Independent:
Willian rescues win for Jose Mourinho with brilliant free-kick
Chelsea 2 Dynamo Kiev 1
Glenn MOORE Stamford Bridge
They played Bob Marley at half-time at Stamford Bridge. “Don’t worry about a thing, cos every little thing’s gonna be all right.” This was followed by the Black Eyed Peas: “I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” It was like one of those playlists lovelorn teenagers make.
If only it was so easy. This was eventually a good night, but it was not without plenty of worry. When Dynamo Kiev levelled with 13 minutes to go, after yet more hamfisted defending, Chelsea were third in Group G and heading for a fifth match without a win.
Then Willian, the one player who has risen above the chaos at Chelsea to play like a Footballer of the Year contender, scored from another sublime free-kick.
“Jo-se Mou-rin-ho” echoed round a joyous, relieved Bridge. A further descent into crisis has been averted, but Mourinho still has much to do with many of his players well below their best.
One of the many problems with losing matches is that it means if a player is left out, he is regarded as dropped rather than rested. So the latest presumed scapegoats were Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and John Obi Mikel, all omitted here having played in the side that lost 3-1 at home to Liverpool. Three previous fall guys, Baba Rahman, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas, came in.
The much-vaunted, phenomenally expensive academy was again unrepresented, though on the bench were Ruben Loftus-Cheek and rookie goalkeeper Jamal Blackman, who featured because Marco Amelia was signed after the Champions League deadline.
John Terry’s inclusion ahead of Cahill, who was no more culpable on Saturday, meant he moved past Paul Scholes to become the English player who has made the most Champions League appearances. This was Terry’s 107th, a tally which included the 2008 final, in which he infamously missed the spot-kick that could have won Chelsea the competition.
This season, surely, is the old warhorse’s last chance to win the Champions League as a player. Though the prospect looked a long way off at kick-off there were times in 2008 and 2012 when Chelsea seemed improbable finalists and with the talent in the team, it cannot be ruled out.
First, though, they have to qualify from the group stage. The thought of Mourinho being despatched to the Europa League competition he ridiculed in the context of Chelsea winning it under Rafael Benitez must be one that gives him cold sweats.
With good support from the crowd, Chelsea began brightly enough with a series of attacks leading to shots from Ramires, twice, and Oscar. But they were all at the goalkeeper, Oleksandr Shovkovsky, and soon the urgency went from Chelsea and the game began to stagnate.
Given events in the east of their country there will be many, back home in the Ukrainian capital, who will have relished the prospect of Kiev inflicting a metaphorical bloody nose on such a high-profile Russian-owned team but in the first period Dynamo did not look capable of doing so. Nor, though, did Chelsea look like scoring.
Then came that stroke of luck all struggling sides need. Rahman took a pass from Asmir Begovic and switched play with a raking forward pass to the ever-willing Willian. The Brazilian drove forward before fizzing over a powerful cross. As Shovkovsky moved off his line to collect, Aleksandar Dragovic attempted to head it out for a corner, only to inadvertently divert the cross into the empty goal.
Chelsea could have wrapped up the tie in first-half added time. Diego Costa, previously well shackled, burst clear with Yevhen Khacheridi and Dragovic in close pursuit. As Costa entered the box he tumbled to the floor. The stadium howled for a penalty, which would also have entailed a red card, but referee Pavel Kralovec waved play on.
Mourinho performed a toddler’s tantrum of astonished outrage, but Kralovec was much closer and television replays suggested he got it right. Why Costa did not shoot when he had the chance, only he knows, but one goal in his previous seven games suggests a lack of confidence.
A Chelsea lead used to be as secure as the reputation of the German FA, but there are few certainties in football these days and Mourinho’s men had dropped leads in two of their last three home matches. An unwanted treble loomed when Artem Kravets bore down on Begovic soon after the break but Kurt Zouma’s pace enabled him to make an excellent last-ditch tackle.
With the game opening up, both goalkeepers made fine saves just before the hour. Begovic denied substitute Junior Morais from close range, then Shovkovsky made an acrobatic stop from Oscar. In between Kurt Zouma should have scored but managed to steer a typically enticing Willian free-kick wide from inside the six-yard box.
With the second goal proving elusive, nerves began to creep in. The travelling contingent became the noisier fans, Chelsea began to sit deeper, Mourinho’s touchline prowling became more agitated. With 16 minutes to go, Kiev won a corner. Domagoj Vida flicked it on and Derlis Gonzalez just failed to head in at the far post.
The nerves intensified and Begovic fumbled a Terry backheader to concede another corner. It was a fateful error.
Begovic came for the kick but was beaten to it by Matic. However, the Serb could not make much contact and the ball came to Dragovic, who had moved off his marker, Terry. The centre-half took a touch and lashed a volley in through a thicket of bodies. On the touchline Mourinho shook his head in disbelief.
The goal meant Chelsea, for the 14th time in 18 matches this season, had failed to keep a clean sheet.
Mourinho summoned Hazard and Pedro from the bench but it was Willian who stood up to be counted. Chelsea won a free-kick 25 yards out and the Brazilian whipped a magnificent effort over the wall with the power to prevent Shovkovsky keeping the ball out. It was his fifth goal of the season, moving him back ahead of own goals as Chelsea’s top scorer. Everything was all right. For now.
=====================
Telegraph:
Chelsea 2 Dynamo Kiev 1
Willian magic hands Jose Mourinho vital Champions League win
Brazilian scores yet another free-kick to hand Chelsea three points
Willian magic means Jose Mourinho can breath sigh of relief
By Sam Wallace, Chief Football Writer, at Stamford Bridge
As has been the way with Jose Mourinho during the great autumn slump of 2015, this was an evening fraught with rage, joy and deep uncertainty, that culminated in the kind of victory Chelsea would once consider routine but might now go some way to saving their manager’s skin.
When Aleksandar Dragovic equalised for Dynamo Kiev with 13 minutes to go, it surely crossed the mind of Mourinho that his team might just go into a tailspin again and make their famous manager look foolish once more. On the touchline Mourinho turned in fury to his bench and mimed the missed punch of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic that had given Dynamo the opportunity.
Behind his legions of staff and club officials were his wife Tami, daughter Matilde and son Jose junior, the former of whom is a rare attendee at matches. Their very presence, visible just over the shoulder of Mourinho from the camera shots of the dugout suggested that the wagons were truly being circled and that, never mind the attention, Dad needed all the moral support he could get
Mourinho is a sentimental old soul and he explained later that it was Matilde’s 19th birthday and, having missed her birth, the only way he was going to see her on this occasion was if she came to the game. When she was born in 1996 her father had just moved to Barcelona with the late great Sir Bobby Robson and was still nine years away from that Uefa Cup season with Porto that would make his name in Europe.
Either way, the perfect birthday present arrived with eight minutes left, delivered by the right boot of Willian who whipped a free-kick from 25 yards out past the Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy before he could get himself over to save it. Willian has not been found wanting in recent weeks but even so Mourinho could probably claim to be owed at least one moment of individual brilliance amidst all the mediocrity that has seen his team plummet.
This was just their second win in the last nine games in all competitions and while Mourinho argued that the draw would have been enough to set them up to qualify from Group G with two more wins, this felt like a game they had to win for their manager. At last he has some breathing space and goes to Stoke on Saturday evening with a degree of confidence that can be built upon before the international break arrives – traditionally a sacking season for struggling managers.
He picked a team without Eden Hazard and Gary Cahill, although the latter came on when Dragovic equalised – the Dynamo centre-back having put through his own goal for Chelsea’s first in the first half. As ever the support from the home crowd was unconditional and Mourinho was not backward in acknowledging it.
It was also indicative of the relief Mourinho felt at victory that he never even mentioned post-match the penalty he believed his side were denied in the first half when Diego Costa took a foolish tumble in the Kiev area. Perhaps he had seen the replays in the interim and decided this was one argument even he was not about to try to win.
Running into the Dynamo area, Costa had gone down of his own volition in injury time at the end of the first half. There was a hand across him from Dragovic but the fall that Costa took came a couple of beats later. To articulate his disapproval Mourinho essayed his famous maniacal laugh.
Costa had been put through by Fabregas’ ball after a fine challenge in the centre of the pitch by Nemanja Matic, restored to the team after being dropped for the Liverpool game. Taking the ball away from the defender Yevhen Khacheridi, Costa did not have the acceleration to make the time and space for a shot. Then Dragovic brushed the Chelsea striker and, with the chance of a shot receding, Costa decided to go for the penalty.
The outrage on the Chelsea bench at the decision by Czech referee Pavel Kralovec was predictable. The players noticed it too and John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta took it upon themselves to argue with the official a few minutes later when the half ended. But the referee had called it right.
For much of the half, Chelsea had been on top without ever creating the chances that would have allowed them to put Dynamo away once and for all. Their goal was put into his own net by Dragovic, diving at the near post where he misjudged Willian’s cross and headed it past his goalkeeper Shovkovskiy.
Having taken the lead Chelsea found themselves on the back foot at the start of the second half when Dynamo at last tried to attack. Three minutes into the new half and there was a moment that felt critical when Kurt Zouma chased Artem Kravets back towards goal and by virtue of his sheer speed and strength was able to get a foot to the ball and edge it away.
It was a fine, clean tackle, the kind in which there is no margin for error and once again the Czech official called it right. No penalty. No protests from Chelsea this time. But Kiev were back in the game. There was a call for handball against Ramires when Derlis Gonzalez hit a shot that struck the Brazilian in the Chelsea area. The substitute Junior Moraes forced a good save out of Begovic. Chelsea had forgotten that they were supposed to be in charge.
Mourinho’s side missed chances of their own. First a weak header from Willian from the cross of Costa. Then came a terrible miss from Zouma who did not expect Willian’s free-kick from the right to reach him and struck it wide with his ankle from four yards out.
You could see the doubt in Chelsea and the Dynamo goal was a prime combination of silly mistakes. There was a bad header from Terry that conceded the corner. Then a misunderstanding between Matic and Begovic which meant that the former’s header took the ball away from his goalkeeper’s attempted punch. At the back post Dragovic had time for a touch and a volley that clipped substitute Denys Garmash on the way in.
On the touchline, Mourinho scowled and sent on Hazard and Pedro. Willian’s goal gave them the win they deserved but whether Chelsea are still up to the scale of the task when it comes to rescuing their season is a question that will not be answered in one night alone.
=====================
Guardian:
Willian’s stunning free-kick clinches victory for Chelsea against Dynamo Kyiv
Chelsea 2 - 1 Dynamo Kyiv
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
This was a scrappy success, the product of a performance that was unconvincing for long periods and gripped by spasms of tension. But for a Chelsea team who have found ever more ridiculous ways to defeat themselves in recent weeks, it was still a victory to be cherished and one that was ultimately earned by their most consistent performer of a spluttering campaign.
Only Willian has offered the side regular forward drive of late. The Brazilian, whose position had been seriously threatened by Pedro’s arrival from Barcelona at the end of the transfer window, has provided much-needed energy and invention, bite and reward, amid so much lethargy. The hosts had been desperate, their domestic traumas threatening to pursue them into European competition, when Serhiy Rybalka clipped Eden Hazard to concede a free-kick seven minutes from time.
The ball was placed around 25 yards from goal, the anxious majority in the arena holding their collective breath. Up stepped the former Shakhtar Donetsk forward to whip the ball over the defensive wall, the shot a delicious blend of power and placement, with Oleksandr Shovkovskiy able to offer only a despairing dive as the ball careered into the top corner. José Mourinho, hands sunk deep into his coat pockets, was unmoved in his technical area as the hush gave way to bedlam all around. Inside, he must have been screaming.
The sense of relief was palpable. Chelsea have craved something to celebrate for weeks as their Premier League title defence has unravelled and their defence of the Capital One Cup, albeit hardly a priority, petered out on penalties on a Tuesday night in Stoke. At least their destiny in this competition is still very much in their own hands as they nestle behind Porto in Group G, with the Portuguese side still to visit Stamford Bridge. More significantly, they have responded to a setback. Dynamo, rugged and awkward opponents, had eroded the hosts’ early dominance and, steadily, drained their belief. They had not achieved that with quite the same pizzazz as Southampton and Liverpool here over the past five weeks but, even so, they had threatened to pilfer an equaliser long before they actually did.
Kurt Zouma had done wonderfully well to nick the ball from Artem Kravets on the stretch as the striker bore down on goal even before Denys Garmash and Júnior Moraes injected urgency into the visitors’ ranks. The Brazilian striker forced Asmir Begovic into a fine save as the pressure mounted. Indecision duly gripped as John Terry hesitated and the goalkeeper panicked at his nodded backpass, the ball squirming from his grip and behind for a needless corner. Mourinho skulked back to his dugout hiding his eyes, sensing the inevitability of it all. Nemanja Matic headed the resultant delivery from Begovic’s hands and the ball flew to the Dynamo centre-half Aleksandar Dragovic at the far post, who scored on the volley.
It would have been easy for Chelsea to shrink thereafter but, for once of late, their response was emphatic. It helped that Mourinho could fling on Hazard and Pedro to offer late impetus, though it was still Willian’s brilliance which claimed the points. “It was an unbelievable goal which many players deserved, because they’ve put in good performances, but he deserved more than anyone,” said the manager. “Everyone worked hard, but it is fair to pick out Willian because of his work-rate, quality on the ball, participation in the first goal and quality of the second.” It had been Willian’s fizzed cross, 11 minutes before the break, which Dragovic had nodded inadvertently inside Shovkovskiy’s near post to earn the hosts their initial lead.
That goal had actually been born of some rare good fortune, Begovic’s scuffed clearance having found Baba Rahman down the left with the full-back’s centre, intended for Diego Costa, was overhit for Willian to collect and tease some space from Vitorino Antunes. Chelsea probably merited a break or two, even if their complaints over a rejected penalty claim by Costa in first-half stoppage time were far from justified. The tumble was too eager, the connection too vague, with Mourinho’s reaction too familiar. He was still smiling manically in resigned disbelief when the whistle sounded, with Costa and Terry making clear their disgust to the Czech referee.
In the end that did not matter, with this respite of sorts. Mourinho had been supported here by his family, his wife Matilde, son José Jr and daughter Matilde, who was celebrating her birthday, sitting a few rows behind the dugouts. “On the day she was born I had a match and wasn’t there, so at least I could look back on the day she was 19 and see her there,” Mourinho said, though this occasion had actually turned into a public show of support from Chelsea’s fans. The manager’s name was chorused throughout, the chant echoing around the arena as if on a permanent loop, with the Portuguese allowing his emotion to show in response. The owner, Roman Abramovich, was absent, but he will be aware his manager retains the backing of the masses. Both must hope this is the start of the recovery.
===========================
Mail:
Chelsea 2-1 Dynamo Kiev: Willian scores stunning free-kick to rescue crucial Champions League victory for Jose Mourinho's side after Aleksandar Dragovic had scored at both ends
By MARTIN SAMUEL FOR THE DAILY MAIL
He did not just win the game, he may even have preserved Mourinho as Chelsea's manager. It is the Champions League that invariably does for the man in the tracksuit at this club. Roberto Di Matteo, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Mourinho the first time, all went because Roman Abramovich feared failure in Europe's biggest tournament.
So when Dynamo Kiev equalised with 12 minutes remaining, Mourinho's race looked close to run. He may have staggered into the international break, but maybe not through it. Now, he will hope Chelsea have braved the worst.
They could qualify for the last 16 with a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv later this month. More importantly, they finally have a victory of character on which to build, a springboard. It was not a pleasant occasion for Chelsea — but it was, ultimately, a positive one.
Austria international Dragovic is left dejected on the Stamford Bridge turf after turning the ball into his own net during the first half
There were seven minutes remaining when Willian stood over a free-kick, 28 yards from goal on the left. Mourinho was in dice-throwing mode by then. Having dropped Eden Hazard from the starting line-up, he introduced him from the bench in a desperate attempt to conjure a revival.
Few were optimistic. This is a team, and a manager, desperately short of magic dust right now. Then Hazard drew the fateful foul. Willian stepped up. He curled the ball up and over the wall and past goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy. It may one day be viewed as a turning point. At least someone in the dressing-room still loves the boss.
Yet it was heart-stoppingly close. Throughout Chelsea's dismal season, one man who has emerged blameless is goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Crisis has a way of creating collateral damage, however, and on Wednesday night catastrophe claimed him.
In one minute of turmoil, Begovic piled error upon error. There were 12 minutes remaining and Kiev were growing ever more threatening when he cracked. John Terry headed the ball gently back into his hands, and he spilled it for a corner. Then, when the ball came in, he collided with Nemanja Matic, allowing it to run to Kiev centre half Aleksandar Dragovic, who lashed the ball into the unguarded net.
Chelsea boss Mourinho reacts in disbelief after seeing his side denied what he believed to be a clear penalty in first-half added time
Yet all will be forgotten, thanks to Willian. Chelsea are still in recovery, of course, and Saturday's opponents, Stoke, will have seen how vulnerable they still look under pressure, but there is a reserve of spirit for Mourinho to draw on, at last.
Players here were beginning to find a familiar level, in defence at least. Terry was good. Kurt Zouma solid, with one outstanding tackle to thwart Artem Kravets on goal. Baba Rahman provided quick thinking and good attacking impetus. Cesar Azpilicueta was his usual seven out of 10.
The bigger worry was in front of goal. At the opposite end, this was often a nervy, unconvincing display. Chelsea were the better team, but never safe; in charge, but not in control. They had some good chances but lacked the certainty, the killer instinct of old. This is a team that is being challenged in ways it never expected. The players toil and sweat to the game's conclusion. When Dynamo Kiev attacked there was a feeling of dread, as if disaster could strike at any moment, and Chelsea never looked capable of taking the game away from them completely.
It was a similar contest to Manchester United's win over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday. Chelsea saw lots of the ball but forced few saves from Shovkovskiy. The best came from a shot by Oscar after 65 minutes, brilliant and one-handed. It was a rare strike on target. Even Chelsea's first goal came courtesy of an opponent.
Mourinho at least had the good grace to look a tad sheepish as the fans sang his name that time. It was hardly a move off the training ground, Dragovic succeeding where Chelsea's forwards failed in the first-half. Here, at last, was a player willing to have a go in front of goal. A pity it was his own net that was the target.
The impressive Rahman had switched the play, left to right, to find Willian on an overlap. His cross was dangerously placed but to no one in particular, although Dragovic did not know that. Fearing a Chelsea forward breathing down his neck, he dived and diverted his header past Shovkovskiy.
Until that point it was a familiar tale. Plenty of possession, plenty of pressure, but an absence of quality in the area that matters most. Mourinho looked as frustrated as the locals at times. He turned to his coaches, bemoaning the absence of a striker at a vital moment, or a poor final ball.
Chelsea with their dander up would have had this game closed out by half-time, but it is a different team this season, and woefully short of confidence. Diego Costa, never averse to beating up a centre half, looks like a bully who has received an unexpected slap. He has lost that swagger, the willingness to risk a miss. At no time was this more apparent than the penalty incident in first-half injury time.
Put clear by Cesc Fabregas, Costa got the advantage over two chasing Kiev defenders but seemed strangely reluctant to shoot. Inwardly, Stamford Bridge pleaded, but Costa wanted more guarantees. The penalty. Feeling the merest touch from Dragovic, he threw himself forward, theatrically. This final exaggeration lost the case. Referee Pavel Kralovec rightly waved play on, much to Costa and Mourinho's consternation. Terry was still pleading fruitlessly when the whistle blew for half-time. He will regret that when he sees the replay. The contact was insufficient to justify a fall. Costa should have shot. Instead of more histrionics or another declaration of war on official incompetence, Mourinho should ask the player about his reluctance.
It wasn't the only incident of its type. Oscar and Fabregas got into good positions without taking the initiative and it made for a hugely tense evening. Chelsea are not in the sort of form that affords comfort in a slender lead.
On the bench, Mourinho took huge regular swigs from a water bottle and scowled. It is Chelsea, his Chelsea, but not as he knows them. Willian's goal was the lone flicker of recognition. It was not much, but it will have to do for now.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic6, Azpilicueta 6.5, Zouma 6, Terry 6.5, Rahman 7.5, Ramires 6.5, Matic 7, Willian 8 (Cahill 92), Fabregas 6.5 (Hazard 79), Oscar 7.5 (Pedro 79), Costa 6.5
Subs not used: Blackman, Kenedy, Remy, Loftus-Cheek
Goals: Dragovic OG 34, Willian 83
Dynamo Kiev: Shovkovskiy 7, Vida 6.5, Khacheridi 6.5, Dragovic 6, Antunes 6, Sydorchuk 6 (Garmash 45mins, 5.5), Rybalka 6, Yarmolenko 6.5, Buyalsky 6.5, Gonzalez 5.5, Kravets 6 (Junior Moraes 56mins, 6)
Subs not used: Rybka, Veloso, Petrovic, Morozyuk, Gusev
Goals: Dragovic 77
Booked: Gonzalez, Antunes, Buyalsky
MOTM: Willian
Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic)
*Ratings by Bob Treasure at Stamford Bridge
REMAINING FIXTURES
Chelsea
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Chelsea, November 24
Chelsea vs Porto, December 9
Dynamo Kiev
Porto vs Dynamo Kiev, November 24
Dynamo Kiev vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv, December 9
===============
Mirror:
Chelsea 2-1 Dynamo Kiev: 5 things we learned as Willian free-kick snatches victory for Mourinho's men
DARRENLEWIS
The midfielder curled home an unstoppable free-kick late on to provide under-fire Mourinho with some much-needed respite
Willian was the hero for Chelsea as they secured a much-needed victory against Dynamo Kiev.
The Blues have been in dismal form domestically, with the pressure firmly on boss Jose Mourinho.
An own-goal from Aleksandar Dragovic gave Chelsea the lead at Stamford Bridge before the Kiev defender made amends late on.
However, Chelsea snatched all three points when Willian curled home an unstoppable free-kick in the closing stages.
Here are five things we learned.
Chelsea fans want Jose to stay
The Special One’s name rang out repeatedly during the first half, before and after the Blues took the lead.
Each time it was started in the Matthew Harding stand.
Each time Mourinho acknowledged the support with a shy wave.
It was a clear message from the fans to Roman Abramovich that they still believe they have the best man for the job in place.
Matic returning to form
He snapped into tackles. He took up good positions.
He appeared sharp, focused and the Serbian in this match was much more like the superb defensive shield he was last season.
Try as they might, Kiev could not build any momentum in midfield because Matic was there to stop them.
His resurgence will be crucial if Chelsea are to start climbing the Premier League table.
Player DIDN'T look unwilling to do it for Mourinho
John Terry assured us beforehand that the claims were “ridiculous” and both he and his team-mates were as good as their word.
They were organised, industrious, attacked on either side through Willian and Oscar and - when Kiev staged their second-half rally - held firm.
Zouma’s recovery tackle on forward Artem Cravats as he bore down on goal four minutes after the break was excellent and Matic in midfield was more like the Matic we know and love.
Willian holds his head high
His form has been constant. He made things happen here. And he can be proud once again of his performance.
It was from his sizzling low ball in from the right during the first half that Aleksandar Dragovic headed into his own net.
Zouma should have scored on the hour at the back post from his free kick.
Willlian has scored four goals this season and while the form of others has dipped he has remained consistent.
Costa still not quite at it
The Spain striker should have had a penalty (even though he made a meal of it). But he still looks a yard short.
There were two occasions on which he should have made more of the opportunities he had.
First when he was too slow to reach a ball into the box, then when he did get the ball at his feet and made a hash of it.
He did set up a sitter for Willian on 51 minutes. But he can do better. Much better.
======================
Sun:
Chelsea 2 Dynamo Kiev 1
By CHARLIE WYETT
IT seemed like Rosenborg all over again.
When Aleksandar Dragovic made amends for his spectacular first-half own goal by levelling with a deflected shot, Jose Mourinho will have suffered a flashback to a game he has tried to forget for eight years.
For almost five excruciating minutes, Mourinho was staring at an equally embarrassing repeat of the 1-1 draw with the Norwegians minnows in 2007.
It was a draw in front of his own crowd which would eventually cost the Special One his job.
As Dragovic and his team-mates celebrated with their jubilant fans — while the rest inside Stamford Bridge looked on in complete disbelief — Mourinho seemed to be stumbling out of control, edging closer to the exit door.
Then Willian did his impression of Mark Robins.
Robins’ goal in the FA Cup for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest in 1990 famously saved Alex Ferguson’s job. Yet if Mourinho is to somehow avoid what seems inevitable — and that is his dismissal — he needs even more from Willian as none of his team-mates seem able to help.
The Brazilian delivered a moment of quality rarely seen at the Bridge this season, his strike with the right boot in the 83rd minute crucial for Mourinho.
As they had done all game, the crowd continued to sing the name of their manager. At the end, Mourinho, whose wife and daughter were sat behind him, was choked with emotion.
Certainly those who are attending home games are on their manager’s side and Mourinho knows it.
A crowd’s reaction can give a boss breathing space . . . but not indefinitely.
One anonymous keyboard warrior, who is a former professional footballer, started pointing fingers and while those accusations are wide of the mark, the majority of Chelsea’s players are clearly putting it in for their manager.
But they are still not playing well enough.
The trip to Stoke this weekend remains crucial to Mourinho’s future.
If he is to gain a stay of execution and get to the international break with his job still intact, he must hope some of Willian’s team-mates can stop suffering an identity crisis.
They need to remember that not long ago they were the champions of England. On current form, they could win the Ukrainian League but not a lot else.
Diego Costa looks a shell of a man up front but Chelsea simply do not have any other decent strikers.
Eden Hazard, who was once again dropped to the bench, seems to have a mind on an end-of-season flight to Spain. He also needs to pull his finger out.
You have to wonder how many of them will fancy a Saturday evening in the Potteries.
When the going is good, Chelsea look fine. But when things start getting bumpy, this team seems more than willing to fall apart — and this is the problem which Mourinho must somehow solve.
The first big cheer of the night came when the scoreboard flashed up that Robert Lewandowski had opened the scoring for Bayern Munich against Arsenal.
Chelsea supporters, though, surely had more pressing issues to worry about.
After not getting much luck against Liverpool in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat, Mourinho did receive some early fortune.
It started with a poor kick from Asmir Begovic, which he accidentally sent along the ground but he breathed a sigh of relief when it fell to Baba Rahman, who was making only his fifth start for the club.
The left-back’s long, crossfield pass was picked up by Willian and he danced past left-back Vitorino Antunes before sending a cross towards Costa.
But before the ball even reached the Spain striker, Dragovic clumsily attempted to head clear only to end up scoring a spectacular own goal.
Costa was adamant he should have been awarded a first-half penalty but made a meal of a challenge from Yevhen Khacheridi.
The Blues striker should have stayed on his feet and scored from what was a terrific position.
So dominant in the first half, Chelsea were a bag of nerves after the break.
Dynamo eventually scored a goal they deserved although it was thanks to a string of defensive cock-ups.
The initial mix-up came when John Terry saw Begovic spill the ball for a corner and from Andriy Yarmolenko’s flag kick, the Chelsea keeper went to punch the ball clear but Nemanja Matic got in his way.
It fell to Dragovic, who should have been marked by Terry as the pair were tangling a few seconds earlier. Dragovic’s shot was then deflected off Denys Garmash and into the net. But at least Chelsea showed some character.
With seven minutes remaining, Willian scored a terrific free-kick, curling over the wall into the top left corner.
But Mourinho’s problem is that his next few opponents will generally be better than Kiev.
After, asked about the fantastic reaction from the crowd, he said: “It was quite unbelievable what they tried to say. They said, ‘We want you here’ — and it was fantastic.”
Yet the most important issue is whether Roman Abramovich still wants him.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
SUN STAR MAN — Willian (Chelsea)
CHELSEA: Begovic 5, Azpilicueta 6, Zouma 5, Terry 8, Baba 7, Ramires 7, Matic 7, Willian 8 (Cahill 90, 5), Fabregas 7 (Pedro 79, 5), Oscar 6 (Hazard 79, 5), Costa 7. Subs not used: Blackman, Kenedy, Remy, Loftus-Cheek.
D KIEV: Shovkovskiy 6, Vida 6, Khacheridi 6, Dragovic 7, Antunes 5, Sydorchuk 6 (Garmash 46, 5), Rybalka 7, Yarmolenko 6, Buyalsky 5, Gonzalez 5, Kravets 5 (Junior Moraes 56, 5). Subs not used: Rybka, Veloso, Petrovic, Morozyuk, Gusev. Booked: Gonzalez, Antunes, Buyalsky.
=======================
Express:
Chelsea 2 - Dynamo Kiev 1: Willian saves Jose Mourinho's blushes with stunning free-kick
JOSE MOURINHO should this morning get down and kiss Willian’s brilliant Brazilian boots.
By TONY BANKS
Because the former Shakhtar Donetsk player last night quite probably saved his manager’s Chelsea career.
Mourinho was staring another bitter disappointment in the face at Stamford Bridge, his side having thrown yet another lead away, when Willian came to the rescue with seven minutes left.
He curled in a glorious free-kick to give Chelsea probably the most precious win of this troubled, desperate season – and how his team, and his manager, needed it.
They had taken the lead when Aleksandar Dragovic headed Willian’s cross into his own net in the first half. But the nerves set in, and when goalkeeper Asmir Begovic flapped at a corner, Dragovic levelled. Thankfully for Mourinho, Willian, by far Chelsea’s best player this season, was there to save the day with that dramatic late winner.
Once again Mourinho showed how ruthless he can be as Eden Hazard, woeful in the defeat against Liverpool on Saturday, was dropped to the bench. The manager made two more changes as Gary Cahill and John Obi Mikel were axed and in came Baba Rahman, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas.
Fabregas had been the man who protested on Tuesday that it was not he who issued the now infamous “I’d rather lose than win for him” anonymous quote aired by the BBC. But the Spaniard was, like Matic, due a big performance.
As the pressure continues to mount on Jose Mourinho, Chelsea are preparing for the second leg of their Champions League group stage clash against Dynamo Kiev
The goalless draw in Kiev a fortnight ago had been one of Chelsea’s better performances of late, but such is the nature of this dismal campaign that it was followed by three defeats and yet more controversy.
Skipper John Terry had given a rousing rallying call of support for Mourinho before the game, and Chelsea, with one win in eight games before kick-off, certainly needed it.
Defeat was unthinkable. So to say there was tension in the air and particularly on the increasingly tetchy Special One’s shoulders last night was putting it mildly. Never in his career had Mourinho had a run like this. Add to that a constant saga of troubles with the FA, rumours of player revolts, plus the ex-club doctor suing him, and it had not been a good week.
The fans, though, had stayed loyal to Mourinho through it all, and in the match programme last night he thanked them and promised that together they could pull through.
Chelsea started full of intent, as Ramires saw his deflected shot saved, and then Oscar went close. Sergei Rebrov’s side were defending in numbers, but again it was the Brazilians – Willian, Ramires and Oscar – who were leading the way.
Chelsea had started well against Liverpool before it all went pear-shaped, but they look more focused, more determined, last night.
Diego Costa shot over when he should have done better, but the breakthrough came as Willian beat his man and crossed from the right, and Dragovic dived to head the ball past a helpless Oleksandr Shovkovskiy. It was the sort of luck Chelsea have not had lately, and it was welcome.
Remarkably, at that stage it made own-goals – all four of them – level top-scorer with Willian this season. That was how bad it had been.
The crowd, though, chanted Mourinho’s name, and he waved coolly back. Then Fabregas put Costa away down the middle and he fell under Dragovic’s tackle – but referee Pavel Kralovic waved away Chelsea’s appeals. Mourinho guffawed in amazement but replays showed minimal contact.
In the second period the Ukrainians began to put pressure on Chelsea. Begovic had to pull off a fine save from substitute Junior Moraes as nerves jangled all around Stamford Bridge.
Kurt Zouma amazingly missed the target from six yards out and then Willian shot across the face of goal. It was nervy though, because Chelsea have not been good at holding on to leads this season. And that showed in the 77th minute.
From another corner Begovic, who had looked increasingly shaky, came and missed completely, and the ball came out to Dragovic, who made up for his first-half blunder by rifling home.
But then Willian – yet again – came to the rescue by curling a glorious free-kick home from 25 yards. How they love him round SW6 and how grateful Mourinho is to him this morning.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Terry, Rahman; Ramires, Matic; Willian (Cahill 90), Fabregas (Hazard 79), Oscar (Pedro 79); Costa. Goals: Dragovic og 34, Willian 83.
Kiev (4-2-3-1): Shovkovskiy; Vida, Khacheridi, Dragovic, Antunes; Sydorchuk (Garmash 45), Rybalka; Yarmolenko, Buyalsky, Gonzalez; Kravets (Moraes 56). Booked: Gonzalez, Antunes, Buyalsky. Goal: Dragovic 77.
Referee: P?Kralovec (Czech Republic).
================
Star:
Chelsea 2 Dynamo Kiev 1: Mourinho's luck turns as Willian scores crucial winner
JOSE MOURINHO needs all the luck he can get right now and boy did he get lucky tonight.
By Paul Brown
Aleksandar Dragovic’s calamitous own goal gave the struggling Blues the perfect start but then he scored at the other end too.
His equaliser came after a truly terrible couple of errors from Asmir Begovic, and as so often this season, Chelsea looked ready to collapse.
But five minutes later, their best player came riding to the rescue.
Willian has been worth his weight in gold for Mourinho this season and never more so than last night.
His dipping free kick got Chelsea out of jail and hugely eased the pressure on his manager.
It was top scorer Willian’s fifth goal of the season and it earned the Blues their first win in five games.
It also left Chelsea second in Group G, just three points behind leaders Porto and two ahead of Dynamo.
Mourinho gambled by starting without Eden Hazard, recalling Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and Baba Rahman. And it paid off - just.
The fans were with the manager before kick-off, belting his name out around the ground, and they stuck with him to the end. Will Roman Abramovich?
Chelsea had to wait 34 minutes for the breakthrough. Willian, their best player for weeks now, swung in a cross from the right and Dragovic scored a diving header Diego Costa would have been proud of - into his own net.
Costa thought he had won a penalty before the half was over, but Czech referee Pavel Kralovec was well placed and waved away the appeals.
Mourinho, as usual, could not believe it. Smiling ruefully, he stalked his technical area waving his finger in a circle as if to suggest the official had a screw loose.
Replays showed Dragovic made contact with the Spain striker, giving Costa the slightest of shoves as he bore down on goal. But it would have been a soft penalty.
That didn’t stop Costa trying to confront the referee as the half time whistle went, with John Terry wisely dragging him away.
Kurt Zouma then saved Chelsea’s bacon at the start of the second half. Artem Kravets had a three-yard head start when he raced off one on one with Begovic.
But Zouma somehow made up the ground before launching himself into a last-ditch tackle so perfectly timed it was a real thing of beauty.
Willian then went close at the other end when Costa stopped, turned and chipped the ball into the danger zone, but the Brazilian could not get enough on the header and Shovkovskiy held on.
Suddenly there was tension again, with Nemanja Matic, another player recalled after the defeat to Liverpool, slicing a routine clearance out for a corner. It could have gone anywhere.
Chelsea struggled to clear the resulting centre, which fell nicely for Derlis Gonzalez to fire goalwards. Kiev appealed for handball when it hit Ramires, but replays showed it struck his chest.
Begovic was then called into action when Junior Moraes, who had just come on for Kiev, whipped in a dipping volley. The Blues keeper was equal to it.
Zouma should have made it two from a Willian free kick but somehow managed to fire wide with the goal at his mercy, before Oscar drew a flying save from Shovkovskiy.
But Domagoj Vida went close with a header for Kiev as nerves jangled and then disaster struck.
Terry failed to deal with a loose ball, and when he finally headed it back to Begovic, the Chelsea keeper inexplicably dropped it behind for a corner.
Then he compounded his error by flapping at the resulting centre, and Dragovic licked his lips before smashing it in.
But there was still time for Willian to win it with a spectacular free kick which Shovkovskiy got his fingertips to but couldn’t keep out. Willian deserved his standing ovation at the end.
