Chelsea returned to the summit of the Premier League table by comfortably dispatching Stoke City 3-0 at Stamford Bridge this evening.
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Mohamad Salah fired the Blues into a slender half-time lead before Frank Lampard and Willian added the gloss as Jose Mourinho's men usurped Liverpool at the top of the standings.
The hosts had to wait until the half-hour mark to edge ahead in the contest, as Salah ran on to Nemanja Matic's cut-back pass before firing past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
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Chelsea thought that they had doubled their advantage four minutes before the interval, only for Branislav Ivanovic to see his header ruled out for offside.
However, Mourinho's troops secured a cushion legitimately on the hour mark. Andy Wilkinson was adjudged to have fouled Salah in the area, before Lampard stepped up and scored at the second attempt after Begovic saved the initial penalty.
Brazilian Willian put the result beyond doubt on 72 minutes, curling beyond the stretch of Begovic to cap an impressive win for the Londoners after back-to-back defeats in the league and Champions League respectively.
Shane Callaghan
