Willian says Chelsea confidence is back ahead of Stoke trip

Willian says Chelsea are back on the up following his late Champions League winner against Dynamo Kiev.

The Premier League champions were looking at a fifth straight game without a victory until the Brazilian's latest set-piece goal gave them a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Next up is a Saturday Night Football trip to Stoke, who last month knocked Chelsea out of the Capital One Cup on the same ground.

Jose Mourinho is banned from the Britannia as he serves a one-match stadium suspension, and his side go there with six defeats in 11 league games already this season.

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But Willian told the club website: "Confidence is coming for us and the results are coming as well.

"We have to keep going and keep fighting on the pitch. We lost some games and it's been difficult for us but we are trying to play better. We know we have to improve more and keep going in the same way."

Willian now has five goals this season, all from free-kicks, and his performance against Kiev impressed his manager, who said: "If somebody deserves the winning goal I think Willian is perfect. His performance was complete.

"He keeps improving in every area of the game. It was an evolution over three years. Absolutely phenomenal.

"What he didn't have was goals. This season, most of them have been set-pieces, but even at that level he's scoring a few goals."