Rafa Benitez is slowly but surely putting his stamp on the Chelsea team, who now look a lot more like the title contenders that everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season.
Juan Mata continued his sparkling season by scoring the only goal of the game against Norwich, a brilliant 25-yard strike into the top corner.
The win took Chelsea to within four points of second-placed Manchester City, who lost 1-0 to Sunderland, although the Blues remain 11 points adrift of league leaders Manchester United.
"Mata is a player that is very dangerous in the box and outside," Benitez said. "He is in form and we are really pleased with him.
"We have won three games in a row, and we are really pleased for the team, for Juan, and (Nathan) Ake made his debut so a lot of positives today (Wednesday).
"Juan is doing really well, even without the ball he is working hard and in possession he is making the difference.
"He is clever, has clever movement and can play high or deeper. He goes to the right spaces and makes it difficult for defenders and midfielders.
"The Premier League has a lot of good players, he is one of the best for sure but it depends on the rest of the team."
The 1-0 win also ensured another clean sheet for Chelsea, a statistic that is becoming quite a habit under Benitez. "We were working very hard," the Spaniard added. "We had one or two chances to score a second goal but in these games a free-kick, corner or counter-attack can make a difference. They were pushing until the end.
"It's important to see the team working hard and defending well. We have another clean sheet. Today we could manage and control against a good team.
"They were pushing and dangerous on the counter-attack but we did our job in defence. The team is defending well.
"We are in a good position. It could be better but I think we are doing well in the last month and the team is progressing. We can manage different games and still get the result and that's important.
"We showed we can defend and work hard in difficult conditions. We're in a good position but we will still try to improve.
"It is a question of keeping training and playing, and it is positive because the players want to improve things and move forward."
