The Hammers showed some of the fighting spirit that has been sorely missing in previous weeks to dominate long periods of the game.
"Nobody could have said anything if we had got the three points, but that doesn't take anything away from the performance of the players. I'm happy because the atmosphere, the passion and the courage they put on the pitch was remarkable,” Zola told the official site.
"I think it's a very good starting point and it will inspire everybody from now on.
"Even in the past we played some good games, but I never felt the atmosphere we had against Chelsea. The way the players were encouraging each other and working each off each other was really contagious.
"On the bench, everybody was involved in everything. There was a kind of positivity and it kept everybody very sharp.
"Scott Parker is a very influential player for us, but there were many others who were really good, starting from the defenders. The goalkeeper was very good and the amount of running that Jack Collison did was unbelievable. I was very pleased with the performance of everybody.
"I liked their passion on the pitch. They were tired but they didn't look it. I'm sure they could have played another 90 minutes."