Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino hailed an “important” victory for his side as they dismantled West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
First-half goals from Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were followed up by a brace from Nicolas Jackson after the break.
The result leaves the Blues seventh in the Premier League table, which would be enough to qualify for the Uefa Europa Conference League next season.
“I’m so happy for the players and staff,” Pochettino told Sky Sports after the final whistle.
“After the victory against Tottenham and to come back again after a few days is very good.
“It was a brilliant game, it was amazing. They reacted in the right way. I was so happy how we competed on Thursday and we have talented players to create chances and score goals.
“I wasn’t relaxed in the dugout, I wanted to keep a clean sheet. West Ham are a powerful team on set-pieces and we needed some luck. It was important not just to win the game but also get the clean sheet.”
Chelsea were boosted by the return to fitness of a number of first-team players, with Thiago Silva returning to the starting line-up while Axel Disasi, Christian Nkunku and Levi Colwill were named on the bench.
“It’s amazing to have the kids from the academy but if we want to be competitive we need to have the squad fit,” Pochettino said. “It’s important that we are competitive in all areas with players who can fight for their place.”
The west London outfit have now won four games on the bounce at the Bridge, while they have not suffered defeat at home since early February. It’s a big turnaround from the mixed performances in front of their fans earlier in the season.
“It’s true last season was tough for everyone here and to turn the feelings and performance this season is difficult,” he said.
“We needed time for everyone to trust in the process and we have recovered good feelings at Stamford Bridge.”
