A single goal in almost 600 minutes of football gave Chelsea a much-needed three points in the Premier League, and though it does not move them up the league table, it does provide some momentum going into a crucial UEFA Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund in just a few days time.
Here is what we learnt as a manager-less Leeds United visited Stamford Bridge and came away with nothing...
Fofana Fires Home -
Wesley Fofana marked his return to the starting line-up following a recent injury lay-off to score his side's first home goal since January 15th, also the last occasion on which they managed a victory, having only registered a single point since.
Therefore, it carried great significance when eight minutes into the second half, Fofana's header connected with a Ben Chilwell corner and flew past Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier to the relief of Graham Potter and the home supporters, offering Chelsea an opportunity to end a run of three straight defeats.
Just ten minutes later, a double substitution saw the introduction of Conor Gallagher and Denis Zakaria. A defensive move, which indicated that Potter was more concerned with the threat offered by Leeds, rather than adding to his side's advantage.
Crowd Chatter -
Fans often vote with their feet or their voices, and Chelsea's home crowd who have undoubtedly endured a difficult start to 2023 were audibly anxious from the get-go.
Quiet in the first-half, so much so that the travelling support of Leeds was often more dominant, the Stamford Bridge faithful were disgruntled at the half-way point, having witnessed another scoreless 45 minutes against a team with whom they share bad blood.
Although they did not have to wait long after the interval for the breakthrough, the nerves remained. An ironic chorus of "we've scored a goal" would have done little for Potter's ego, but expressed just how little Chelsea's fans have had to cheer recently.
At no point in this game would they have been confident that the points were wrapped up, with Leeds continuing to pose a threat to Kepa Arrizabalaga's goal up until the final whistle.
Many of the Stamford Bridge faithful are still in need of convincing that the current state of play is preferable to that which they had under former manager Thomas Tuchel.
Dortmund D-Day -
With just a couple of days before Chelsea's knockout game with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and with the London side trailing 1-0 from the first-leg, the pressure remains firmly on Potter to turn things around.
On this performance, it is unlikely that Dortmund, or any other side will face a fear factor when squaring up against this Chelsea team, who appear to lack any intensity and play at such a lethargic tempo - something you do not tend to associate with European cup ties.
Dortmund will present a far bigger test for Chelsea and if they have any hope of overturning their one goal deficit and progressing into the quarter-final stages, they will have to score at least one goal to put themselves into contention.
Just a reminder though, they have not scored twice in a game this year, with the last occasion being their 2-0 win against Bournemouth on the 27th December 2022.
A loss to Dortmund would mean that Chelsea no longer have any fronts on which to compete this season, which would surely wash this win to Leeds quickly from fans' memories.
Kepa Keeps It Clean -
If there has been one silver lining amidst the clouds hanging over Chelsea since the turn of the year, it has to be the performances and subsequent clean sheets of goalkeeper Kepa.
With the outfield players struggling to find the back of the net, Chelsea's defence kept them in games against Liverpool and Fulham where they ground out draws and secured the three points for them today, making two crucial saves.
Kepa has come a long way since his wobble at Wembley Stadium and appears to be Potter's number one choice between the sticks, but it is not easy to discount the talents of Edouard Mendy.
It is likely that one of the two will move on in the summer, with neither likely to be happy as a back-up and American teenager Gabriel Slonina having recently joined and considered a prospect for the future.