Willian scores a masterpiece, Mourinho smiles in Europe

Willian's late goal helped Chelsea beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1, temporarily relieving the pressure on Jose Mourinho after a recent string of poor results.

Willian scored in the 83rd minute from a beautiful free kick. Photo: AFP.

The narrow win over Dynamo Kiev was a sunny day in the midst of recent storms at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho and his team temporarily forgot about their poor performance in the Premier League and enjoyed the advantage of qualifying for the Champions League. Chelsea are currently second in Group G with seven points, two more than Dynamo. Porto, with 10 points, are top of the group.

Winning three points against direct rivals like Dynamo only shows how valuable Chelsea's victory last night was. The home team almost suffered a bitter defeat with an unconvincing performance in the second half.

After opening the scoring with an Aleksandr Dragovic own goal, Chelsea lost control of the game. Dynamo's successive attacks brought an equaliser in the 77th minute, with Dragovic scoring a goal to redeem himself. Willian, six minutes later, became Chelsea's hero with a beautiful free-kick.

Mourinho entered the pitch in a mood that could not be happier when hearing his name being chanted by the fans in the stands. This action was repeated throughout the 90 minutes of the match, with the main song "Stand up for the Special One". Amid recent rumors that Mourinho could be fired, the Chelsea board received a very clear and loud message from the fans, or before that, the players declared absolute support for the Portuguese coach.

Chelsea started with a much changed line-up compared to their last game against Liverpool. Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard were benched, while Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas and Oscar started. Mourinho wanted to add more creativity up front to break down the visitors' defence. Dynamo Kiev are known for their defensive prowess, having conceded just five goals in the Ukrainian Premier League this season. Dynamo have also kept clean sheets in 14 of their 19 games in all competitions.

Mourinho finds joy again. Photo: Reuters.

The home advantage helped Chelsea gain control from the start of the match, with massive attacks. Willian's mobility and dynamism were an inspiration for Chelsea in their recent crisis. The Brazilian midfielder created a series of dangerous opportunities in this match. In the 27th minute, from Willian's cross from the wing, Dragovic awkwardly headed the ball into the visitors' net.

The early opener gave the home side confidence. The Blues continued their attacks but failed to create any more dangerous chances due to a lack of decisive passes. After the break, Dynamo were the better team and began to threaten the home side's goal. In the 58th minute, goalkeeper Begovic had to show his talent to save a shot from a Ukrainian player in the box. Ten minutes later, Begovic had to clear the ball again, coming out of the box to clear the ball before the Dynamo striker could get away.

Dragovic, who scored for the away team and also scored an own goal early in the match. Photo: Reuters.

Under constant pressure, Chelsea's net also shook from a corner kick in the 77th minute. Begovic misjudged the ball's landing spot, giving Dragovic a chance to comfortably shoot into the net. The defenders in blue also did not assign anyone to mark Dragovic in this situation.

After seemingly suffering another bad result, Chelsea found hope with Willian's beautiful free kick in the 83rd minute.

According to VNE