Stamford Bridge on Sunday was the place to be in football and that was before a ball was even kicked, or indeed a forearm smashed, but then that took less than 10 seconds to occur. Following on from Sadio Mane’s recklessness, those of us there and everyone watching on TV or listening to a commentary had a treat for the next 90-odd minutes of football.Just when you think you might be getting a little tired after too many football games and a few too many mince pies as well, along comes a match like this to remind you why you love football. Make your own decision whether it was bonkers, brilliant or beautiful, each is as valid a description as the other.Certainly, there was no doubt there were some brilliant performances from the boys in blue. You could go through most of the team but you would have to start with the engine room where Mateo Kovacic had arguably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt, which is high praise considering the standards he has attained in the past. There was a period in the second half when his touch was so divine the Chelsea fans in the stadium started making strange noises.

It wasn’t applause or shouts of encouragement when he pulled a ball out of the air after it appeared to have come down with snow on it, or after he went past three players when there seemed nowhere to go but then emerged with the ball and with his balance to set up yet another attack - there was something close to gasps from the stands.His goal was worth the admission fee on its own, for the outrageous technique, the style, the imagination, and the timing. I felt particularly happy as I had just said to Jason Cundy and Ben Andrews on the Chelsea website and 5th Stand app commentary if we get a goal back before half-time this is definitely not beyond us. Okay, we got two, but you get the point.While Kova was doing his thing, N’Golo Kante was being his average superhuman self, making world-class plays the way the rest of us breathe in and out, without even apparently thinking about it. There were classic performances from Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy among others but none of these performances, however enjoyable and impressive, were the main thing I took from the game where a point was the very least we deserved, even when we were 2-0 down.It was the spirit of the group that slapped me in the face like the proverbial wet haddock. It was impossible to be anything other than proud of the lads for the comeback, the work-rate and willingness to work selflessly as a team for each other.

If you look around the league you will see that the teams working as a group are doing best, that is, they are maximizing their potential. Be it Manchester City and I will be fair, Liverpool too, all the way to West Ham - when they have everyone fit and firing the successful clubs know the importance of the group ethic.Manchester United have fantastic players and there have been a few things hindering them this season, but if they looked more like a coherent group with every player giving their utmost selflessly, they would definitely be in the top four and a danger to everyone. That is what is needed in the Premier League for success.Every Chelsea fan I talked to after the game understood what they had witnessed, a group that has the same thought, the same goals and were willing to give their mates, their manager and their fans everything. You didn’t even have to watch the game, a snapshot of the players seconds after the final whistle, bent over with exhaustion told the story as well as any words.

That sort of commitment from everyone will lead to great things and maybe the odd trophy once again this season. Of course, it is going to be difficult to catch Manchester City with the gap as it is, but we must keep them honest and just hope they have a rough patch at some point.It is worth remembering they are having an incredible season. If they keep picking up points at this rate they will end up with 95. The only other club in Premier League history to break 95 is Liverpool twice recently. After that you have to look at Chelsea back in 2004/05 when we equalled the Queen’s current age in points.If we go on at the current rate we will end up around the 78-points mark, which every single season in EPL history would get you second or third place. With the sort of attitude we had against Liverpool we are perfectly capable of doing even better than that, but it will come down to getting something against both Man City and Spurs in the league just before we go on a long run of very winnable matches to the end of the season in the competition.So why can’t the players perform at Sunday’s level every time? That sort of exertion every three days leads to burn out unless you have enough players to rotate regularly and that is a problem right now for not only Chelsea, but most of the other teams in the league.With Spurs turning up at the Bridge tomorrow I have absolutely no idea how Thomas Tuchel approaches this one and who he decides to play. In all honesty it is ‘only’ the EFL Cup, there are concerns about resting players, the FA Cup, big league games and the Club World Cup and Champions League are just around the corner, and there are plenty of players unavailable already…but, and it is a big but - it is Spurs and it is the semi-final of a national trophy!

Our midfield is just as likely to be Kante and Kovacic as it is Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Saul or Ross Barkley. For this one I would not have a single word of complaint whichever way the manager decides to go, and Antonio Conte might have just as many questions to ask himself over his team selection.It is a game and a trophy worth winning and Chelsea in the modern Roman era are used to winning trophies every season. More importantly, it is Spurs and you could put any 11 out from the two squads and it will still be a passionate affair. It might have to go a way to equal Liverpool on Sunday, though few games this season by any sides will match that experience.