Critics may argue it was only Bournemouth, but there was plenty to credit Chelsea with following Saturday's 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium. Victory kept the Blues in touch with Premier League pacesetters Manchester City and maintained fourth place in the table, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference.

Eden Hazard, looking back to his razor-sharp, defence-shredding best, scored the winner, and the creative midfielder appears to have struck up an intuitive partnership with fit-again striker Alvaro Morata. It was Morata who teed up Hazard for his goal with a chipped pass, and the duo should profit further from working together as the season progresses.

At the final whistle, Chelsea supporters were drawing parallels with Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa -- a potent combination that brought goals and assists aplenty in the Blues' recent title-winning campaigns.

It's goals that win games, but a tight defence is equally important, and Chelsea's backline has been woeful in recent weeks. Without a clean sheet in six previous games in all competitions, much has been made of the absence of defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante through injury -- and while it's true the Frenchman's shielding qualities are exceptional, there has been a lack of cohesiveness between the centre-backs which even Kante would struggle to compensate for.

Last season, regular centre-back trio Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill were an imperious often-impregnable force. Chelsea mustered 16 top-flight clean-sheets on the way to winning the league. This time around, the combination has looked flawed.

Both Cahill and Luiz have had disciplinary issues which have brought suspension, while Azpilicueta has looked jaded at times. Fortunately, Conte has been able to call upon new signing Antonio Rudiger and returned loanee Andreas Christensen to fill the gaps. Both look very capable, but the lack of familiarity has been telling and not helped by the Blues boss chopping and changing at the back in a bid to find the right permutation.

Perhaps conscious of the impending Champions League clash with Roma, against Bournemouth, Antonio Conte opted to rest Cahill-- deploying Rudiger in his place alongside Luiz and Azpilicueta. The 24-year old Germany international excelled and Chelsea's back three had a renewed solidity about it that has been lacking of late.

Blues skipper Cahill has come in for increasing criticism this season from sections of the fans, particularly on social media. Sent off in Chelsea's season opener against Burnley, the 31-year old looked jittery when returning from his three-match ban and has failed to provide the galvanising presence expected of a captain when things go wrong.

Harsh as it may be on Cahill, who is still an integral part of the England international set-up, Conte needs a back three he can depend on, and that is what he got against Bournemouth. Furthermore, against the Cherries, captain for the day Azpilicueta confidently marshalled his teammates, leading by example as he covered every blade of grass.

Eden Hazard scored the game-winner in Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday. Getty

Speaking after the game, the Chelsea manager advised that a touch of realism was required when talking about the Blues' chances of retaining their title. Conte is right -- his side are currently nine points behind City who comprehensively outplayed Chelsea when winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge a month ago.

Second-placed Manchester United visit the Bridge next weekend and Conte's team selection, particularly from a defensive perspective, will provide clues to the way ahead. With former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho likely to provide some abrasive prematch invective in the build up, and Conte not shy when it comes to verbally sparring with the Portuguese, it's likely that matters on the pitch could become combustible very quickly.

Mourinho is not averse to tasking his players to engage in a bit of skulduggery. Last season when Chelsea hosted Man United in a stormy FA Cup tie at the Bridge, Hazard was a target for bully-boy tactics. Nothing new there, but United went over the top and Ander Herrera was sent off for continually targeting the midfielder.

With passions likely to be running equally high when the sides meet next Sunday, Conte will need a captain who can exude a calming influence and a defence that can stick rigidly to the task without becoming distracted, ill-disciplined or pulled out of position.

In respect of the skipper's role, for Premier League matches at the very least, Azpilicueta's time appears to have arrived and with Rudiger and Luiz beside him at the back, and Kante set to return from injury, Chelsea look better-placed to deal with the matters at hand than with Cahill in their ranks.

At 31-years of age, the centre-back still has plenty of first-team football in him, but as Blues legend John Terry found recently, in order to secure this, he may need to move away from the Bridge.