In this strangest of seasons for Chelsea came the strangest of afternoons and, watching on alongside Roman Abramovich, Guus Hiddink may well have wondered what he has let himself in for, having agreed to become the club’s interim manager for a second time. There were chants of support for the man he is replacing, jeers for the players that remain, and a performance that veered from the sublime to the stuttering in what felt like a blink of an eye. Welcome back Guus, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.

That should perhaps be expected from a club that appears incapable of escaping drama and at the end of another tumultuous week in their history the most important thing was that they recorded a first win in four league matches. This, as incredible as it continues to sound, was a relegation scrap and Chelsea did enough to prevail.

One can only wonder what José Mourinho made of it all, especially upon hearing Chelsea had taken a 2-0 lead, though goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Pedro, inside 13 minutes on the back of a display brimming with verve and vigour, drive and desire. The Portuguese, who was at the Amex Arena watching Middlesbrough, managed by his former assistant at Real Madrid Aitor Karanka, beat Brighton, may well have wondered why they could not do the same for him for the bulk of this campaign, and in particular at Leicester on Monday when yet another insipid display by the champions led to Mourinho accusing his players of a “betrayal” and he, in turn, losing his job as Chelsea manager for the second time in eight years.