Antonio Conte says he saw the "fighters" in his team after his weakened Chelsea side beat Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday.
Conte came into the London derby clash at Wembley without the suspended duo of Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas, while Eden Hazard remained out with an ankle injury.
The Italian coach's lack of options, particularly in midfield, resulted in him rushing summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko back into action - with his side going on to secure a win against the odds.
Marcos Alonso proved the champions' saviour after he netted a brace to spare Michy Batshuayi's blushes after the striker had scored an 82nd-minute own goal.
And Conte said his team showed their character at Wembley, especially after losing their opening match of the season 3-2 at home to Burnley last weekend.
He told reporters at Wembley: "I must be pleased. I want to thank my players and everyone because they showed me great desire, will, spirit and heart. I saw the fighters.
"I saw lots of positive things in a hard moment because of suspensions. To win away is a fantastic result. It isn't easy - we suffered during the game.
"We always showed we were dangerous but we were ready to try and score the second or third goal."
Unlike the FA Cup semi-final win over Spurs in this very stadium just four months ago, Chelsea had just 3,000 fans for the London derby on Sunday.
But Conte took time to thank the travelling supporters, saying their energy helped spur Chelsea on during difficult moments of the game when Tottenham were dominating.
"The atmosphere was incredible. Our fans were incredible, they tried to push us when we were suffering," he said.
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"To see this atmosphere was great. It is a fantastic stadium, it's amazing also for the opponent. Our fans tried to push the same despite 70,000 Tottenham supporters."
Batshuayi, who had come on just four minutes earlier, headed a Spurs free-kick into the back of his own net to inadvertently hand the hosts the leveller late on.
But after Alonso secured all three points for Chelsea with his strike minutes later, Conte praised the winger saying: "I'm not surprised [he has scored so many goals].
"He scored maybe five or six goals last season, same like [Victor] Moses. Alonso missed lots of chances last season. Sometimes the wingers must become strikers."