Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that his team's narrow win over Dynamo Kiev has come as a "big relief".
The Portuguese coach had come under fire after the Blues lost at home to Liverpool on Saturday, their sixth defeat in 11 Premier League games.
However, Mourinho has suggested that the victory against Dynamo, courtesy of Willian's late free kick, is a reward for Chelsea's response to conceding an equaliser.
He is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "The win is a big relief. The players deserve to get compensation for their hard work.
"Many players are coming to their normal levels, despite having feelings as a team when negative moments come - and they are coming every game. The difference today was that we had confidence in the negative moment.
"The negative moment is always arriving for us. We had that good reaction against Stoke in the League Cup and today we conceded that goal with 15 minutes to go. I think the team was strong mentally, they kept trying and I'm happy with that."
Chelsea, currently 15th in the Premier League, travel to Stoke City on Saturday.
Chris O'Keefe
