Graham Potter enjoyed his finest result as Chelsea manager as Borussia Dortmund were beaten at Stamford Bridge to see his side through to the Champions League quarter-final.
The Blues trailed 1-0 from the first leg in Germany but were relentless in their efforts to turn the tie around in west London, a goal from Raheem Sterling in the first half and a re-taken penalty from Kai Havertz earning a deserved 2-0 win and breathing space at last for Potter.
It was the first time since October that the team had won back-to-back matches, following Saturday’s victory against Leeds, and after two games in four days that had looked set to define whether the board would keep faith with the manager, that faith was vindicated.
Chelsea were energetic, playing on the front foot with bags of initiative, a team transformed from the one defeated here by Southampton 17 days ago.