The goal of the game rightly capped off the result as Hazard belted an effort home from 25 yards to give Chelsea interim coach Rafael Benitez a much-needed three points despite enduring more boos from the Blues support.

Chelsea captain John Terry made his return from injury as a second-half substitute but he gave away a late penalty when he brought down Walters in the area.u00a0

However, the Irish international’s horror day was made worse as he fired the spot-kick off the bar and over.u00a0Chelsea’s victory took them back into third place, after the previous incumbents of the final podium position, Tottenham Hotspur, were held to a 0-0 draw at QPR.

Tottenham, Everton held
Spurs striker Jermain Defoe came close to opening the scoring in the first half with a 20-yard strike that crashed back off the post, with QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar reacting brilliantly to save Emmanuel Adebayor’s follow-up. The hosts’ best chances both fell to Shaun Wright-Phillips, but he could not find the target on either occasion.u00a0Fifth-placed Everton also wasted a chance to boost their challenge for a top-four finish in the League as Swansea held on for a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park. Everton would have moved within a point of fourth-placed Spurs with a victory, but the visitors delivered a composed display to frustrate them.

Results
Stoke 0-4 Chelsea
QPR 0-0 Tottenham
Everton 0-0 Swansea
Norwich 0-0 Newcastle
Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton
Fulham 1 -1 Wigan
Reading 3-2 West Brom
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham u00a0