EPL: Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea

Morata left Stoke's bet365 Stadium with the match ball

Alvaro Morata scored a hat-trick as Chelsea romped to a 4-0 Premier League win against Stoke at the bet365 Stadium.

Antonio Conte’s men went into the game looking to keep the pressure on the two Manchester clubs above them and went in front inside the first two minutes with their first attack through Morata.

Pedro gave the Blues a two-goal cushion at the half-time interval, before Morata killed the game off late in the second half with two more goals to complete his treble.

The win keeps Chelsea in third place, three points off top spot, while Stoke remain down in 15th position on five points from six games.

Chelsea had a dream start in the second minute when Cesar Azpilicueta’s wonderful 40-yard pass picked out the run of Morata and he controlled the ball before finishing past Jack Butland.

Stoke responded positively to going behind but struggled to find a way past a resolute Blues rearguard.

However, the visitors doubled their lead on the half-hour when Darren Fletcher attempted to chest the ball back towards his defence and Pedro pounced before gong through and producing a good finish past Butland.

Stoke enjoyed a good spell towards the end of the half with Mame Biram Diouf’s overhead kick dropping over the bar and Fletcher had an effort blocked on 43 minutes.

Fletcher should have got Stoke back into the game just after the 70-minute mark but he somehow headed wide from Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross into the area.

The Scot was made to pay for that when Morata made it 3-0 on 77 minutes as he fired in from six yards after being found in the area by Tiemoue Bakayoko.

The summer signing from Real Madrid grabbed his hat-trick goal eight minutes from time when Azpilicueta chested the ball into his path in the area and he poked the ball home inside the six-yard box.

Morata almost finished the game with a four-goal haul but fired his right-foot effort wide from the right side of the area on 88 minutes.