Published: 17 minutes ago
FERNANDO TORRES hit a hat-trick as Chelsea walloped West London rivals QPR at Stamford Bridge.
Brimming with confidence after his last-minute goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, the £50million man was too hot to handle.
Daniel Sturridge got the party started inside the first minute with a scorcher from distance, before John Terry headed home from a corner.
Then the Torres show began as he rounded R’s keeper Paddy Kenny to notch his first.
It was 4-0 with only 25 minutes of the first-half played as Torres fired in his second.
And the World Cup winner had his third when he finished off a smart breakaway with an accomplished strike midway through the second-half.
French star Florent Malouda came off the bench to inflict more pain on Mark Hughes’ side as he fired home a sixth with 10 minutes to play.
QPR did manage to get one back as Djibril Cisse notched late on, but it was cold comfort for the visiting fans.
Roberto Di Matteo’s men now sit just a point behind fourth-placed Newcastle with the Toon heading to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Hughes’ men stay just above the relegation zone on goal difference, although 18th-placed Bolton have a game in hand.
Sturridge got the rout up and running with a wonder strike from outside the area with only 46 seconds on the clock.
The England star whipped a right-footed shot which flew into the top corner past the helpless Kenny.
QPR were complaining that Frank Lampard was in an offside position when the shot was struck and had interfered with play, but the goal stood.
Terry then fired a volley at Kenny before Lampard’s delicate chip was turned over by the keeper from a corner.
From the resulting set-piece, Terry powered home a free header to double the lead after 13 minutes.
Chelsea were flying and QPR were in freefall as Torres finished off a super move to make it 3-0 six minutes later.
Juan Mata and Salomon Kalou linked up with some neat passing before the Ivorian played through Torres with a defence-splitting ball.
The Spanish striker, buzzing after his late strike in the Nou Camp, took one touch to knock the ball past Kenny and another to pass it into the net.
It looked like the Torres of old as every touch seemed to stick to his boot.
He has his second after 25 minutes as he capitalised on a mix-up between Nedum Onuoha and Kenny to lash home.
The rain was lashing down and while it wasn’t the angriest of West London derbies, there were still a few strong tackles flying in with Joey Barton and Michael Essien the main offenders.
Torres almost had his hat-trick minutes before half-time as he received the ball inside the area after clever play from Mata and Lampard, but he blasted just over.
Shortly after half-time, Mata should have added a fifth as some clever play from Ashley Cole put the Spaniard clean through but he dragged his shot straight at Kenny.
Hughes’ side had offered nothing in front of goal but they almost pulled one back when Jamie Mackie let fly from distance only to be denied by Petr Cech at full stretch.
Torres finally had his treble as Chelsea launched a clinical counter attack. Mata played a delicious ball through to his compatriot who drove in on goal before slotting a composed finish into the far corner.
Rangers had been on the ropes from the very first minute and it was the joy of six for the Chelsea faithful in the 80th minute as substitute Malouda swept home.
It was party time for Di Matteo who brought on young full-back Sam Hutchinson, who had remarkably retired back in 2010 due to injury only to reverse his decision a year later.
Cisse took some gloss off the score-line with 84 minutes played as the Frenchman finished off Onuoha’s inviting centre but it was no more than a consolation goal.
It was stunning win for Di Matteo and his men as their revival under the Italian shows no sign of letting up.
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