Chelsea eye European qualification after crushing West Ham

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Chelsea crushed London rivals West Ham 5-0 on Sunday to move above Manchester United into seventh place and keep their hopes of European qualification alive.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is fighting to convince the club's co-owner Todd Boehly to give him a second season in charge at Stamford Bridge after his troubled debut campaign.

Pochettino admits it is "not his decision" if he stays, but securing a place in Europe could be enough to avoid the sack.

Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 15th minute with his 21st league goal of the season, the forward firing home after West Ham failed to clear.

Conor Gallagher doubled Chelsea's advantage after 30 minutes with a blistering volley after West Ham's Kurt Zouma deflected the ball towards the midfielder.

Noni Madueke bagged Chelsea's third six minutes later as the winger turned in Thiago Silva's header from close-range.

Nicolas Jackson piled on the misery for woeful West Ham in the 48th minute with a tap-in from Madueke's cross.

The Senegal striker was on target again with 10 minutes left.

The lopsided nature of defeat did little to quell speculation over the future of West Ham boss David Moyes, who has come under fire from fans for his perceived negative game-plans.

Ninth placed West Ham have reportedly held talks with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui and could opt to move on from Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season.