Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has urged his players to "believe in everything" as they "passed a test" in beating Bournemouth 3-1 on Saturday.
Premier League title rivals Tottenham Hotspur cut the Blues' lead at the top of the table to four points with a 4-0 win over Watford earlier in the day.
However, Antonio Conte's charges restored their seven-point lead at the Vitality Stadium thanks to strikes from Hazard and Marcos Alonso, plus Adam Smith's own goal.
After the game, the Belgian told BT Sport: "We passed a test. We knew the result of Tottenham before the game and today we deserved to win.
"It's more easy to control the game when you score first but at the end of the first half we were a little bit down. But in the second half we did well to control the game.
"We have to believe in everything. Now is one step closer to the title and we have seven games left."
Up next for Chelsea is a crunch clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford next Sunday.
