Alvaro Morata scored twice to sink Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge and help lift Chelsea above Liverpool into second spot in the Premier League table.

Andros Townsend's superb low finish had cancelled out a Chelsea lead given to them by Spanish forward Morata's clever shot-on-the-turn.

Palace's hopes of securing a crucial point vanished when they conceded two goals in five second-half minutes.

Substitute Eden Hazard marked his return from a back injury by delivering the free-kick for Morata to fire his second before Pedro put the game out of Palace's reach.

While unbeaten Chelsea stay two points behind leaders Manchester City, Palace remain three points above the relegation zone after a seventh defeat in 11 league games.