Gary Cahill has said Chelsea's surge clear at the top of the Premier League is down to team spirit and a miserly defence.
The Blues head into Saturday's clash with struggling Crystal Palace with a six-point advantage over Liverpool and Arsenal after Wednesday night's 1-0 victory at Sunderland.
It was their 10th consecutive league win in a run that has seen them concede just two goals.
Cahill knows they will have to maintain the standards they have set and told Chelsea TV: "You knock those stats out and at this moment in time, it's difficult to criticise that. At this moment in time, we are going well.
"But football goes week by week, month by month. We want to keep this going and continue the good spirit that's in our camp at the minute. That's the most important thing for us."
Chelsea dominated possession at the Stadium of Light and secured the points through Cesc Fabregas five minutes before the break.
However, had keeper Thibaut Courtois not made fine saves from Adnan Januzaj and Patrick van Aanholt, they would have left Wearside with less to show for their efforts.
Cahill said: "We are not letting goals in. Thibaut pulled off two vital saves for us so he showed his worth.
"Although I didn't think he had loads to do, that's what top keepers do. A couple of key moments and he produced.
"We owed him late on for that, but defensively we are making blocks, we are putting our heads in the way, clearing the ball and letting the lads go forward and create, which they did on numerous occasions."