Whisper it but there were moments during West Ham United’s commanding 2-1 win over Chelsea where their swanky new house began to feel like a home.

The Hammers were in fine form at London Stadium and their fans responded in kind from the moment Cheikhou Kouyate headed them into a 11th minute lead in the EFL Cup tie.

By the time Edimilson Fernandes had made it two with his first goal for the club the arena, which played host to Olympic greats in 2012, was bouncing.

Gary Cahill bundled home late on but mattered little as the Hammers held on for a big win.

Matches against Chelsea always carry greater meaning for anyone of a claret and blue persuasion, and victory was a fitting way to mark the first London Derby at the Hammers new ground.

The reward for their efforts in front of a record home crowd for the club in this competition is an away match against Manchester United in the quarter-final.

Unfortunately, ugly scenes off the pitch marred the closing stages of the match as opposing fans confronted each other. 

Stewards were forced the separate a sizable group of supporters behind one of the goals and chairs could be seen being ripped out and thrown.

Slaven Bilic has previously stated his desire to win silverware for the club he once represented as a player and made a show of strength with his team selection.

He made just two changes from the side which earned a last-gasp victory over Sunderland on Saturday as Darren Randolph replaced Adrian in goal and Aaron Cresswell returned.

Antonio Conte may well view the tournament with greater significance, given Chelsea’s absence from European football, but nonetheless made seven changes from the XI which humbled Manchester United 4-0.

John Terry’s return at centre-back after more than a month out with an ankle injury provided the biggest pre-game boost for the visitors, while £33m summer signing Michy Batshuayi led the line.

After a build-up dominated by concerns over potential crowd trouble, it was a relief when the match finally got underway.

Chelsea certainly settled to the pace of the game quicker and could have been ahead inside three minutes as Terry volleyed over from Willian’s corner.

N’Golo Kante scored his first Chelsea goal in the win over United, and served further notice of Chelsea’s attacking intent moments later as he burst into the box.

After wriggling beyond a tame challenge he fired at goal from 10 yards and was well denied by Randolph.

Chelsea’s early dominance mattered little after 11 minutes, however, as Kouyate rose superbly to give the Hammers the lead with a towering header.

The goal was created in simple fashion with Mark Noble whipping a cross in from the left for West Ham’s number eight to powerfully flick into the far corner.

Understandably Bilic’s men grew in confidence after going ahead and a sustained period of pressure almost yielded a second goal.

Manuel Lanzini was creator in chief as he delicately lifted the ball into the path of Dimitri Payet who went to ground in the box and vociferously appealed for a spot kick.

Craig Pawson waved away the Frenchman’s protests and the loose ball broke invitingly for Michail Anotnio who dragged a left footed shot just wide.

While Chelsea were by no means toothless, the hosts had the better of the opening 45 minutes and would have been two clear at the break but for Asmir Begovic.

Firstly, Chelsea’s second choice stopper had to be sharp to turn away Payet’s audacious free kick from wide on the left which looked set to dip under his bar.

He had to be on hand once more with three minutes remaining in the half to deny Pedro Obiang’s screaming effort from all of 30 yards.

West Ham started the second period in similar fashion and found the second goal their overall play deserved just three minutes after the restart.

Begovic looked to have denied them once more as he spread himself well to prevent Payet scoring from Antonio’s cross.

The danger was far from averted though and Fernandes collected the ball on the right, drove inside and fired a low left footed effort into the bottom far corner.

Conte didn’t wait long to react and the introduction of Diego Costa in the 55th minute was swiftly followed by Eden Hazard and Pedro.

Still though Chelsea laboured and bar the odd scare there was little to worry the home side until Cahil tunrned in with the last kick of the game.

The victory means West Ham have now won three games in a row and looked to have turned a corner after their horror start to the season.

This was undoubtedly the sweetest of those trio of triumphs, however, and Bilic even had the luxury of bringing Andre Ayew on for his first appearance since an opening day injury.

The summer signing almost capped his return with a goal but headed wide after getting on the end of Payet’s teasing cross.

Bilic’s hope now will be that his rejuvenated squad can retain their performance levels for the long haul, starting with the visit to Everton on Sunday.

West Ham: Randolph; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna, Antonio (Zaza 88), Obiang, Noble (C), Cresswell, Fernandes (Feghouli 66), Lanzini (Ayew 78), Payet

Subs not used: Adrian, Nordtveit, Collins, Fletcher

Chelsea: Begovic; Aina (Pedro 67), Cahill, Terry, Luiz, Azpilicueta, Kante, Chalobah (Hazard 63), Willian, Oscar, Batshuayi (Costa 55)

Subs not used: Eduardo; Alonso, Matic, Solanke

Referee: Craig Pawson

Bookings: Reid (foul on Costa 76)

Attendance: 45,957