening five minutes. In response, the visitors fouled several times, with Thomas Hitzlsperger seeing yellow for a challenge on Kalou inside the first 10 minutes.

Malouda again came close to netting first for the Blues, initially forcing a deflection after shooting in front of goal and then drilling wide of the near post after dancing into the box. A one-two between Drogba and Kalou then saw the latter break into the West Ham area, only for his first touch to take the ball too far in front to shoot.

Cech wasn't really called into action until 20 minutes in, when a long-range Cole effort was pushed over for a West Ham corner. The resultant ball into the box was caught by our keeper with ease.

However he was forced into an acrobatic save moments later to push a diving header from Jonathan Spector wide, after the West Ham man launched himself onto a Sears cross.

As the rain died down, but the thunder continued to the delight of the crowd, Cech had to scramble on his line to gather another Spector chance after the West Ham man back-heeled a corner ball goal-ward.

As the first-half drew to a close, West Ham were beginning to produce as many chances as Chelsea. It was one such opportunity that led to a collision betweenDavid Luiz and Cech, as the shot-stopper tried to punch the ball clear. At first it looked bad but after brief treatment, the defender returned to the game.

Despite the visitors' chances, it was Chelsea went in 1-0 up at the break. A brilliant Drogba pass gave Cole the chance to cross the ball from the left flank for Frank Lampard to smash home from seven yards out. Chelsea's vice-captain made no mistake as the ball nearly broke through the net at the Shed End with two minutes of the first-half left. The West Ham fans close by did not enjoy the moment. It was Lampard's first goal at the Bridge against his former side.

There were no changes as the second-half got underway and Chelsea started the better side once again, Drogba this time forcing the first save of the half.

The rain was back and seven minutes into the half, John Mikel Obi cleared a Manuel Da Costa header off the line after West Ham's number 22 latched onto a corner.

By now there was water everywhere and it was beginning to affect play, slowing the ball down. When Essien pulled up in pain after collecting a David Luiz pass, he soon limped off with a knee injury to be replaced by Yossi Benayoun.

Minutes after, West Ham were forced into making a substitution, swapping Robbie Keane for Mark Noble, who clashed with Ivanovic before being carried off.

With just under 30 minutes left, Lampard nearly made it two, narrowly missing a Drogba ball right in front of goal. Moments later our vice-captain tested Green further with a long-range effort which was palmed away, only for Malouda to shoot into the side netting.

Then came two chances, one at either end, forcing the crowd onto the edge of their seats. First David Luiz sent a shot ricocheting off the bar from 20 yards out. From the counter-attack, Ba forced Cech to save from a similar distance before Keane drilled into the keeper's hands.

Carlo Ancelotti then made some changes, bringing Nicolas Anelka andFernando Torres into the game. The two paired up well for Anelka's first chance as Torres pulled the ball back for him to shoot at a clear goal, only for Daniel Gabbidon to chase back and incredibly head away the danger.

Then the Spaniard struck and the crowd went wild. Torres' maiden goal for Chelsea came after he latched onto an Anelka ball, broke into the box, turned to keep possession as the ball stuck in the water before drilling home with his left foot. The entire team buried the striker. It was 2-0 Chelsea with six minutes to play and the atmosphere was electric.

Cech would make one more save, easily gathering a long-range Frederic Piquionne effort, before Chelsea killed the game. After feeding off a Torres ball, Malouda expertly struck from the edge of the box, smashing into the net while Green could only watch.

The goal means Malouda beats his league tally for last season. It's another three points for Chelsea are the title race really heats up!

By Christian Collison

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Essien (Benayoun 56), Mikel, Lampard; Kalou (Anelka 69), Drogba (Torres 75), Malouda.
Unused subs Turnbull, Ferreira, Bertrand, Zhirkov.
Cards Ivanovic
Goals Lampard, Torres, Malouda.

West Ham (4-3-3): Green (c); Jacobsen, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Bridge; Noble (Keane 59), Hitzlsperger, Sears (Obinna 81); Spector, Cole (Piquionne 78), Ba.
Unused subs Boffin, Tomkins, Kovac, Boa Morte.
Cards Hitzlsperger, Ba

Shots on target Chelsea 8 West Ham 8
Corners Chelsea 7 West Ham 7
Fouls Chelsea 8 West Ham 13
Offsides Chelsea 3 West Ham 1

via Chelsea TV