Chelsea picked up a much needed three points in an eventful London derby, defeating rivals West Ham United by two goals to one.
The Hammers had taken the lead just before half time - Jarrod Bowen pouncing on a poor back pass by Levi Colwill to give his side the lead.
Enzo Maresca looked to his bench in the second half, which helped to turn the game in Chelsea's favour. Pedro Neto smashed in the equaliser before a Cole Palmer cross was turned into the net by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The win places the Blues back in the top four, leapfrogging Manchester City who were thrashed 5-1 by Arsenal at the weekend.
Graham Potter will be content with his side's performance despite the result, and will hope to bounce back at home against Brentford next weekend.
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Story of the match
Hammers head coach Graham Potter returned to the Stamford Bridge dugout for the first time since leaving the club in 2022 - and looked to become the first former Chelsea manager to win on their first return.
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca was in search of back to back home victories, with a chance for his side to return to the top four.
Goalkeeping question marks
There was a lot of debate during the week over Chelsea's goalkeeping situation - and if backup Filip Jorgensen would earn a starting spot following a number of questionable performances from Robert Sanchez.
Sanchez did end up on the bench - Enzo Maresca admitted it is never easy to leave out a player, but with several mistakes costing the Blues in recent games, a switch up was inevitable.
West Ham began well, remaining compact and organised as they set up with a back three system - an energetic front three with Jarrod Bowen in the middle caused Chelsea some early issues with their press.
The Blues were competitive, however, with Cole Palmer dropping deeper to create chances - and defender Levi Colwill often advancing to maintain possession in their opponent's half.
The first big chance went to the hosts - a great interception from Moises Caicedo allowed Nicolas Jackson to progress the ball. The striker found Noni Madueke down the right with a lovely pass; his shot just wide of the post.
Enzo Fernandez was making good attacking runs and providing good link up with his teammates. One such move saw the midfielder fizzing a chance across goal and wide, but it was more positive signs for Chelsea as they looked to score the opener.
West Ham were still causing issues - Mohammed Kudus found space in behind the Chelsea defence; his shot fired directly at Jorgensen. It was a potent warning sign for the Blues, who did not have full control over the match.
Once again, Chelsea failed to make their early pressure count, as it would be the visitors who took the lead against the run of play. Levi Colwill produced a risky backpass, allowing Jarrod Bowen in behind. The forward made no mistake as he curled his chance past Jorgensen, giving the Hammers the lead just before the break.
Cole Palmer went close in added time - a well placed free kick had to be lifted over the bar by Areola, before finding space outside the box and firing a chance into the goalkeeper's gloves.
Enzo Maresca will have been frustrated with the scoreline - his team lacked a certain confidence and missed several opportunities to trouble West Ham, who maintained their composure and pounced on a mistake to score their goal.
More urgency was needed from Chelsea, but the Hammers looked to remain on the front foot and cause more issues. Former Blues defender Emerson had a free shot on goal at the beginning of the second half, but blazed his chance over the bar.
Chelsea appeared flustered, giving away some silly fouls whilst failing to hold onto the ball for extended periods. It was West Ham who were having the better of the chances as the game approached the hour mark.
Substitutes turn the tide
As tensions rose, Maresca was feeling the frustration, having brought on four substitutes in the hopes of turning the result around. The decision would pay off as Pedro Neto found the net off the bench, pouncing on a deflected shot by Enzo Fernandez and bundling the ball over the line.
VAR took a long look at the goal - analysing potential offside, impeding of the goalkeeper and a foul in the build-up - but the goal stood, much to the relief of the home fans.
Chelsea were finally playing with confidence and were much more ruthless in attack, finding more luck when progressing through the middle. Moreover, Cole Palmer was given more space to advance into the West Ham box. He found his team's second goal courtesy of a huge deflection by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who turned the ball into his own net.
In search of a third goal to wrap up the match, Palmer once again had a positive chance, finding space on the edge of the box and firing just wide of the post.
West Ham were hungry for an equaliser and had two close chances through Kudus, but the Chelsea defence remained solid and were helped by the late inclusion of Trevoh Chalobah, who was brought on in place of Palmer.
Chelsea saw out the rest of injury time comfortably, and there were huge sighs of relief from the home fans at full time as they secured the victory.
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Player of the match - Enzo Fernandez
While the Blues were lacklustre for large parts of the match, Enzo Fernandez put in a mature and energetic performance to help his team to victory.
He often played in an advanced role and looked to play the more riskier pass in order to set up his teammates - often with positive results.
While he couldn't register an assist, he was close to finding the net himself on several occasions - his effort in the first half bouncing just wide of the post, before a second half strike was deflected well and finished off by Pedro Neto - helping Chelsea to get back into the game.
Fernandez took the armband after the late substitution of Reece James and led his teammates to a much needed win.
