Chelsea 5-0 Everton: Eden Hazard dazzles as five-star Blues go top of the league - 5 things we learned

The brilliant Belgian grabbed a double with Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa and Pedro also scoring to send out a warning shot to their Premier League rivals

Five-star Chelsea demolished Everton to move top of the Premier League with a devastating display.

Two-goal Eden Hazard produced a man of the match performance while goals from Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa and Pedro also left Ronald Koeman’s men in pieces.

Hazard opened the scoring on 19 minutes when he curled an effort around Toffees’ keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Alonso doubled the advantage just a minute later when he rifled Pedro’s cross under the body of Stekelenburg and into the net.

Chelsea were 3-0 up on 42 minutes when an unmarked Costa smashed the ball home from a corner. Hazard added his second 11 minutes after half time, sending a low shot into the bottom corner after Pedro had back-heeled into his path.

Pedro grabbed the goal his impressive performance deserved when he tucked the ball away after Hazard’s 65th-minute shot was saved.

Here are five things we learned from Stamford Bridge:

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Eden Hazard celebrates scoring Chelsea's first

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Marcos Alonso slams home the second

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Diego Costa follows Alonso to celebrate Chelsea's second

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Gary Cahill celebrates with Costa after the Spain international adds a third

1. Brave Koeman got it wrong

The Everton boss tried to go man-for-man with Conte’s in-form Chelsea in a bid to succeed where others have failed. He got it horribly wrong. Everton’s three-man back line just could not cope with the movement and the cutting edge of the Chelsea attack. They panicked in possession and went to pieces under attack.

At set-pieces players were left unmarked (Costa had the freedom of the box to score the third) and Chelsea should have been even further ahead by half-time. Koeman still has a right to be unhappy with his players though. But he will know he is just as culpable as they are.

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Costa celebrates his ninth Premier League goal of the season

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Costa salutes the crowd after scoring his side's third

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Pedro is congratulated by Conte after his fine display

2. Who needs Lukaku?

Diego Costa showed the Belgian who was boss in the battle of the strikers.

The Brazil-born Spain striker proved in some style that Chelsea were right not to meet Everton’s staggering £75million asking price to bring back Lukaku.

The answer to their goalscoring woes has been right under their noses.

Costa has now scored 12 goals in 16 matches for club and country. By this stage last season he’d scored just three.

He had clearly fallen out of love with Jose Mourinho who went on to lose the faith of the entire dressing room.

Conte has managed to get his prize asset back on side - even allowing for their bust-up in the Leicester game when Costa dared the Italian to take him off. It says a massive amount for Conte’s man-management skills that he continues to inspire the level of performance that has kept Costa top of the Premier League scoring charts and favourite for the top-flight Golden Boot.

Lukaku could only look on forlornly at what might have been as Chelsea tore his side apart.

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Everton's Romelu Lukaku warms up

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Antonio Conte reacts after a Chelsea goal

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Hazard drifts past Ramiro Funes Mori

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Pedro celebrates after scoring their fifth goal

3. Manchester United must be wishing they moved for Conte!

How on earth has the Italian produced this run from the ashes of Chelsea’s 3-0 demolition at Arsenal back in September?

It wasn’t just that they were able to punish Everton’s sloppy defending. Chelsea were faster, sharper, far more hungry and industrious. They should have been even further ahead by half time and would have been had Costa not blown a gilt-edged opportunity in the minutes leading up to the break.

This is now five Premier League wins on the bounce to go top. All for the loss of zero-goals. While Mourinho at Manchester United appears to be dithering over the problems holding his expensively-assembled team back, Conte has been decisive in producing a dynamism in his Chelsea side that nobody could have predicted.

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Conte rallies around his players after the opener

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The Italian offers instructions from the side line

4. Conte appears to have inspired the real Pedro to stand up.

The £22million Spaniard looks a different player. His goal was the least he deserved for an outstanding performance. The Chelsea faithful showed their appreciation when he was taken off with 20 minutes left.

Before this run the Barcelona cast-off looked a passenger. An expensive mistake.

Manchester United, who had also been in for him, would certainly have considered themselves to have dodged a bullet.

Conte appears to have restored his confidence in some style. His impressive performance was summed up by his sumptuous back-heel into the path of Eden Hazard for Chelsea’s fourth.

It was from Pedro’s cross that Alonso buried his effort to make it 2-0. He is puffing his chest out again and

Willian may not be around to work his magic on the right and, before this run you would in no way have believed Pedro to be an able substitute. He is now.

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Conte was his typical emotive self against Everton

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Hazard grabs a stunning fourth for the Blues

5. Yes, Chelsea are title contenders again

Back in September you wouldn’t have given a bean for their chances.

They couldn’t defence, they were embarrassed at Arsenal and Costa looked to have had a massive job on even to get them into the top four.

Suddenly they are top and look a match for anyone. Spurs may have the best defence in the Premier League but right now they can’t score. Chelsea can. For fun. Yes, Everton were awful and will want to get this footballing disaster out of their system as quickly as possible. But Chelsea were seriously impressive here, keeping their collective foot on the throat of their opponents even at 5-0 up. They have won back the confidence lost after that shambolic defeat at the Emirates. They have convinced those who questioned the quality of their wins against a poor Hull side and a Manchester United team in transition. Chelsea have set themselves a new standard. And are now setting the pace in the Premier League.

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Hazard shields the ball away from Funes Mori

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Hazard caps a stunning move to put the Blues four up