Chelsea proved their Premier League title credentials even without the injured Eden Hazard as goals from Alvaro Morata, Ross Barkley, Willian and Ruben Loftus-Cheek sealed a comfortable 4-0 victory at struggling Burnley to climb into second, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
Hazard, who was ruled out by a back problem sustained in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United last weekend, has been Chelsea's main source of goals in an unbeaten start to the season under Maurizio Sarri. However, the visitors were stronger than their relegation-threatened hosts in every department and perhaps the only disappointment for Sarri was that they failed to underline their dominance with further goals.
After a sombre start with a minute's silence to mark a helicopter crash that is feared to have taken the life of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha on Saturday, Chelsea soon got to grips with the business at hand.
There should have been more to show for their first-half efforts than just Morata's 22nd-minute opener, expertly guided past an exposed Joe Hart after the Spaniard was put through by a lovely slide-rule pass from midfielder Barkley in a move instigated by the ever-impressive N'Golo Kante.