Chelsea look revitalised after the international break and despite plenty of chances, could only manage the one goal but that's all they would need. Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic were superb but it was Diego Costa who would give Jose Mourinho's side all three points with the 1-0 win over Norwich City.
Plenty of chances, no goals in the first half
Both teams came into the weekend sitting in the bottom half of the table and in desperate need of points. Things got underway at Stamford Bridge with a quiet opening 10 minutes in which Chelsea controlled the majoirty of possession. The first chance of the game fell to Chelsea's skipper John Terry in the 13th minute as he tried a Gianfranco Zola-inspired flick at the near post from a corner but the effort was just wide.
There were chances at both ends on a quarter of an hour as Nathan Redmond found space in the Chelsea box and his powerful effort for stopped by Asmir Begovic before Willian's shot in a similar fashion was saved by John Ruddy. Ten minutes before the half an hour mark, Pedro cut in from the left but could only fire over as neither side could find a way through.
Diego Costa was presented with a few opportunities throughout the opening 45 but failed to add to his tally of just two goals this season. The first came on a cut back from Hazard but he could only blaze over from close-range when he really should have scored. Norwich may feel aggrieved not to have a penalty in the first half as Robbie Brady was bundled over seemingly by Willian but nothing given.
In turn, Chelsea were then asking for a penalty a few minutes before the break when Diego Costa went down after trying to get away from Sebastien Bassong but referee Craig Pawson gave nothing and rightly so.
The best exchange of the half occurred with less than five minutes to go as a Norwich corner fell to Bassong at the back post but John Terry was on hand to block the defender's shot superbly before a resulting counter attack gave Diego Costa another chance to break the deadlock but his shot was saved expertly by Ruddy.
Costa grabs the all important goal
The Blues continued their impressive performance into the second half with Hazard constantly posing a threat. The Belgian created a glorious chance for his side with a fizzing ball across the face of goal but no one was on hand to meet it. Chelsea would get their goal just after the hour mark with some quick thinking on the part of Cesc Fabregas.
After Hazard won a free kick near the halfway line, Fabregas' quick free kick over the top of the defence found Diego Costa who cut back onto his right foot and curled past John Ruddy to make it 1-0. A well worked goal for Chelsea and Jose Mourinho's side deservedly took the lead. It was almost 2-0 a couple of minutes later as Willian's free kick was met by Kurt Zouma but the Frenchman's flick came off the bar.
Chelsea continued to search for a second and weren't too far away in the 77th minute as Willian's cross was cleared to the feet of Pedro but the Spaniard's shot swerved wide.
Nemanja Matic, who was brilliant all game, should've put the game to bed with five minutes left after an excellent run through the Norwich defence but his shot was straight at Ruddy.
The win takes Chelsea to 15th on 14 points, still well below their standards. Norwich drop below today's opponents and into 16th on 12 points.