Chelsea started their new campaign with a 2-1 win over London rivals West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, restoring the lead at the very last to give Antonio Conte three points in his first match in charge.
"?After a tumultuous 2015/16 season, the Blues headed into the match looking to correct the wrongdoings of the previous campaign and with a new boss in Antonio Conte and a pair of new signings, it was all business for the Stamford Bridge side.
West Ham, coming off a better campaign, by both these clubs' standards, were desperate to keep the good run going. And having held Chelsea to just one point from their two outings last season, they were itching for the upset again.
Lineups looked strong on both ends, with Conte playing Diego Costa up front in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Cesc Fabregas and Michy Batshuayi were surprisingly left on the bench, but N'Golo Kante featured in the middle.
The Hammers started with the same formation. Slaven Bilic went with Andy Carroll in attack, with new signing Andre Ayew making it as a starter as well. Dimitri Payet, however, was left on the bench.
The game started off with great intensity, and Kante found himself booked just three minutes in for a tackle on Andy Carroll. The half continued on in the same vein, and Chelsea would get the first chance through Branislav Ivanovic, who forced a good save from Adrian with a low near-post shot in the 13th minute.
Oscar was unsuccessful with a penalty appeal in the 19th minute, having gone down in the box from a challenge after nicking the ball off a defender in his own half.
Costa was booked as a result, approaching the referee to complain, only to receive a quick yellow under the new Premier League rule, which states that players should refrain from approaching officials to contest decisions.
Ayew was replaced by Gokhan Tore on 35 minutes after suffering an injury to his right leg; certainly not the way he would have wanted to start his West Ham career.
The Blues, meanwhile, dominated the first half, keeping 61 per cent of the possession. Eden Hazard looked right up for it, running at and beating defenders with ease, while Costa looked quite hungry himself, but perhaps too much so, as keeping his head down prevented him from drawing others in on chances.
Chelsea weren't able to squeeze a goal from all of their possession in the first half, though, with scores remaining locked at 0-0 through to halftime. Willian came close to scoring in extra time with a superb free-kick, but Adrian was able to tip it over.
Chelsea would get right down to business in the second period, going up a goal just two minutes into the half through Hazard's converted penalty following Michail Antonio's foul on Cesar Azpilicueta in the box.
Number of matches it took Eden Hazard to score his first goal of the season. #PL
2015: 34
2016: 1 pic.twitter.com/CjTlGnWT4l
The diminutive Belgian, who took forever to score his first goal last season, got on the score-sheet with a great strike in his first outing of the term, putting his foot right through the ball to blast past the hapless Adrian.
Conte's men seemed happy to sit back and operate on the break. Kante showed just why the Blues signed him from Leicester City, making a right nuisance of himself in the midfield, and breaking up the Hammers' play with some incisive tackling.
The hosts looked to have gone up 2-0 when Willian struck a stinging shot from the right on minute 63, having bombed forward on a break from the Chelsea half, but Adrian got just enough on the ball to keep it out.
Payet came on for Havard Nordtveit three minutes later, with Bilic looking to increase his scoring options in the half.
The Frenchman's presence seemed to provide a boost, as the visitors pulled one back 14 minutes from time. James Collins, the Hammers big defender, got a shot off Payet's corner through a melee of players to beat Thibaut Courtois and level the scores at 1-1.
Just when it looked like Chelsea would have to settle for a point, Costa popped up with what - if memory serves correctly - was his first goal from outside the box since joining the Blues, right on the 89th minute to give his team the lead and his manager a near-on heart attack.
The Spanish forward received a headed pass from Batshuayi, who expertly knocked the ball down into his path, took a touch to get settled, then rifled a low shot past Adrian.
West Ham huffed and puffed at the end, unwilling to give up on the match, but Courtois made himself big enough to keep a flurry of pokes out very late on.
The Blues would hold on to their treasured lead through four minutes of extra time to mark the start of their season with a most exciting victory.
Starting Lineups
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Terry (c), Cahill, Ivanovic, Kante, Hazard, Oscar, Matic, Willian, Costa
West Ham: Adrian, Masuaku, Collins, Reid, Antonio, Nordtveit, Valencia, Kouyate, Noble (c), Ayew, Carroll