Chelsea's resurgence under new manager Antonio Conte has been one of the defining stories of the Premier League so far this season. He's taken last season's struggling side and turned them into title favourites.

Currently, it looks like nobody will be able to overhaul the Blues at the top of the table. Conte's side boasted eleven-game winning run before the Premier League's Boxing Day fixtures, an incredible feat considering how competitive the division is these days.

Not only are they putting excellent performances against the better sides, with big wins over Manchester United and Everton, but they're also grinding results out during the tough December schedule.

They have skill and ability, but also grit and determination. As the cliche goes, that's what wins you titles.

What have been their highlights so far? Who have been their top performers?

Here are TEN pictures that tell the story of their season to date...

Starting strongly, just...

It was vitally important that Chelsea got off to a good start this season, given that was their downfall last year.

West Ham nearly earned a point at Stamford Bridge before Diego Costa scored in the 89th minute. As you can see, the Chelsea fans and Conte were delighted with Costa's contribution.

It was the beginning of Costa's incredible scoring run and Conte's first competitive win as Chelsea boss.

The first clean sheet

Chelsea have conceded fewer goals than any team in the Premier League this season but it wasn't always so. It took them four games into the campaign to claim their first clean sheet, in a 3-0 home win over Burnley.

It was their first dominant performance of the season and it was capped off with a Victor Moses goal, a player who would go on to be one of their best performers of the campaign so far.

Stumbling block

Thibaut Courtois was powerless to stop this Jordan Henderson effort at Stamford Bridge in September, contributing to a 2-1 win for the Reds.

It was Chelsea's first defeat of the season and a costly one, given Liverpool are one of the teams running them closest in the league right now.

One of just a few stumbling blocks across the season, it wasn't Chelsea's worst defeat in September.

Time to rebuild

Arsenal embarrassed Chelsea when Conte's side visited the Emirates in September. Mesut Ozil's strike was the third in a 3-0 rout of Chelsea, outclassed every inch across the 90 minutes.

It was the wake-up call the Blues needed, Conte changing his system and formation in a way that sparked their current Premier League winning run.

A blessing in disguise in hindsight for Chelsea's fans. They've been superb since.

New beginnings

Chelsea bounced back from that heavy Arsenal defeat straight away with a thumping 2-0 victory away to Hull City. It was the first of their eleven-game winning run in the league and showed that Conte's side have the spirit and determination to succeed in the face of adversity.

Diego Costa again inspired them to victory, scoring the second of the two goals.

Domination

Probably Chelsea's best performance of the season, the Blues destroyed old boss Jose Mourinho's Manchester United side when they visited Stamford Bridge in October.

As you can see when they mobbed N'Golo Kante after scoring Chelsea's fourth of the day, it was a unifying moment in their season. Perhaps this was the day they believed they could go on and become champions.

Unstoppable

By the time Everton visited in November, Chelsea were looking unstoppable. This 5-0 victory only added to that consensus.

The Blues punished the Toffees with Eden Hazard the star of the show, scoring a double. They were starting to look like the side that won the league under Mourinho in 2014/15.

Can anyone come to Stamford Bridge and beat them this season?

Comeback kings

When Spurs took the lead against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, there was probably optimism within the support of rival clubs hoping their bubble had burst.

However, a fantastic comeback performance in the second half put those thoughts firmly to the back of everyone's mind again, Conte's side again showing the resilience that has made them massive title favourites.

Knockout blow

Chelsea blew City away when they visited the Etihad at the start of December, perhaps a fatal knockout blow to Pep Guardiola's hopes of winning the title in his first season.

Again coming from behind to win, the second half blitz confirmed that Chelsea were the team to beat this season. The second goal from Willian sent the away support wild.

Grinding it out

It's been a tough shift for Chelsea since that win over City. They've had to grind out three 1-0 wins against teams you'd fancy them to punish more.

Still, they look as unbeatable as ever. It's only really solid defensive work that's kept the Blues at bay. No side in December has looked like beating Conte's outfit.

Will that continue into 2017? We expect so.