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Jose Mourinho recorded his 100th Premier League victory with Chelsea's 3-1 triumph over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, Samuel Eto'o's hat-trick punishing the reigning champions, and creating more misery for beleaguered United manager David Moyes.
Javier Hernandez pulled one back for United, before Nemanja Vidic was given a straight red card for a lunge on Eden Hazard.
United, and young attacker Adnan Januzaj in particular, started brightly but were undone by two poor pieces of defending that allowed Cameroonian Eto'o to score his first goals against United since the 2009 Champions League final, when he was playing for Barcelona.
Eto'o opened the scoring after 17 minutes when allowed to shoot by Michael Carrick, his deflected shot ballooning into the net, and he was left unmarked in the box just before the halftime whistle to double the advantage.
He completed his treble from close range when following up Gary Cahill's header to secure a fifth successive league victory for Mourinho's side. Substitute Hernandez scored for United with 12 minutes remaining.
Click on the gallery to see the ratings
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratingsShow all 22 1 /22Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Petr Cech 6/10 Stopped efforts from Young and Welbeck but little to do as United struggled. Troubled more by his own footwork before Hernandez consolation
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Branislav Ivanovic 6/10 Wasted chance after good work from Ramires on return from three weeks out. Untroubled defensively for long spells but lost Hernandez for goal
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Gary Cahill 7/10 Calm head in opposing area allowed the centre-back to square for Eto’o second on stroke of half-time. Header led to Chelsea’s third as well
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings John Terry 6/10 The former England captain enjoyed one of quieter games against Manchester United as the champions failed to create until the game was over
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta 6/10 Quick to sense danger as Welbeck prepared to shoot before break, pressurising him with tackle. Got forward when he could - which was often
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Ramires 7/10 Brazilian enforcer was quick to snuff out danger from United midfield and provided platform for attacking team-mates to cause damage further upfield
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings David Luiz 6/10 First in the book after scything down Valencia before being chastised by his manager for positional inaccuracies. Held ground with authority
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Willian 6/10 Surprise starter and gave the ball away in opening quarter before settling into rhythm. Caused United problems with his strong running
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Oscar 6/10 Shot wide as Chelsea found their feet following a slow start. Wrongly chose to scissor-kick when could have headed in. Taken off for Mikel
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Eden Hazard 7/10 Quiet beginning for the in-form Belgian playmaker but began to cut in from the left wing at will as Chelsea turned the screw and won at a canter
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Samuel Eto'o 7/10 Speculative shot looped in for opener before making the most of poor United defending to double his Premier League tally in a single afternoon
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings David De Gea 5/10 Could do little with Eto’o’s first but the Spaniard should be disappointed with his efforts for the Cameroon forward’s second and third strikes
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Rafael 5/10 Not enjoying best season and struggled to cope with pace and intensity. Completely switched off for Eto’o’s second and lucky to stay on after Cahill challenge
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Jonny Evans 5/10 Cut out Hazard cross in opening quarter but unable to offer much resistence thereafter. Will never be an able replacement for Rio Ferdinand
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Nemanja Vidic 5/10 Left dawdling as he played everyone onside for Eto’o’s second. Poor afternoon capped as mindless lunge on Hazard rightfully saw him dismissed
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Patrice Evra 6/10 Found the side netting with early foray forward but effect on game waned. Given the runaround by Chelsea’s incisive passing and movement
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Phil Jones 5/10 First appearance for a month and it showed. Slow to close down Eto’o for Chelsea’s opener before a typically robust challenge on Luiz
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Michael Carrick 6/10 Unwittingly forced Eto’o shot up over De Gea. Stuck to task well but not the personality United needed against a Chelsea side right in their groove
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Antonio Valencia 6/10 Eager to make an impression in the opening minutes but strong challenges from Luiz and Ramires appeared to scare him out of the game
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Adnan Januzaj 7/10 Multi-nationalist caused problems for home defence with his tricky footwork and wingplay and was United’s best chance of creating anything of note
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Ashley Young 6/10 Returned from shoulder injury and caused problems early on. Needless booking for pulling back Ramires after ceding possession. Quiet after break
Chelsea 3 Manchester United 1 player ratings Danny Welbeck 6/10 Came into match on form and linked up well with Young but just does not offer the threat of Rooney or Van Persie. Slow to get shot away in first half
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