Cesc Fabregas said he was happy to show head coach Antonio Conte what he is capable of after scoring two extra-time goals to fire Chelsea into the EFL Cup fourth round at the expense of Leicester City.
Conte selected Fabregas in Chelsea's starting XI for only the second time this season as he rang the changes at the King Power Stadium, and the Spaniard responded by making the decisive difference after goals from Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta cancelled out a first-half Shinji Okazaki double.
Fabregas is still waiting for his first Premier League start under Conte, who has favoured Oscar and Nemanja Matic in front of summer signing N'Golo Kante in a more dynamic and combative three-man midfield this season.
The Spaniard's benching has become a source of frustration among many Chelsea fans and given rise to intense speculation about his long-term future at Stamford Bridge, but having staked a compelling case for a starting spot against former club Arsenal on Saturday, Fabregas reiterated his commitment to fighting for his midfield place.
"I was happy to play from the start, first of all," Fabregas told Sky Sports. "Secondly if I can help the team, fantastic.
"Hopefully this will shut [up] a few journalists who are talking rubbish all the time. I'm focused on what is important: Chelsea winning, playing well and when I have the chance, showing what I can do. I know what I can do and it's a lot for this team."
Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in six competitive matches since Conte's arrival and old defensive failings were on show again at the King Power Stadium, as Okazaki twice capitalised on confusion in the visitors' back four to give Leicester a commanding lead.
But Cahill's header on the stroke of half-time changed the complexion of the match, and afterwards Fabregas revealed he felt Chelsea were unfortunate to fall behind to the Premier League champions in the first place.
"It was a bit unfair -- in the first half they scored two goals from our mistakes," the Spaniard added. "Not enough focus maybe, but I think we played quite well to be honest. We were feeling quite comfortable but we know they are a dangerous team on the counterattack.
"This is what they did and we paid for it, but we showed the great character I think we've been showing all season."
Cahill added: "The timing of my goal was important. When you're 2-0 up you're comfortable, but all of a sudden it's 2-1 at half-time, and that gave us a lift.
"We started the game so sloppy. I know things are new and we're trying to learn, but we started really sloppy. From midway through the first half and especially in the second half you saw what we want to do, the way we want to play."
Diego Costa made a huge impact as a 67th-minute substitute, spurning several chances to score a Chelsea winner in normal time and drawing Marcin Wasilewski into a foul that saw the Leicester defender earn a second yellow card a minute before extra-time.
"It swung the game but we felt as if we were on the front foot," Cahill said of Wasilewski's dismissal. "As the game went on we got stronger and stronger, and I felt as if we were going to get back in."