It didn't feel like a coincidence, but the absence of Chelsea's domineering presence, a man who tends to spread a degree of spikiness in the football atmosphere these days, made it easy to see the light. As the virtuoso trio of Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard began to dazzle, propelling Chelsea towards another striking victory, it was impossible not to be beguiled.

This was nothing like the stereotype that has underpinned the club's success during much of the Roman Abramovich era. This was not a robust Chelsea, an efficient Chelsea, an uber-powerful Chelsea, a grinder-out of results Chelsea. This was stylish, captivating and beautiful to watch. It may not be a popular idea outside of SW6, but it is time to take some old preconceptions and toss them into the bin. The team who performed with such verve here are deserving of a wider ovation.

Through the combination of Abramovich's heavy summer funding, and Roberto Di Matteo's co-ordinated approach, Chelsea look a team reinvented. It is remarkable how swiftly their new attackers have formed an understanding, but as Tottenham found to their cost, containing this new-look Chelsea is a devilish business. In Mata, Oscar and Hazard, they have three floating creators whose perpetual movement and inter-weaving runs must make defenders feel like they are in the dark, with a bunch of fireflies flitting in and out of their line of vision. When they hurtle forwards together, at top speed, it is a bewitching sight. William Gallas endured a particularly uncomfortable afternoon, lured as he was into some weak clearances that Chelsea pounced on ruthlessly.

Without John Terry, and the menacing cloud that follows him around, on the pitch, there was nothing to distract attention, nothing to draw focus away from appreciating the style that Chelsea's band of clever playmakers are defining. Fernando Torres's role in this redesign is also important. Although his goal touch was off-key, his presence as a focal point, and his bullish runs, are pivotal to the way Chelsea knit their attacks together.

It speaks volumes for the solutions Di Matteo has within his ranks that Hazard did not have his best game, but was still enough of a nuisance to unnerve Tottenham. Oscar delivered some sumptuous touches. Mata scored with two refined finishes and delivered one piercing assist.

Those options, that ability to spring into a devastating counter-attack at any given moment, underlined this victory. Midway through the second half of this helter-skelter game, after Tottenham had roused themselves to thrillingly turn a deficit into a 2-1 advantage, the home crowd were almost allowing themselves to believe they were on the verge of something special. As the Spurs players hugged and jigged in front of the Paxton, André Villas-Boas looked as if was desperately trying to hold it together. He tried to appeal for calm, for composure, from the touchlines. He knew what risk lay ahead. By the end of the game he was being teased by the blue corner of supporters, who then segued into a homage to Di Matteo.

A year after Villas-Boas's attempt to make sense of the Stamford Bridge project, Chelsea's team of the future is here. Evidently, the part of his remit that was so difficult to handle was the concept that Chelsea had to begin to move on from the era defined by Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. It resonated to see such a positive performance with no Terry or Drogba, and Lampard figuring only with the lightest of cameos.

Di Matteo continues to handle all his tasks with an unruffleable smoothness. Even when confronted by turbulent episodes, the Italian handles it all with remarkable poise. After the match, there were efforts to draw him into the debate about Terry, his continued captaincy, and the way the club sent out mixed messages about it (no details in Friday's press conference, then a radio interview by Bruce Buck given a more fulsome explanation come morning). Di Matteo wouldn't bite. Didn't sweat. He never does.

Chelsea are comfortably strong enough as a squad that the enforced absence of the man they continue to call their captain did not have a major effect. Gary Cahill stepped in at the back, to renew the partnership that proved so important at the tail-end of last season, and again demonstrated his usefulness to his team. It was the centre-half who opened the scoring – Cahill's venomous shot was his fourth goal from seven starts this season. Quite the hidden weapon. When Chelsea fell behind, rocking on their heels after the break, the downside to their new focus on aesthetics showed up. They have lost some defensive solidity, but with all the flair they had gained, it would be very churlish to complain.