Jose Mourinho relieved as Willian helps Chelsea sneak home against Dynamo Kiev

Willian was Mourinho's saviour

JOSE MOURINHO admitted to a huge feeling of relief after Willian’s late free-kick secured victory over Dynamo Kiev.

 

Chelsea manager Mourinho is facing the sack after his side’s disastrous run – but Willian’s 82nd-minute strike brought a first victory in five games ahead of their crunch Premier League clash at Stoke on Saturday.

And Mourinho hailed his side’s display insisting they are now moving in the right direction. “The win is a big relief. The players deserve to get compensation for their hard work,” he said, after seeing his side move second in Champions League Group G. 

“Many players are coming to their normal levels, despite having feelings as a team when negative moments come - and they are coming every game.”

Chelsea were forced to battle back after appearing to have blown the chance of victory.

 

Willian produced a brilliant free kick to win the game for Chelsea

A shocking error by Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic allowed Kiev’s Aleksandar Dragovic to cancel out his own first half own-goal.

But Mourinho believes his side’s reaction confirmed his players are regaining their belief and showing signs of renewed mental strength.

He said: “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. 

 

Most of Mourinho's smiles were wry, but Willian may have bought him some more time

“I think the team was strong mentally, they kept trying and I’m happy with that.”

Willian was the stand-out player on the night, delivering the cross that was turned in by Dragovic for the 34th minute own-goal before scoring with a 25-yard curling free-kick. 

The Brazilian was substituted in added time and received a rousing reception from the Stamford Bridge crowd moments after Mourinho’s name had echoed around the ground. 

The manager said: “He’s playing very well, not just today. He has been playing well for a long time.

“Everybody did their job very well. It is fair to look at Willian because of his work-rate, quality on the ball, participation in the first goal and quality of second goal.”

 

He added: “I was always impressed when I saw Liverpool at Anfield, when we beat them 4-1 and, in the last 10 minutes, Anfield was singing for that team. I was impressed.

“With Chelsea, I think this is my moment. It was amazing. The club should be proud of their fans. 

“I can only thank them by giving everything I have, to thank them for this reaction. 

“To win after conceding a goal with 15 minutes to go, it’s important... it’s something I spoke about with the players. When the difficult moment arrives, face the difficult moment. Don’t collapse.” 

Kiev coach Sergei Rebrov admitted his side should have been aware of Willian’s qualities from the midfielder’s time at Shakhtar Donetsk. 

He said: “It doesn’t matter to me that it was a former Shakhtar player. We knew he’s a good player of a high level, and we knew how good he was at free-kicks.”