Didier Drogba is a Chelsea icon and it's fully deserved.
The Ivory Coast striker plundered the winning goal against Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, which could kick start the Blues' attack on fourth place and qualification for next season's Champions League.
It was also Drogba's 100th league goal for the Blues.
Interim boss Roberto Di Matteo, charged with getting his side back into Champions League contention got off to the perfect start but the performance was same as recent - workmanlike, slightly laboured and lacking in creative impetus.
An early goal is key to reviving the home side's flagging fortunes and four minutes in the Blues could have got the required start. Ryan Shawcross lost sight of the ball in the six-yard box and misdirected a clearance harder over his advancing goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Luckily for the centre- half the ball just went over his crossbar to prevent a calamitous own goal.
The Blues' good start saw a powerful header by Branislav Ivanovic from the resulting corner zip inches over the visitors' goal.
A fierce, albeit off target pile driver from ex-Chelsea defender Robert Huth was Stoke's first effort on goal on seven minutes.
Chelsea's newest recruit Gary Cahill has an eye for a goal and he was unlucky on 10 minutes to see a forceful right-footer, arrowing into Begovic's top right hand corner. But the
Bosnian number one produced a fine finger-tip save to deny the England centre-back. Jonathan Walters took full advantage on 18 minutes to skip past John Terry who he inadvertently tripped. But covering Gary Cahill showed his class by getting back to block Irish international forward's goal-bound shot.
With 25 minutes on the clock, and Stoke, producing a manful restraining job, saw their task magnified 10-fold when, following a challenge by Ivanovic on Ricardo Fuller just outside the Chelsea area, the striker stamped his right boot straight into the groin area of the right-back.
Referee Andre Marriner missed the incident but was alerted to it by linesman via the mic and Fuller was show a straight red card.
Fuller can justifiably claim he was tripped just before that by Ivanovic, but his retribution was worthy of the sending off.
Terry almost made Stoke pay six minutes later, but the skipper's downward header, eight yards out from a Frank Lampard corner smacked the underside of the Stoke crossbar before being cleared.
Understandably Chelsea dominated forward play, without creating clear-cut chances, a speculative looping header Ivanovic, failed to trouble Begovic who, nevertheless made a clumsy effort to retrieve the ball.
Di Matteo sparked a change in Chelsea formation to take into account the extra man by replacing Raul Merieles for Juan Mata seven minutes from the break.
A minute later and the Blues should have taken the lead. Ivanovic took advantage of a slack clearance from Shawcross and he thumped a vicious right-footer which Begovic had no chance with. Once again the woodwork, this time the crossbar came to Stoke's rescue.
Chelsea made a half-time change, bringing on David Luiz for Ivanovic. Stoke boss Tony Pulis waited until five minutes before making a change - bringing on
Matthew Upson and Wilson Palacios for Wilson and Diao respectively, both significantly with yellow cards to their name. Pulis timed his substitutions well, breaking up play well, his final one, with 30 minutes to go saw Cameron Jerome come on for Kenwyne Jones.
Didier Drogba produced a masterful trademark free kick on 67 minutes which saw Begovic once agin produce a fine dive to his left to tip the ball away to safety.
Di Matteo had a choice to make between Daniel Sturridge or Fernando Torres to bring on to try and break the deadlock,
The Italian choose Sturridge for Mikel and a minute later the Blues took the lead, Mata inched a perfect ball into the Ivory Coast hit man Drogba and he spun off Shawcross in the six-yard box and took the ball around Bergovic to nestle the ball into the net. It was Drogba's 100th league goal for the Blues.
With the goal under their belts, the home side appeared to sit back and allow Stoke to come at them. Jerome took advantage of this with eight minutes remaining and his long run and shot from just outside the Chelsea penalty area inches wide of Cech's left upright.
The Blues should have nailed the three points with three minutes to go, but an exquisite left-footed free-kick from Mata, fully 30 yards out, beat Bergovic's dive but ricocheted off the left post
In training on Friday Mata practiced his long-range free kicks and on both occasions hit exactly the same upright.
The home side saw out the final minutes to win and put a smile on the long-suffering Chelsea fans' faces.