Chelsea vs. QPR: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League Game

Chelsea 2-1 Queens Park Rangers

The first west London derby of the 2014-15 season saw Jose Mourinho's Chelsea triumph 2-1 over the visiting QPR, although the win was ultimately more difficult than even the Portuguese might have presumed leading up to kickoff.

Leading up to the fixture, Diego Costa garnered a mass of attention as to whether or not he would be available to make his return from injury. The Telegraph confirmed Chelsea's leading talisman would feature in the starting line-up:

Costa would need all of his powers to overcome an enemy Chelsea had beaten just once in their last five Premier League meetings too.

OptaJoe showed Harry Redknapp's fine record against the Blues in recent years, except Mourinho had proven to be a thorn in the English manager's side back in his first stint at the Stamford Bridge helm:

QPR were aware they'd be without injured captain Joey Barton, but after turning out for QPR's under-21s earlier in the day, Barton was unable to attend the derby even as a spectator, he insisted:

The fixture started with Chelsea applying predictable pressure, controlling the momentum in midfield and knocking on the Hoops' door with frequency.

The pressure finally told in the 32nd minute, when Cesc Fabregas stood as the predictable figure to play fellow playmaking dynamo Oscar in for the game's opener, per the Premier League's official Twitter account:

Chelsea's official Twitter account heaped praise on the Brazilian's outside-of-the-boot finish, even going as far as to call it a contender for club goal of the season:

From there, the hosts took their foot off the gas in terms of scoring opportunities, but were no less dominant in the possession stakes, securing a firmer grip on the ball heading closer to half-time.

As WhoScored.com depicts, Chelsea were by far the superior team at the break:

It must have been a rousing team talk from Redknapp, however, as the second-half display from QPR was more rigid, the Premier League new boys standing up to their dictators with more confidence during the early exchanges.

And they would get their rewards, too, after a deflected Leroy Fer shot was steered past Thibaut Courtois by virtue of Charlie Austin's reflex intervention, per Garry Hayes:

Bleacher Report UK posted footage of the superbly timed finish:

Costa couldn't make his presence felt as he has thus far in his maiden Premier League campaign, an understandably quieter performance given his recent injury struggles.

However, Eden Hazard would save Mourinho's blushes by earning his side a penalty in the 75th minute. QPR's Eduardo Vargas did his best to get back and defend, but brought down the Belgian inside his own box, Hazard converting from 12 yards out:

From there, it was a canter for Chelsea, who will take the win as they would another: points first and glamour second.

ESPN FC's Iain Macintosh hinted at the Blues' clinical nature in picking up points, insisting that the title will be their's this season:

Selected Player Ratings 

Oscar: A-

Scorer of the goal that gave the home team what turned out to be an essential breakthrough, Oscar popped up with the attacking presence Mourinho needed, considering Costa is still getting back up to speed.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

The Brazilian made two scoring chances and registered five shots on goal to make this a very tough day at the office for QPR stopper Rob Green.

Despite all the fine orchestration from his attacking midfield hub, however, the Mirror's Ed Malyon summarises just how wonderful Oscar's right-footed finish truly was:

Sandro: B-

Considering the mountainous nature of his task, ex-Tottenham midfielder Sandro was far from being found out of his depth against arguably the best central midfield partnership in Europe right now.

Winning all aerial duels completing 87 percent of his passes and succeeding in 40 percent of tackling attempts is no meant feat with Fabregas and Nemanja Matic the duo facing you.

Cesc Fabregas: A

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

And it's that man Fabregas who again rises to the fore as Chelsea's puppeteer supreme, featuring in all aspects of the Chelsea win to once again lead by example in steering the Blues past their opponent:

His impact since arriving at Stamford Bridge has been magnificent, and with a passing rate of 86 percent, four blocks, four created chances and 12 crosses, the Spaniard shone under pressure, not for the first time.

All statistics come courtesy of Squawka.

What's Ahead

Chelsea turn their attentions back to Europe this coming week, travelling to Slovenia to face Maribor on Wednesday before taking on an out-of-shape Liverpool side just three days later.

With their Champions League group as good as won, Mourinho can maybe afford to rest several players for the European clash in what should be considered two very winnable games.

QPR will take their positives from Saturday's loss, and they'll need to learn every lesson they can with Manchester City travelling to Loftus Road next Saturday.