Chelsea 6-1 QPR: Torres nets hat-trick as Chelsea run riot

Club owner Roman Abramovich was one of many at Stamford Bridge wearing a proud smile as Fernando Torres capped a memorable few days with his first hat-trick since September 2009.

The striker, who scored a famous goal in Barcelona last week to help Chelsea secure a place in the Champions League final, put in a fine display here against the Blues' west London rivals.

Di Matteo has now experienced just one defeat in 16 matches in his impressive period as interim manager.

The win belonged to Chelsea with less than a quarter of the match gone.

By then, they were four goals up against shell-shocked QPR and cruising.

Chelsea's players had been clinical in seeing off their relegation-threatened opponents, taking advantage of every opening they were able to create.

Daniel Sturridge put his side ahead with a thunderous strike with 46 seconds gone.

A second goal came on 13 minutes when Chelsea captain John Terry rose above his marker Clint Hill to put a powerful header past goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

As confirmed last week the pre-match handshake ritual didn't go ahead.

However, this didn't stop the merciless jeering of Anton Ferdinand, the target of Terry's alleged racist abuse, throughout.

Chelsea's third goal was a cleverly worked effort that was finished off by the impressive Torres.

The Spaniard added the fourth with just over a quarter of the match gone when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up to slot a loose ball in from close range.

The £50 million striker sealed his hat-trick on 63 minutes after he was played in by compatriot Juan Mata following a swift Chelsea counter-attack.

He rounded Kenny before comfortably putting the ball in.

French midfielder Florent Malouda completed the rout on 79 minutes before QPR striker Djibril Cisse scored a consolation five minutes later with a powerful low shot.

Other than winning the competition when they come up against Bayern Munich in the German club's home stadium on May 19, Chelsea's hopes of clinching a place in next season's Champions League rest on beating the likes of Newcastle United, who they play on Wednesday, and Liverpool in their upcoming league fixtures.