Alvaro Morata denied Bournemouth late into stoppage time to send Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Antonio Conte made eight changes from the the team that beat Southampton last Saturday.
But they still had class enough to give Bournemouth plenty of problems early on at Stamford Bridge tonight.
Willian had given the Blues the lead but Bournemouth took control in the second half and appeared to send the tie into extra-time with Dan Gosling's curler from the edge of the area.
But Eden Hazard's flick send Alvaro Morata clear and the Spaniard converted to cruelly deny the Cherries with a second goal in the space of a minute.
1. How do the shadow squads compare ?
No comparison really. Chelsea had a team littered with multi-million signings. Bournemouth not so many. Eddie Howe has team of bargain buys and free transfers.
Jermain Defoe was arguably the one recognisable name in Howe's line-up. But that did not deter him from curbing his natural pass and move game that is so easy on the eye. And Chelsea were able to bring on Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko on the hour just to make life that little more difficult.
2. Has the competition captured the imagination of the public?
The Chelsea public certainly turned out in force. The club policy of charging just £25 for adults and half that for kids paid off. Stamford Bridge was near enough full come kick-off time.
Judging by the passion shown by Antonio Conte on the touchline, he is certainly taking it seriously despite his protestations about the fixture pile-up.
3. Danny Drinkwater – England material or not?
That is of course down to Gareth Southgate. The England manager was clearly sceptical about the injury excuse used by the midfielder for his no-show this season even though it was later proved to be valid. But Drinkwater is one of those “what you see is what you get” players. Never flashy, never spectacular.
The definitive workhouse but the kind every team needs. He leaves the fancy stuff to others. Dan Gosling caught him with a nasty late tackle. No writhing. No physio needed. Drinkwater just gets on with it.
4. Jermain Defoe – still a menace ?
Well Ethan Ampadu clearly thinks so. The 17-year-old Wales international took one minute and thirty seconds to chop down the striker.
The defender who looks for all the world like David Luiz's little brother picked up a booking and Defoe picked up an injury that forced him off 15 minutes later. End of Defoe's night and a good portion of Bournemouth's potency. Amapdu ? Well he can never be accused of a lack of enthusiasm in the tackle that's for sure.
5. Cesc Fabregas – still the midfield leader?
Absolutely. Fabregas has been born again under Conte. He has acknowledged that he is part of the squad not the mst important past of the squad.
There is a maturity about his play now. And his vision in seeing the pass to play to Willian for the opener was classic Fabregas. He has a vital role to play for Chelsea this season. And in all probability, for a few more to come.