There were some nervy moments in the last 20 minutes but the Blues showed real spirit, hunger and desire to secure tonight's 2-1 London derby win over Brentford. Something Enzo Maresca took great pride in.
Chelsea dominated the Bees for almost all of the opening 70 minutes but only had Marc Cucurella's header just before half-time to show for it.
The Blues then had to survive several scares in the final quarter as Robert Sanchez produced some fine saves to keep his side in front and Nicolas Jackson added what proved to be a crucial second goal with ten minutes remaining.
Brentford set up a tense final few minutes when Bryan Mbuemo scored but the Blues battled until the very end to hold on for the 2-1 win.
Tonight's result made it five consecutive wins in the Premier League and seven in all competitions, with the unbeaten run now stretching to ten matches.
It means the Blues are currently two points below league-leaders Liverpool - who have a game in hand - and four above Arsenal in third.
After the final whistle, Chelsea's players walked around the pitch together to thank our fans inside Stamford Bridge and were met at the tunnel entrance by some of their team-mates who were not even in the matchday squad but were still there to show support.
Maresca said: ‘I am very happy, very pleased, especially because we can see the fans are happy and especially because we work hard every day to have that kind of feeling at the end of the game or during the game.
‘It is just because of the players. The spirit they showed tonight has been unbelievable – the hunger and the desire to get three points. This is the right way.’
Chelsea finished the game with almost two-thirds of the possession and had three times as many shots as the Bees, with 26 to Brentford's 9, and that was after the final 20 minutes when the visitors really applied the pressure.
The Blues had been totally dominant for the opening 70 minutes but ultimately would not have left with all three points had it not been for a couple of exceptional saves from Robert Sanchez in the second half.
Maresca has backed Sanchez throughout this season, with the Spaniard starting every Premier League game, and he did so once again during his post-match press conference.
He said: ‘If you remember Bournemouth away with the penalty; Aston Villa at home when one-v-one with Ollie Watkins; Nottingham Forest at the end of the game with the save; and then tonight, he has made the save.
‘We are happy with Robert and sometimes when we say things, you struggle to believe [us]. But Robert is doing fantastic and then Filip is doing the same thing in the Conference League, and this is exactly what we want. Two keepers who can compete and they can help us win games.’