It was Chelsea's first outing since the departure of Andre Villas-Boas last weekend, and they were made to work for the points despite Ricardo Fuller's first-half sending off.
Fuller was shown a straight red for a reckless and dangerous stamp on Branislav Ivanovic in the 25th minute, with Stoke under constant pressure for the remainder of the game.
John Terry and Ivanovic had already hit the woodwork, before Didier Drogba broke the deadlock, latching onto Juan Mata's pass before rounding Asmir Begovic to score his 100th Premier League goal.
Mata then struck the post with a long range free-kick and while Stoke worked until the final whistle, they never looked like scoring an equaliser.
Fuller was shown a straight red for a reckless and dangerous stamp on Branislav Ivanovic in the 25th minute, with Stoke under constant pressure for the remainder of the game.
John Terry and Ivanovic had already hit the woodwork, before Didier Drogba broke the deadlock, latching onto Juan Mata's pass before rounding Asmir Begovic to score his 100th Premier League goal.
Mata then struck the post with a long range free-kick and while Stoke worked until the final whistle, they never looked like scoring an equaliser.
