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Chelsea skipper John Terry (left) turns away to celebrate his second goal in as many games as the Blues hammered West Ham last night. —MailOnline

LONDON — Leaders Chelsea tightened their grip on the Premier League’s top spot with a 2-0 victory over West Ham. The Blues had already come close through Oscar and Gary Cahill when John Terry turned in Diego Costa’s header from close range.

After a tame first half, West Ham offered more in the second, but their hopes were snuffed out by Costa’s drilled finish just after the hour.

Morgan Amalfitano hit the post late on but Chelsea racked up 28 shots at goal.

Chelsea look set to finish 2014 at the top of the table — and the quality of their performance suggested they may well still be there in May.

Their manager Jose Mourinho accused West Ham of playing “19th century football” after the teams’ goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in January, but this Blues side, with the attacking threat Costa and Cesc Fabregas, never looked like being denied.

The visitors’ style has taken a quantum leap forward since — with 29 goals in their first 17 league games this season compared to 14 over the same period in 2013-14 — but it was clear as soon as the team sheets were published that Sam Allardyce intended a defensive performance similar to 11 months ago.

The West Ham manager dropped Alex Song and Diafra Sakho to the bench ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Arsenal and told television before kick-off that “we have to stop Chelsea — it’s as simple as that”.

His ambitions were almost undermined by Carl Jenkinson’s lapse inside the first five minutes.

The right-back, on loan from Arsenal, allowed Oscar to dart in behind him and was relieved to see the Brazilian blaze over from six yards out after latching onto Willian’s floated ball in.

But it was only a temporary reprieve.

Gary Cahill thumped a shot straight at Adrian and the seemingly inevitable Chelsea opener arrived after Eden Hazard almost wriggled his way in on goal.

James Collins’ last-ditch tackle had denied the Belgian on that occasion, but from the resulting corner the defender lost Terry, who was free to poke in as Costa flicked on.

The Blues did not let up and Costa punted over when well placed before Branislav Ivanovic appealed in vain for a penalty as he went down under Andy Carroll’s challenge.

For West Ham, with only 27 percent of possession, Chelsea’s slim scoreboard advantage was the only positive to take from the first half.

The away side briefly flickered into life after the break and Terry had to be alert to cover across and block Valencia’s route to goal.

Sakho and Song were introduced for the Hammers but, just as a few concerns could be felt around Stamford Bridge, Costa’s dead-eyed finish ensured the home fans could enjoy the final half hour in comfort.

The Spain international’s dummy took Tomkins, Winston Reid and Carl Jenkinson out of the game before his fierce low drive did likewise for goalkeeper Adrian.

A late cameo for Didier Drogba was applauded warmly and West Ham were denied a late mood-killing consolation as Amalfitano’s flick hit the woodwork after a neat run took him past Terry and Cahill.

Meanwhile, Manchester City scored three first-half goals and survived a snowstorm as they beat West Brom to stay three points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Fernando hooked City ahead after Ben Foster dropped a Jesus Navas cross. Yaya Toure made it 2-0 from the spot after a foul on David Silva, who added a third with a precise finish.

Heavy snow made conditions difficult after half-time and West Brom managed a late consolation when Brown Ideye netted from close range.

The win was City’s ninth consecutive victory in all competitions, equalling a club record and keeping the pressure on Chelsea, who had beaten West Ham earlier in the day. Just as in their success over Crystal Palace last weekend, it came without the defending champions fielding a recognised striker.

But that made little difference to the fluency of the visitors’ attacks, with David Silva orchestrating play as they out-passed the Baggies before the break.

City were helped on their way by a mistake by West Brom keeper Ben Foster, who spilled a deflected Navas cross and allowed Fernando to swivel and score his first goal for City.

Five minutes later it was 2-0. Joleon Lescott cut out a Silva pass, but fouled the Spaniard as he pounced on to the loose ball in the area and Toure converted the resulting penalty with ease.

West Brom could not live with the speed at which City were attacking, but fared much better when they came forward themselves.

Only poor finishing let them down, with Saido Berahino twice dragging the ball wide with only Joe Hart to beat.

James Morrison finally forced Hart into a stop of note with a fierce effort before half-time, but by then City were out of sight thanks to Silva’s deft curling shot.

The weather meant the game changed completely in the second half, with snow swirling around the ground and making visibility difficult.

Snow also began to stick on the pitch, holding up the ball and making it almost impossible for City to continue playing their slick passing game.

West Brom fared rather better but their finishing did not improve, with Silvestre Varela wasting another good opening when he fired wide at the far post.

Alan Irvine’s side had won just one of their previous seven matches and they never looked capable of the kind of comeback that would have allowed them to improve that record.

They did at least end the game on a high note, with Hart’s attempted punch eventually bouncing over the line off an unwitting Ideye, to give the £10m striker his first league goal since his arrival at The Hawthorns in the summer.

West Brom head coach Alan Irvine said: “We started well, but the first time City went up the pitch they got a goal which was down to our mistake.

“We continued to look as if we might score and came very close on a few occasions.

“We looked as if we were very much in the game but we made individual errors that when you make them in the Premier League are costly, and when you make them against Manchester City they are extremely costly.”

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “I am very pleased with the performance. It was very difficult to play, especially in the second half.

“In the first 45 minutes, both teams could play and we did very well and scored goals. In the second half, it was more difficult.”— BBC.