With Liverpool and Manchester United having won (and Arsenal surprisingly lost), the visit to West Brom took on new significance this evening.
Chelsea knew that three points was a must if they wanted to leap above Liverpool in the table and keep the challenges of Manchester United and Arsenal at bay.
And that is exactly what they did with another emphatic score-line.
Team News - With Petr Cech having aggravated a muscle problem Carlo Cudicini was given the keepers jersey. Elsewhere there were recalls for Jose Bosingwa, Nicolas Anelka, John Terry, Frank Lampard and John Mikel Obi all of whom didn`t make the starting eleven for the Carling Cup defeat at the hands of Burnley in midweek.
On the bench was a host of talent including bad-by Didier Drogba and returning from injury Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack.
First Half - The first half saw Chelsea go into the break with a three goal lead but for the first thirty minutes, if you were honest, it was hard to differentiate between the sides.
Albion played with a vigour that belied their status as the bottom team in the Premier League whilst Chelsea resembled a boxer who was perhaps sizing the opponent up before striking.
In that first thirty minutes, too many passes went astray and too many attempts on goal were lacklustre and wayward. But, in the 34th minute that all changed.
Jose Bosingwa, keen to get forward as ever, crashed home a glorious strike from just outside the box and the goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Albion.
Four minutes later Anelka made it 2-0 with a neat finish from just inside the box, after a defensive error and in injury time he slotted one past Carson for his second of the game.
At 3-0 there looked to be no way back for Albion especially considering that Chelsea had only let in that goal from Robinho away from home all season and had yet to concede a goal in the second half in any Premier League fixture.
Also, that record of ten successive Premier League victories looked to be ours for the taking.
Second Half - Three goals down the second half was always going to be a damage limitation exercise for the home side and Chelsea, but for some woeful finishing, could (and should) have doubled their tally for the night.
Anelka, chasing a hat-trick, saw opportunities go begging whilst Malouda and Kalou seemed to have left their shooting boots at home. With the half drawing to an inevitable conclusion Scolari made a few changes with Ballack coming on for Kalou, Drogba for Anelka and Ferreira for Terry.
Worryingly, for both Chelsea and England, Terry looked to have picked up a foot injury as he hobbled off.
Three more points in the bag, a mixed performance but two more records on the way.
Chelsea have now won 10 Premier League away games on the trot, a record and have now started a Premier League season with the most away wins on the trot.
Not a bad return for a rainy night in the West Midlands.
Chelsea Team - Cudicini, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (Ferreira - 85), Bridge, Mikel, Lampard, Deco, Kalou (Ballack - 68), Anelka (Drogba - 74), Malouda
Unused Subs - Hilario, A.Cole, Mineiro, Sinclair,
Chelsea Scorers - Bosingwa, Anelka (2),
Chelsea Yellow Cards - Terry, Bosingwa, Ivanovic
Chelsea Red Cards - Nil
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