Mourinho: Players FINALLY dealt with ‘negative moment’

Jose Mourinho praised his Chelsea players for the mental strength they showed to deal with a "negative moment" in the 2-1 Champions League win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday.

The Blues went ahead through an Aleksandar Dragovic own goal, before he netted the equaliser at the other end. Mourinho's men then secured the win with a Willian free-kick in the 83rd minute.

And the Portuguese coach was happy with his side's resilience, indicating that difficult periods occur in every game but the players have developed the ability to deal with such set-backs.

"I keep saying many of the players are coming to their normal levels, you can feel as a team when the negative moment comes and the team can take a little bit," he told BT Sport.

"But today I think we were prepared, as a negative moment comes every match. And today we had a reaction.

"The negative moment is always arriving for us - in many different ways. We had a good reaction against Stoke City, and to concede that Dynamo goal with 15 minutes to go, I think the team was strong mentally, the team kept trying and I’m happy with that."

Mourinho, who had been under increasing pressure following successive defeats to West Ham, Stoke and Liverpool, was also thankful to the supporters at Stamford Bridge, who sung choruses of the 52-year-old's name throughout the match.

"Well I prefer the team, obviously, but what the fans did for me is not normal, or they don’t read papers, or listen to the television, pundits and commentators, or they have a big heart, or they recognise that I’m a good professional. I give everything to the club, I brought good moments to the club," he continued.

"It’s not normal, such support, not just the bad run of results. But mentally, considering what people read and listen to, I don’t know how to thank them.

"The only thing I can say is that until my last day at the club, four years, ten years, 15 years, doesn’t matter how long I stay here, I will give everything to them."

Worries continue at Stamford Bridge, though, with Diego Costa yet to spark into life this season and Eden Hazard dropped to the bench for Wednesday's game, but Mourinho took time out to praise the match-winner Willian, also suggesting that he was happy with the options the Belgian and Pedro provided from the bench.

"Willian playing well, not just today, he’s playing very well for a long time," he said.

"It’s difficult for me to forget some fantastic individual performances but I think it’s fair to look at Willian with different eyes because of his work rate, his quality on the ball, and obviously his participation with the first goal and a phenomenal second goal.

"I also had a very good bench with options who the team trust very much. With 15 minutes to go, to bring Hazard and Pedro into the game, the team feels confident with that because they are two players capable of turning things around."