Kurt Zouma and Oscar scored the goals that dispatched Championship side Bolton Wanderers tonight 2-1 in the Capital One Cup 3rd round at Stamford Bridge.
Centre-back Zouma, just 19, popped up on 25 minutes to smash the ball into the back of the net as the blues looked as if they were to get a hat Fulham against the Championship strugglers.
But The Trotters got themselves back Into the game on 31 minutes through a powerful header from skipper Matts Mills.
The home side, with Mohamed Salah on one wing and Andre Schurrle on the other provided most of the entertainment and Schurrle in particular can be satisfied with an excellent night's work.
But it was his midfield partner Oscar who restored the lead and ultimately the winning goal with a fine strike just after the restart.
A much-changed Chelsea side should have been two up with the first five minutes.
Both efforts fell to German Andre Schurrle, his first, a deceptive , left-wing free-kick, that deceived the Bolton rearguard and almost goalkeeper Andrew Lonergan too but the stopper somehow managed to tip the curling ball around his left post for a corner.
A minute later and live-wire winger Mohamed Salah, skipped through the static visitors' defence on the right, then sent a clipped left-footer across the six-yard box to the far post where, up popped Schurrle again. He headed across goal, past Lonergan but Matt Mills was on the goal line to clear.
It was Oscar's turn to pepper the Bolton goal, this time his daisy-cutter from the edge of the Bolton area was snaffled by the keeper..
Schurrle and striker Loic Remy then had a chance apiece to score but we're thwarted by last-ditch interceptions.
On 16 minutes, Schurrle saw a blistering free-kick tipped onto the cross bar by Lonergan as the home side pulverised the Bolton defence but without getting the necessary and deserved breakthrough.
But the pressure finally reaped dividends, and it came from an unlikely source centre-back Kurt Zouma, who was Jonnie-on-the-spot on 25 minutes to slam the ball high into the roof of Lonergan's net from close range after twice Bolton failed to clear a Salah corner.
It was 19-year-old French defender Zouma's, first goal and his debut after joining the Blues from St Etienne for £12.5million.
With Bolton languishing at the wrong end of the Championship, it was perhaps not surprising that they would have few and far chances in the half, but after 31 minutes they did successfully convert their first chance, a free-kick and the ball was sent in perfectly by Liam Feeney.
Mills out-jumped the Chelsea defence and glanced the ball past Petr Cech's desperate dive to his right and to the corner of the net to level the scores.
Nathan Ake almost restored the home side's lead with five minutes of the half remaining, but the Dutchman's left-footer, seemingly arrowing towards Lonergan's top right hand corner was tipped around the post.
Neither manager made any half-time changes but then flow of the game followed that of the first - Chelsea in possession of the ball - Bolton mounting a resource rearguard action.
Lonergan was quickly at the sharp end of things, brilliantly tipping over a powerful Oscar Header from a Schurrle free-kick four minutes after the restart.
A somewhat unusual, well for him Mikel drive was Well saved by Lonergan a minute later.
Bolton boss desired to make the first change when he replaced Chris Herd for Chung-Yong Lee on 51minutes.
The lead was predictably restored on 56 minutes when Oscar had time and space to collect the ball, take one touch before letting fly From 25 yards with a low, right-footed drive that zipped into the right hand corner of Lonergan's goal with the goalkeeper well beaten.
The Brazil midfielder could have got his second when a venomous free-kick From the edge of Bolton's penalty area inched over Lonergan's crossbar.
This was quickly followed on 62 minutes by a sparking counter-attack by the Blues, inspired by Schurrle, which left Remy, in the penalty area to prod a shot towards goal, but Lonergan kicked the effort away to safety.
Jay Spearing was next on for Bolton, replacing Feeney on 68 minutes.
Jose Mourinho's first change came with 18 minutes of the game remaining, Didier Drogba coming on for Ineffectual Remy.
This was quickly followed by the introduction of Eden Hazard for Salah.
Schurrle forced Lonergan to tip his left-footed drive onto his left post and the goalkeeper was fortunate to see the ball rebound directly to him as the Blues went for the jugular.
Bolton's final throw of the die saw Joe Mason enter the fray for Neil Danns.
While only a goal up, there was always a chance of a shock equaliser and it Almost came with five minutes left, but Lee's sliced effort from just outside the Chelsea penalty area, while on target, was well saved by Cech.
Chelsea saw out the remaining minutes s professionally as one would expect.
Team, Chelsea, Cech, Luis, Cahill, Zouma, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Ake, Salah, Oscar, Schurrle, Remy
Subs, Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Hazard, Drogba, Matic, Christensen, Baker
Bolton, Lonergan, Moxley, Mills, Feeney, Beckford, Dervite, Danns, Pratley, Davies, Herd, Kamara.
Subs, Kenny, McNaughton, Ream, Spearing, Mason, Clayton, Lee
Referee, Graham Scott