Chelsea put recent poor performances behind them to get back to winning ways on Saturday, beating a mediocre West Ham 3-0 at Upton Park.
A brace from Frank Lampard and an Oscar effort sealed a comfortable win for the Blues, but what did we learn from the game?
4-6-0 offers no attacking threat
It sounds obvious, but playing without a striker limits the attacking threat of your side. Sam Allardyce saw his 4-6-0 system work a treat in West Ham’s win at Tottenham earlier in the campaign, but his team were toothless here.
It took only 40 minutes for the West Ham boss to abandon this system, and the negativity of playing at home without a striker quite rightly deserved boos from the Upton Park faithful.
The Hammers are certainly missing Andy Carroll, but need to show more enterprise, especially at home, if they are to avoid slipping further into the relegation mire.
Lampard a goal threat for England
Frank Lampard continued his excellent goalscoring record here with two more strikes, and is still an important man for club and country despite his age.
Regardless of the fact that he will be 36 during next summer’s World Cup, the Chelsea talisman is a real attacking threat that could be invaluable for the Three Lions in Brazil.
Oscar right to be Mourinho’s first-choice number ten
Although Eden Hazard also put in an excellent showing, Brazilian Oscar was consistently a thorn in West Ham’s side, with the hosts struggling to deal with the attacking midfielder.
Despite the presence of Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle and Willian on the Chelsea bench, Oscar is proving his worth this term and is quite rightly the first-choice number ten in the Chelsea set-up.
Keeping the South American fit and on form is key for the west London side in their quest for honours this term.
Ravel Morrison a bright spark
Although it was a largely frustrating performance from the hosts, Ravel Morrison put in another impressive showing for the Hammers. His skill, movement and ability on the ball shone through again, with the former Manchester United man in great form.
There is every chance that the England under-21 star could well be in contention for a spot in the senior side that travels to Brazil next summer, while the Hammers will struggle to keep him if he continues his early season positive performances.
West Ham in trouble
While the win keeps Chelsea close to the top, West Ham are looking like a side that could be destined to face a battle to stay in the division this term.
In 17th place with only ten points from 12 games, Allardyce’s men need to be more positive and improve, or they will face a long season.
The fact that they have only scored nine goals this term is a worry, but their defending at times against the Blues was also distinctly ordinary for large portions of the game.
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