Chelsea moved one step closer to a second Premier League title in three years as three second-half goals secured maximum points when they met Everton on Sunday.
A game that had been dubbed as Chelsea's toughest for the remainder of the season proved to be so with Everton having chances of their own, but Pedro's 66th minute goal moved the Blues seven points clear and turned up the heat on Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the North London Derby, before Gary Cahill and Willian sealed the win in the final stages.
Flying start
The game started at a breathtaking pace with youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin troubling the Chelsea woodwork before most fans had even sat down, a deflected shot coming back off the post.
Chelsea responded straight away at the other end, Gary Cahill forcing Maarten Stekelenburg into a parried save with a thumping shot from distance.
Costa vs Lukaku unfolds
Once the game settled down, the eagerly awaited contest between two of the division's best strikers - Romelu Lukaku and Diego Costa - seemed to begin.
Costa turned playmaker as he gave Eden Hazard an excellent chance to open the scoring, Hazard rounding the 'keeper but hitting the side-netting, before Costa troubled Stekelenburg directly with a powerful shot on his 'weaker' left-foot.
Not do be outdone, Lukaku decided to have an effort with his weaker right-foot from outside the area, a good shot that whislted narrowly wide of the post.
The game then swung back Costa's way as he missed some golden chances to open the scoring. The Spaniard's physical attributes were clear to see as he outmuscled Phil Jagielka when a long ball came his way, but his volleying technique was way off as he lashed over from close range.
He should have had a goal after the interval too when Chelsea executed a well-organised move from a corner, Victor Moses the eventual shooter, his effort just wide and nearly prodded in by Costa at the back-post.
In what was turning into quite an end-to-end affair, Everton fans were the next set of supporters to be left tearing their hair out, as Enner Valencia opted to shoot when racing forward rather than play in the better positioned Mason Holgate to his right. The shot wasn't bad and was deflected just wide, but the chance to allow Holgate to set up Lukaku went missing.
Pedro makes the difference and Chelsea take it from there
That proved costly as Chelsea eventually forced an opener, with some fantastic quality from Pedro breaking the deadlock. With his back to goal, Pedro spun his man and then rifled a left-footed effort into the top corner, sending the away end crazy.
That seemed to kill the game for Everton, who struggled to muster much of a response despite being just a goal behind.
Stekelenburg hadn't looked completely confident throughout the afternoon and one mistake too many proved costly as Gary Cahill tapped in a second, the 'keeper pushing an Eden Hazard free-kick straight into the defender's knee, the ball bouncing back over the line.
Antonio Conte's men weren't done there either, with two of the Italian's substitutes linking up for what proved to be the final goal of an immensely satisfying day for the visitors.
Running off the ball well and collecting it from Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas emerged in the area and slipped a good pass back across to fellow sub Willian, who tapped in for one of his simplest goals of the season.