Chelsea registered their first league win of 2018 in style as the Premier League champions romped to a 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

A run of 0-0 draws had seen the Blues slip to third place in the league table and with suspensions and injuries forcing Antonio Conte’s hand ahead of their trip to Brighton, the pressure was well and truly on the visitors.

And despite being without the services of suspended duo of Alvaro Morata and Pedro, the Blues blazed into 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes played.

Eden Hazard, who had been going through a rough patch of late, opened the scoring with a well-taken goal after Victor Moses’ low cross had been deflected into his path in the third minute.

While the opener had a bit of luck in it, the second oozed class as a slick move involving Hazard, Michy Batshuayi and Willian culminated in the Brazilian lashing home from 20 yards out in the sixth minute.

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Two goals to the good, Chelsea were in the ascendancy but Brighton were roused from their slumber and began to create chances of their won.

Willy Caballero’s rustiness, after spending a majority of the season on the bench, was apparent as the Chelsea box was bombarded with crosses and the Argentine struggled to collect the high balls that came his way.

Caballero’s compatriot, Ezequiel Schletto of Brighton, had two strong penalty shouts waved away, sparking jeers from the home crowd as Chris Hughton’s side ended the tie the stronger of the sides.

Chelsea’s stand-in keeper was a major reason why Brighton hadn’t conceded as he made amends for his jittery start by making a spectacular one-handed save from a point-blank header just before the interval

Brighton were the stronger of the sides after the re-start as well, with a header coming off the post in the 50th minute, as Caballero was well-beaten for once.

However, Chelsea showcased their ruthless streak to put the game beyond the hosts’ reach as Hazard scored a classic breakaway goal in the 77th minute.

There was a moment of concern for the Blues as Andreas Christensen was forced off after a clash of heads just before the hour-mark.

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Victor Moses would complete the rout for Antonio Conte’s men with a minute of regulation time remaining and now the Blues have leapfrogged Liverpool into third place.

Crucially, they are level on 50 points with second-placed Manchester United but the Red Devils could restore their three-point lead over them if they manage to beat Burnley at Turf Moor later on Saturday.

Liverpool visit Swansea City on Monday night and are tipped to overwhelm the Welsh outfit but Conte will be a relieved man as his side approach a mid-week Carabao Cup semi-final with arch-rivals Arsenal high on confidence.