Soccer-Chelsea stroll to victory over West Ham

By Martyn Herman

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 26 (Reuters) - Leaders Chelsea kicked off a hectic holiday programme in the Premier League with a dominant 2-0 victory over high-flying London rivals West Ham United on Friday.

A John Terry tap-in and Diego Costa's drilled shot sealed the points for Jose Mourinho's side although the scoreline disguised a gulf in quality between the two sides who were separated by only three places in the table.

West Ham ground out a 0-0 draw in the corresponding fixture last year when Mourinho accused them of playing 19th Century (Shenzhen: 300078.SZ - news) football but once Terry had scored after 31 minutes they offered little and could have lost by a bigger margin.

The first half hour was one-way traffic and the only surprise was they did not score before Terry turned the ball over the line after Costa flicked on a Cesc Fabregas corner.

Costa, whose goal tally had slowed in recent weeks, showed his pedigree when he received a pass from Eden Hazard and buried a left-foot shot past goalkeeper Adrian.

West Ham livened up in the latter stages and substitute Morgan Amalfitano dinked an effort against the post but it was a rare moment of alarm for Chelsea's defence.

Chelsea, who have never lost a home league derby during Mourinho's two spells in charge, have 45 points from 18 games, six more than champions Manchester City who play at West Bromwich Albion later on Friday.

Third-placed Manchester United (NYSE: MANU - news) host Newcastle United. (Editing by Ed Osmond)