Updated

Fernando Torres scored his first Chelsea hat trick on Sunday at Stamford Bridge to lead the club to a comfortable 6-1 win over relegation-battling QPR.

With Chelsea having reached the final of the Champions League in midweek the Blues continued their good run of form on Sunday to move to within one point of fourth place, which is currently occupied by Newcastle and Tottenham.

The home side got out of the blocks in the opening minute with a nice curling effort from Daniel Sturridge that beat goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

John Terry made it 2-0 in the 13th minute before Torres netted the first of his three goals six minutes later when he rounded Kenny and rolled the ball into the empty net after a good pass from Salomon Kalou.

Torres was handed his second tally in the 25th minute after some confusion between Nedum Onuoha and Kenny, while the QPR net continued to come under siege for the rest of the half as the score remained 4-0.

Juan Mata set up the third goal for Torres midway through the second half and Florent Malouda added a sixth 10 minutes from time before QPR's Djibril Cisse scored a consolation goal in the 84th.

The defeat leaves QPR in 17th place on goal difference, but 18th-place Bolton has a game in hand.

Tottenham 2, Blackburn 0

London, England - Tottenham climbed into fourth place on Sunday after securing a 2-0 win over Blackburn at White Hart Lane.

With just one win in its last nine league games, Harry Redknapp's side was very much in need of a good result. And it got one on Sunday as Rafael Van der Vaart's first-half goal got the club off to a good start before a stunning free kick in the 75th minute from Kyle Walker wrapped up the points.

Tottenham moves level with Newcastle on 62 points but owns the edge in goal difference, although Spurs sit four behind Arsenal in third place, which might be required to reach the Champions League if Chelsea wins the competition later this month.

At the other end of the table Blackburn's relegation fears have deepened as the club sits three points from safety with two games to go having lost six of its last seven matches.