Chelsea's Eden Hazard dribbles through West Ham defense for score

April 9 (UPI) -- Chelsea's Eden Hazard navigated through nearly the entire West Ham defense before scoring a brilliant goal, sparking a Premier League victory.

The sensational sequence came in the 24th minute of the 2-0 victory Monday at Stamford Bridge in London. Chelsea and West Ham were scoreless when Blues midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek passed off to Hazard about 40 yards from the net.

Hazard brought in the pass and turned in the same motion. He blazed by two defenders with a swift dribble, before coming up on three more defenders. Hazard somehow split through that traffic as two more defenders closed in.

He used his left boot to rocket a shot past West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski just before the pressure from the last line of defenders arrived.

"Something special! It's just something special," Hazard told ChelseaFC.com. "I took the ball, when I could go forward I tried to go forward and in the box it's hard for the defender to touch me, because maybe it's a penalty. I was a bit lucky in the end when I shot but it was a good goal to be fair. I just wanted to shoot quick and when I saw the ball in the net I was just happy.

"I am small so for me it's quite good. When I play against a tall guy for them it's very hard to change direction but that's my own quality and I'm happy to have this."

The score stayed 1-0 through the halftime whistle before Hazard added insurance in the 90th minute.

Ross Barkley found Hazard at the far post during that sequence. Barkley lifted a pass to his teammate and Hazard used a soft first touch to bring the ball down, before ripping a strike into the far-post netting for the Blues' final tally.

"He's one of the best in the world for sure," Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek said of Hazard. "I'm just lucky to play with him and learn from him as much as I can because when you've got him in your team, it's a big bonus. He can score goals like that from nowhere all by himself."

Chelsea battles Slavia Praha in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Thursday at Sinobo Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic. The Blues then return to the Premier League for a matchup against Liverpool at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Anfield in Liverpool, England.