The game was goalless when Thierno Barry was on the ground injured and Levi Colwill had the ball by the halfway line. Chelsea’s defender kicked it out of play so Everton’s striker could pick himself up.

Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro did not like that one bit. They both yelled at Colwill for his generosity, taking turns telling their team-mate it would have been better to try to take advantage.

Colwill was too nice in that moment. But this was a game won in the second half by Chelsea by dominating in duels, by battling for balls, and by being a little nasty.

Xabi Alonso made a point of praising his players for that edge they carried afterwards, saying: ‘Sometimes it is not about playing nice. It is about playing well. We needed a result like this. We needed to show that we can win in this way.’

Chelsea have been accused of being soft before. That has contributed to their poor record when playing up north, usually allowing themselves to be bullied at places like the Hill Dickinson Stadium. They had lost 19 of their last 41 matches north of Luton. That included being beaten 3-0 here during Liam Rosenior's five-match winless and goalless run which got him sacked.

This was Chelsea’s first game outside of London this season, and Palmer led that nastiness which so pleased Alonso. The playmaker talked himself into a caution from Paul Tierney and yet continued to be a nuisance.

Even as the clock ticked over into 100 minutes after Emiliano Martinez’s injury, he pulled back Tyrique George and slid in on Jarrad Branthwaite. Palmer escaped the second yellow which would have seen him suspended for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.

The same went for Morgan Rogers. He squared up to James Tarkowski. He crunched into James Garner. He added to the 15 fouls committed by Chelsea in this match. He too avoided a second yellow despite being constantly combative.

Even as Chelsea were preparing to take the free-kick from which they scored their second, Joao Pedro was there, winding up Jordan Pickford while Everton’s goalkeeper was trying to organise his wall.

As they told Colwill, they were not here to make friends, but to win.

Palmer did not score. Rogers did not score. Joao Pedro did not score. But Chelsea’s front three contributed in their own ways as Pedro Neto got the two goals which won them this match.

It felt like a new side to Chelsea. There was a resilient feel to the visitors, who have benefitted from the addition of Jordan Henderson to their line-up as he fights their corner with the referees. Chelsea have added players who do not want to be considered pushovers.

After full-time, the celebrations in front of the away end were more energetic than that of a regular win. Palmer pushed Alonso in front of the supporters, and Joao Pedro did the same with Neto.

There was extra appreciation from the travelling contingent for what they had seen, and Chelsea are likely to need to show more of this side to them when Tottenham visit next weekend.