Chelsea have beaten Manchester United 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, with Samuel Eto’o the hat-trick scoring hero for the Blues. United’s misery was compounded in second half stoppage time when captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a tackle on Eden Hazard.

Eto’o scored twice in the first half – with a heavy deflection off Michael Carrick breaking the deadlock after 17 minutes. Eto’o doubled the lead just before half-time when he found himself with the freedom of the United box to sweep home a Gary Cahill pass.

Any hopes of a United comeback in the second half were dashed after just 4 minutes of the second half. Eto’o was the beneficiary of a saved Cahill header as David De Gea’s stop served only to drop the ball at the feet of the Cameroonian striker who finished from point blank range.

Javier Hernandez slid in on a Phil Jones shot in the 78th minute but there was no comeback. Nemanja Vidic lunged in on Eden Hazard in stoppage time and referee Phil Dowd showed him a straight red card.