Diego Costa's 89th-minute strike ensured that Antonio Conte began his Premier League career as Chelsea manager with a victory this evening.
The Blues sealed a 2-1 victory over West Ham United at Stamford Bridge, with Eden Hazard netting from the penalty spot.
James Collins gave West Ham hope with a 77th-minute goal after a lacklustre display, but Chelsea were eventually rewarded for their dominance when Costa nabbed the winner.
New boy N'Golo Kante marked the first three minutes of his official Chelsea debut with a yellow card after bringing down Andy Carroll from behind.
The midfielder, who won the Premier League title with Leicester City last season, was part of a positive first-half display from the Blues.
Conte's side dominated the ball in the opening 45 minutes, while the Hammers created only a handful of opportunities, one of which came from Mark Noble, who launched a low shot from the edge of the box, but scuffed it, which resulted in the ball bobbling into the hands of Thibaut Courtois.
Branislav Ivanovic, who has seemingly been ordered to get forward as often as possible, forced the first save of the game inside the opening 15 minutes by drilling the ball towards the near post, but Adrian managed to protect the goal.
Eden Hazard was disappointing for most of last season, but he looked lively in tonight's opener as most of Chelsea's attacking moves were played through the Belgian.
The main talking point of the first half was when referee Anthony Taylor waved away penalty claims from the hosts when Oscar was brought down by Winston Reid.
The Brazilian nicked the ball from Noble before darting into the penalty area, but on his way there, Reid - with his arms raised - put the midfielder off his stride.
Chelsea continued to charge on the front foot after having the penalty denied, and a surging run from Hazard almost created an opening as he unleashed a shot from the corner of the box, but it curled just past the far post.
West Ham suffered a blow just after the half-hour mark when club-record signing Andre Ayew limped off the pitch after pulling up while trying to match Hazard's run.
Slaven Bilic's side had to weather a storm until the half-time whistle, but were fortunate when a shot from Diego Costa soared high into the stands, and Adrian tipped Willian's free kick over the crossbar.
After the break, Chelsea jumped out of the blocks as Costa forced a save from Adrian after unleashing a close-range shot.
Seconds later, the Blues were awarded a penalty when Michail Antonio brought down Cesar Azpilicueta with no complaints.
Hazard stepped up and sent the ball down the middle and into the roof of the net to give Conte his first league goal since taking over as manager.
The hosts continued to dominate the ball, which frustrated the West Ham players, particularly Andy Carroll, who was isolated up front.
Adrian was seeing more of the ball than his teammates in the second half. He was made to work when Willian sent a low shot towards the far post, but the keeper managed to get a hand on it to direct the Brazilian's attempt away from goal.
The resulting corner from Willian almost created a goal for captain John Terry, who rose above his markers in the box, but his header drifted over the top of the bar.
Payet, who came on as a substitute, looked slightly rusty when he failed to pull out a trademark free kick - instead sending the ball into the Chelsea wall.
The resulting corner, though, was beneficial for the Hammers as it eventually fell to Collins, who smashed home from just inside the box to give his side an equaliser out of nowhere.
The match looked destined for a draw as the clock ticked down, but Chelsea's persistence paid off as Costa drilled the ball past Adrian and into the far post with one minute of normal time remaining.
Arguably, the striker was lucky to be on the pitch as he avoided a straight red card earlier in the game for lunging in on Adrian while trying to capitalise on the goalkeeper's fumble.
It was a frantic end to the match with both sides creating opportunities, but Chelsea managed to hold on and take all three points.
Danielle Joynson
