Chelsea were far from their best in east London, only looking comfortable after being gifted the lead through a defensive mishap.

Their win against a poor West Ham side sent them to third, while the Irons hover above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.

Guy Demel's inability to control a lofty ball forced West Ham keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen to run from his line and send Oscar toppling, with Frank Lampard easily converting the penalty.

Chelsea looked strong after the interval, with Oscar and Eden Hazard, two of the best performers on the evening, combining well for the second goal.

Lampard completed his brace on 82 minutes, but his former side was already dead and buried after Oscar hit home on 32 minutes.

"The points are important, and the way we played," said the Chelsea manager. "We are right in there, we are not leaders, but we are right behind.

"For me, everybody did a fantastic job for me. The team was really good."

But for West Ham supporters these are concerning times.

Their team was left just outside the relegation zone on goal difference after this defeat.

They still have just the two wins to their name all season and were booed off by a sizeable minority of home supporters at the final whistle.

Chelsea travel to Switzerland to face Basle this week before welcoming Southampton on Sunday. West Ham have a crucial match against Fulham coming up.