A hat-trick from Mason Mount propelled Chelsea to a 7-0 win over bottom side Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday, extending its lead at the top of the table and demonstrating it still had firepower despite injuries to its strikers.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had called on his attacking players to step up after injuries to striker Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner during Wednesday's Champions League win over Malmo.
The players obeyed and Mount opened Chelsea's account when he sent the ball low into the net after a layoff from Jorginho in a move started down the left by the ever-busy Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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The 20-year-old Hudson-Odoi earned his reward 11 minutes later when he latched on to a pinpoint through ball from Mateo Kovacic and held his nerve to fire home past the outstretched leg of Norwich keeper Tim Krul.
A third Chelsea Academy product got on the scoresheet three minutes before halftime when Mount slid the ball into the path of Reece James and the wing-back produced a delicious chip over the advancing Krul.
Tuchel has said he believes Chelsea's success is built upon a happy combination of homegrown and foreign players and it took 12 minutes of the second half for Chelsea's, now purring, machine to score again.
England left-back Ben Chilwell sent a Kovacic pass across the face of the goal and into the back of the net past a despairing Krul.
Norwich, which has failed to win a game this season and has scored just two goals, was in disarray and then suffered the indignity of an own goal from Max Aarons in the 62nd and a sending off for Ben Gibson after a second yellow card two minutes later.
By now the European champion was peppering the Norwich goal with attempts and, but for some last-ditch defending and some fine Krul saves, substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Hakim Ziyech and Ross Barkley might all have scored.
Krul saved a penalty from Mount late in the game but VAR showed he had moved off his line and when the kick was retaken in the 85th minute the England midfielder made no mistake.
Mount capped off his fine performance with a tap-in from a Loftus-Cheek pass in the 91st minute to register his first hat-trick and send fans home happy.
"To have the hat-trick for Mason is huge because that’s a massive moment for him. He’s very proud, he put a lot of pressure on himself," the German coach said.
"I feel (he is) playing with a bit more freedom in the last few matches and this is what we need. There were a lot of games, and still are a lot of games, for him at a very young age."
Chelsea has 22 points, ahead of Liverpool, which plays Manchester United on Sunday and has 18 points.
In Other Games
Rafa Benitez's Everton was 2-1 up at home to promoted Watford but then conceded four goals inside 13 minutes as it collapsed to a surprise loss.
Josh King, the former Bournemouth forward who was on loan at Everton last season, scored a hat-trick on his return to Goodison Park as new Watford boss Claudio Ranieri enjoyed a much-needed win for the Hornets, who is 14th on 10 points.
Ranieri's first game in charge, last week, ended in a 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool but the Italian said he had been able to benefit from a full week with his players.
"Of course today my philosophy was very clear. The players worked with me one week together and slowly, slowly I’m sure we will get better together," he added.
Benitez was puzzled by the defeat, which left his side in eight place on 14 points.
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"I think it is difficult to explain when you are winning 2-1 and concede four goals in a few minutes. We need to understand how to manage the game, especially managing when you are winning," he said.
"We conceded four goals in a few minutes and normally you cannot do this in the Premier League. When you score the second goal, that is when you have to be compact and organised, but we made mistake after mistake.
"We have to be better, especially when you are in control of the game."
Leeds United's disappointing start to the season continued and it needed a stoppage-time goal from Spanish striker Rodrigo to scrape a 1-1 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Rodrigo's penalty cancelled out Hwang Hee-chan's early goal for the visitors.
Newcastle's first game since the departure of manager Steve Bruce ended in a 1-1 draw in the capital after Callum Wilson's acrobatic strike cancelled out Christian Benteke's opener for Crystal Palace.
Ivory Coast winger Maxwel Cornet scored twice for winless Burnley in the 2-2 draw at Southampton.
Manchester United hosts Liverpool in the North-West derby at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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