Chelsea took another huge step towards the title with two goals from Eden Hazard getting the Blues back on track following their unexpected setback at the weekend.
The win, achieved on a night of breathless action, was rendered all the more important by a late win for closest challengers Spurs, at Swansea.
At one stage it looked as if the Blues might restore a 10-point lead at the top of the table. As it is, they maintain a handy seven-point lead in their bid to crown Antonio Conte’s first season with the Premier League trophy.
They have also flushed Saturday’s unexpected home defeat to Crystal Palace out of their system.
The Blues got off to the ideal start, with Hazard – outstanding throughout - firing home after just 10 minutes.
Cesar Azpilicueta scampered into the area and laid a perfect ball back for the Belgian, who beat a slow-reacting Willy Caballero with the aid of a slight deflection off Vincent Kompany.
The Blues almost doubled their lead with a lightning breakaway from Cesc Fabregas and Hazard. The pair exchanged passes before Hazard’s burst down the left channel ended with Fabregas looping a deflected left-footer onto the roof of the net.
But the end-to-end nature of the contest meant openings kept coming at the home end too, and after Thibaut Courtois’ botched clearance fell straight to David Silva just outside the area, the Chelsea keeper could only parry the Spaniard’s low effort into the path of Sergio Aguero for a simple tap-in.
At least Courtois made some amends for his uncharacteristic error soon after, by rushing to smother Leroy Sane, before the City winger could get a telling shot away.
Hazard restored Chelsea’s lead after 35 minutes when he put away a penalty at the second attempt. Caballero went down to his left to block the spot-kick, but could not get up in time to deny the Belgian his moment from the rebound. It took his tally for the season to 13.
Ref Mike Dean had no hesitation in awarding the penalty after Fernandinho tripped Pedro, who was worming his way into space after being found by another of those clever threaded passes from Fabregas.
The relentless pace showed no signs of easing immediately after the break, with Kompany sending a header from an angle onto the top of the crossbar, but inevitably the breathless pace of the first half caught up with the players as the half progressed.
Hazard almost claimed a hat-trick when he sparked another flowing attack but could not quite finish it off - screwing an inviting pass from Pedro over the bar from the edge of the area.
But the half was mostly about the Blues keeping their shape and composure in the face of a lot of possession for the visitors. The fact they gave up few clear-cut chances proved decisive.
Chelsea: Courtois; Zouma (Matic h/t), David Luiz, Cahill; Azpilicueta, Fabregas (Willian 81), Kante, Alonso; Pedro, Hazard (Loftus-Cheek 90); Costa. Subs not used: Begovic, Ake, Terry, Batshuayi
Attendance: 41,528