Adrian Mutu's brilliant 25-yard strike on the stroke of half time gave Chelsea a 2-1 home win over Leicester City.
It was a tidy wake-up call for the expensively assembled Londoners, who up until then looked a shadow of the side that easily dispatched Liverpool at last week's season's opener.
Chelsea had gone ahead after just three minutes when the unlucky Lilian Nalis headed into his own goal from a Juan Sebastian Veron corner.
Mutu, a £15.8m signing from Parma had his right-footed free-kick charged down by a hard-working Leicester defence. But the ball fell invitingly to his left foot and he blasted the ball low and hard past a desperate Ian Walker's outstretched right hand.
That put Chelsea back in the box seat after Leicester had clawed themselves back into the match on 39 minutes.
A straightforward deep free-kick by Muzzy Izzet bisected the Chelsea defence and James Stowcroft stole into the far post, outjumped John Terry and angled his fine header past Carlo Cudicini.
"I enjoyed the occasion," said Leicester boss Micky Adams. "But it was not a dirty game." That reference was to the two sendings-off for Leicester players and one for Chelsea.
The first sending-off came for Chelsea's Geremi on 67 minutes, when his two-footed challenge on Riccardo Scimeca gave ref Rob Styles no option but to brandish the red card.
Leicester's two were for a double booking for Scimeca, the second on 88 minutes, and a violent kick by Alan Rogers on Jesper Gronkjaer on 84 minutes.
That aside Leicester can feel aggrieved that they did not get at least a point from the game.
Four minutes from time sub Brian Deane outfoxed Marcel Desailly but saw his looping header skim the crossbar.
Chelsea's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Joe Cole both hit the woodwork.
Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri was disappointed by his side's display.
"I was not pleased with the team's performance," said the Italian. "But it is to be expected when I have so many new faces in the team and so little time to prepare them.
"I don't know how long it will take to get the team playing the way I want, but I was very surprised by our performance last week against Liverpool.
"Mutu's goal was special, he wanted to do everything. As for the sendings-off, I thought the ref was okay." Taking about Herman Crespo, the Inter Milan striker who was watching Chelsea from the stand, Ranieri added he knew nothing about the signing, before pulling an expression that suggested the signing of the Argentine striker is close.