Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United: Jose Mourinho's Stamford Bridge Return Ruined

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Jose Mourinho endured a horrific return to Stamford Bridge as his Manchester United side were ripped apart by an impressive Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

Pedro opened the scoring after just 30 seconds before Cahill, Hazard and Kante sealed an impressive victory for Antonio Conte's side over a defensively poor United.

The game started at a frantic pace, and Chelsea made the most of it, taking the lead in the opening minute. Pedro raced onto Marcos Alonso's through ball after some hesitant defending from Daley Blind and Chris Smalling - rounding the out-rushing David de Gea, the former Barca man gladly opened the scoring.

The out of form Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed a golden chance to equalise, towering over Cesar Azpilicueta at the back stick to meet Antonio Valencia's terrific cross only to head over the bar from close distance.

Chelsea dominated the opening 20 minutes, and made their possession count soon after as Gary Cahill doubled the Blues' lead. The ball ricocheted around the box following a corner, and the England centre-back was on hand to thump the ball home.

United looked a shadow of the side that frustrated Liverpool so well on Monday night, but forced Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois into two good saves in the first-half, first denying Ander Herrera from long range before then keeping out Jesse Lingard's closer effort.

United felt aggrieved after David Luiz clattered into Marouane Fellaini, leaving a high boot in on the Belgian, escaping with a yellow card.

Chelsea very nearly finished the game off in injury time in the first half after Diego Costa had muscled ahead of Eric Bailly, but the Ivorian recovered with a terrific sliding block just before the whistle went for half-time.

Mourinho's side improved after the break, with Lingard testing Courtois from range, but Chelsea soon put the game to bed. Eden Hazard was played in by Nemanja Matic, and turned Smalling inside and out before finishing past De Gea.

As if things couldn't get worse for Jose Mourinho, his side conceded another. Galloping on to Pedro's smart flick, N'Golo Kante sent Smalling back to the stone age with a smart dummy before finishing calmly beyond De Gea. 

Mourinho's best teams in the past have been built on solid foundations at the back, but on Sunday's evidence the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss has plenty of work to do, with his defenders all at sea against the mesmerising talent of Hazard and the persistent hard work from the likes Victor Moses and Pedro.

Ibrahimovic nearly grabbed a consolation for United, controlling a cross brilliantly before seeing his half-volley saved by Courtois.

The introductions of Willian and Michy Batshuayi gave Chelsea more pace going forward towards the end of the match, and Moses was nearly the grateful benefactor after receiving the ball on the right-hand side only to see his shot well blocked.

The win was an emphatic statement from Chelsea, who capitalised on the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City dropping points to jump up to fourth, just one point off the summit of the Premier League.

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