For the first time in a while, Chelsea players were not in a rush to get away from Stamford Bridge on Sunday. They soaked up appreciation from home fans at the end of a week in which the Mauricio Pochettino project took off.
Things were threatening to get sticky for Pochettino seven days ago, with Chelsea in the bottom half of the table ahead of games against Tottenham and Manchester City.
But after their 4-1 win at Spurs on Monday, Cole Palmer rescued a thrilling 4-4 draw against champions City six days later and suddenly there is now real optimism around the club.
Chelsea were full value for their point, having produced their best performance of the season and gone toe-to-toe with City in another all-time Premier League classic. It is still early days, but there are now clear signs that Pochettino is putting his stamp on the team.
Chelsea caused real problems for City, who were unable to exert their usual control, as the Blues fought back to equalise three times.
Palmer was ice-cold from the spot, as he came back to haunt his former club and do enough to convince Gareth Southgate to hand him his first England call-up on Monday morning.
The £40million summer signing is emerging as the main man at Chelsea, and Pep Guardiola must surely be wondering whether he made a mistake in letting him leave.
Palmer was respectful in his celebration after thumping his spot-kick past Ederson: this was not about proving City wrong, but showing he made the right decision to seek more game time at Chelsea.
Palmer now has four goals and four assists in his last seven games and his composure, creativity and character have helped Chelsea turn a corner.
It was important we stood up to City... if you show them too much respect, they punish you
Raheem Sterling was excellent again, responding to his latest England snub. In almost every action, he picked out the right pass and gave Kyle Walker a tough evening.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden still caused Chelsea problems, but the hosts' speed in transition, well-timed pressing and battling spirit allowed them to compete with City.
Pochettino has shown in the big games this season that he is a match for the best coaches in the Premier League. Chelsea have now drawn with Liverpool, Arsenal and City. They remain 10 points outside the top four, patience is still required and the challenge now is for them to consistently reproduce this kind of display against lesser teams.
But Chelsea have shown they are on the right path under Pochettino, who is starting to win over supporters. They are playing with a clear identity and suddenly things are looking up.
Fit-again Reece James showed the difference he makes on the right, Nicolas Jackson was on the scoresheet again and £52m Christopher Nkunku is set to return from injury after the international break.
"We've played against one of the best, if not the best, teams from the past seven or eight years and we've had a right go at them," said Sterling. "We played with such belief and intensity but, in the end, it's certainly a good point for us. It's been a good week [beating Spurs and drawing with City]. We've said for a while now, it's been stepping stones all season for us.
"Little things we've been working on we're starting to build on now and you can see the belief in the squad, as we've just gone toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world.
"It was important we stood up to City, because they're a team if you sit off them and show them too much respect, they can easily punish you. We stood up to them, were aggressive in our pressing and all the boys showed a real intensity. We showed real character and were rewarded in the end.
"Cole took the penalty really well. Fair play to him, he's despatched it and he's comfortable in those situations. It was a big moment but he kept his head when we needed him."
