West Ham gave themselves hope as a superb strike from former player Scott Parker canceled out an early header by Alex for Chelsea.
The Latics travel to Stamford Bridge next week with Manchester United needing them to get at least a draw against Chelsea to keep Sir Alex Ferguson's title hopes alive.
Soon afterwards, United boss Alex Ferguson was seen remonstrating with his Chelsea counterpart, but his anger turned to joy when his second half substitute Javier Hernandez reacted quickly to turn home a Rafael cross shot.
It was an important victory for the Old Trafford outfit who took advantage of defeats for Premier League leaders Chelsea and second-placed Arsenal as Sir Alex Ferguson's men moved level on points with the champions.
Hargreaves, who was seen demonstrating his ball skills during United's warm-up for the Champions League final in Rome on 27 May, has not featured for Sir Alex Ferguson's side since their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on 21 September 2008.
Alex McLeish's side tightened up after the break, standing off Chelsea and letting them have possession until the final third.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson's hopes of repeating last year's triumph against Chelsea barely got off the ground as they ended well beaten by a Barcelona side inspired by the genius of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
And for all Arsenal's pretty passing and intricate patterns in the second half, it was Chelsea who applied the killer blow five minutes from time when Alex concluded a fast bowler's run-up with a true touch of Brazil as he lashed a long-range free-kick high beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
Alex headed wide, and both Kalou and Shevchenko were narrowly off target as Chelsea started to mount a threat as the interval approached.
The return of Alex at centre-half seemed to do the trick in restoring confidence to the Chelsea ranks, while Paulo Ferreira's switch to right-back and Salomon Kalou's recall certainly helped the balance.
Defoe went agonisingly close on three occasions late on, but Chelsea had chances of their own with James saving well from Belletti and Alex and an attempted chip from Shaun Wright-Phillips drifted wide of the far post.
Chelsea need at least a point against Newcastle to retain any hopes of pipping Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the Premier League title.
Kirkland saved a header from Alex, Michael Ballack drilled a free-kick over the bar and Joe Cole narrowly missed as Chelsea looked for a decisive second goal.
Chelsea were controlling the game with almost embarrassing ease, and it was no surprise when Alex added a third for them five minutes before the interval, his low free-kick from 30 yards somehow squirming past Hirschfeld.
Chelsea's resilient defense momentarily creaked in the 69th minute when Samuel Eto'o outpaced Alex but his shot was turned away by Cech with an unmarked Henry screaming for a square pass.
Chelsea's hard-fought victory came courtesy of goals from striker Didier Drogba and Brazilian defender Alex.
In two matches against Chelsea this season, Arsenal have been beaten 3-0 and 2-0, while Sir Alex Ferguson's United side have defeated them 2-1 and 3-1 in their meetings.
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United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was urging his side forward at the end and he might reflect on two points dropped, despite Chelsea and Liverpool being held to goalless draws themselves.
Reports have now suggested that he is being targeted by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who wants to strengthen his squad in readiness to defend the Premiership crown next season, while Chelsea have also been linked to Berbatov.
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