Head coach Graham Potter has talked up the "appetite" of his Chelsea squad after they recorded a 3-0 victory over AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
On the back of Red Bull Salzburg defeating Dinamo Zagreb earlier in the evening, the Blues faced the prospect of reaching the halfway stage in Group E sitting four points adrift of second place if they suffered defeat to the Italian giants.
However, Chelsea produced one of their best performances of the season, overcoming a slow start to run out deserved winners versus the Serie A champions.
Wesley Fofana gave the West Londoners the lead shortly after the midway point of the first half before needing to be withdrawn with a knee injury.
After the break, Chelsea built on that advantage with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James scoring twice in quick succession to put the game beyond doubt after 61 minutes.
While Potter was disappointed with the injury to Fofana, the recently-appointed Englishman acknowledged that it had been an otherwise perfect night at Stamford Bridge.
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Speaking to BT Sport, Potter said: "It was a good night for us. We needed to play well. The attitude and application of the players was fantastic. It was a really important win for us.
"I thought we started off a bit nervous for about five minutes. It was just a result of us wanting to do so well. But then you saw the appetite of the players.
"We got control of it and had a bit of a threat. The first goal was important. We had to start a little on the back foot in the second half. We suffered a bit which was good and the second goal gave us a breather. Clean sheet, three goals. The personality of players was good."
On Fofana, he added: "We'll have to scan it tomorrow. See how it is. Nothing to report at the moment. The one disappointing thing of the evening."
All four clubs in Group E are now separated by just two points with Red Bull Salzburg leading the way with five points.
Chelsea and Milan are one point adrift in second and third place respectively ahead of the reverse fixture at San Siro next Tuesday, with Dinano Zagreb bottom with three points.
Darren Plant
