On a scrap of paper at Selhurst Park last March , Jose Mourinho scribbled down the one word lacking from his Chelsea team after they had been beaten by Crystal Palace . At Upton Park , Mourinho ’ s side showed ‘ balls ’ of steel , surviving a difficult game against one of those teams — and at one of those grounds — where anything can happen . Chelsea have the mentality of champions . Their celebrations at Wembley on Sunday told a story , linking arms and sliding to their knees in front of their supporters after they had beaten Tottenham 2-0 in the Capital One Cup final . Cesar Azpilicueta , John Terry and Ramires leave the Upton Park pitch after another victory for Chelsea . Jose Mourinho won the first trophy of his second stint at Chelsea and few would bet against him adding the title . Chelsea celebrate their Capital One Cup trophy win at Wembley and maintained their five-point lead . There have been markers at key stages of the season : a 2-0 win over Arsenal in October , 2-1 at Liverpool the following month and their stunning performance in the 5-0 win at Swansea in January . This 1-0 victory at West Ham was another . Chelsea ’ s bond is strong , building this resilience in the dressing room as the season has progressed . They looked impenetrable , especially in the closing stages as West Ham pushed for an equaliser . Their work-rate is phenomenal , a team fighting for each other as they close in on their first Barclays Premier League title since Mourinho returned to the club . He described himself as a kid after he ambushed the trophy celebrations on Sunday , but it is on nights like this when the big boys go to work . Look around the Chelsea dressing room and it will be difficult to separate some of these players when it comes to voting for the PFA Player of the Year in a few weeks ’ time . John Terry , exceptional against Tottenham at Wembley , must be in with a shout . Incredible as it sounds , he last won it in 2005 . Thibaut Courtois , returning in goal in place of Petr Cech , was exceptional . His first-half save from Diafra Sakho was top class . He oozes confidence , taking responsibility as the last line of defence after Terry ’ s early booking for a foul on Cheikhou Kouyate . The doubts that crept in after a rare mistake in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in January have been eradicated . Mourinho has made the right call to make him first choice . Thibaut Courtois was again exceptional and could make it back-to-back titles after winning La Liga last year . Cesc Fabregas probes into West Ham territory with Enner Valencia and Mark Noble close by . Cesc Fabregas , what with those 15 assists in the league since his move last summer from Barcelona , will also be in the running . Then there is last season ’ s Young Player of the Year Eden Hazard , the tormentor-in-chief down Chelsea ’ s left last night . He scored with a clever header from a cross by Ramires in the 22nd minute to secure his side ’ s 19th league victory of the season . Sometimes he leaves you drooling . His composure on the ball , coupled with that ability to be able to run with it when he is looking at the options around him , are made to look like pure instinct . Some of the twists and turns , creating space by leaving Carl Jenkinson and James Collins wrong-footed , were of the highest order . So what has changed since last season , when they gifted Manchester City their second Premier League title with a series of faltering performances ? They have the bottle for the big occasion now . At Wembley last Sunday , Mourinho turned to a television camera and squirted water all over the lens after Terry had opened the scoring for Chelsea . Here they washed West Ham ’ s faces again . Adrian dives in vain as Hazard 's header sails past the Spanish keeper and into the back of West Ham 's net . Hazard was in irresistible form and leads James Collins a merry dance here . For many different reasons , some tribal and some because of an irrational hatred of former player Frank Lampard , who has since left Stamford Bridge , away at West Ham is always a tough fixture for Chelsea . To their credit they always seem to survive the taunts , the songs from the terraces that are usually directed at the captain Terry and his mother . Chelsea ’ s captain always appears unmoved by it all . But there was more last night . When Kurt Zouma was fouled by Collins just before half-time , West Ham ’ s supporters sang ‘ You won ’ t let him on the train ’ when he was waiting for treatment . Naturally those chants , given the dreadful incident on the Paris Metro before Chelsea ’ s Champions League clash at Parc des Princes last month , should be discouraged . Chelsea are the big noise in football right now , the team to beat as they prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg of their last-16 Champions League tie next week . Increasingly Chelsea look like a team determined to power on and finish the job in the Premier League after feeding off the scraps last season . After this , the message from Mourinho was loud and clear . West Ham players gather around the floored Kurt Zouma after Collins ' tackle on the Frenchman .
Chelsea have discovered the ruthless , killer instinct required to win matches . The bond is already strong , building this resilience in the dressing room as the season has progressed . Here at Upton Park they looked impenetrable . Their work-rate is phenomenal . They are a team fighting for each other as they close in on their first Premier League title since Mourinho 's return . Increasingly they look like a team determined to power on and finish the job well before they play their final game of the season against Paris .