Ruben Loftus-Cheek said all the Chelsea players had already felt that they would get a result against Borussia Dortmund before the game on Tuesday.
Statistics suggest that during their previous six-game winless run, Chelsea were often the better team in those matches.
Their poor goalscoring form was and is still an obvious issue, but apart from that, they defended well and created enough chances to win.
What this team really needed was one win to boost the team morale, and thanks to Wesley Fofana’s header, they got that last weekend.
The impact was significant, as Loftus-Cheek pointed out, that the players were sure that they could beat even in-form Dortmund.
“We’re absolutely delighted to go through,” the midfielder told Chelsea’s official website.
“It’s funny because we spoke in the dressing room before the game and we all had a funny feeling that it was going to be a good night for us.
“I think getting a win [against Leeds] in the game before definitely helped with morale and we just felt confident coming into this one.”
Chelsea still missed two big chances in the second-leg win over Dortmund, so clearly, there is still a lot to improve in this area.
In addition to that, according to FBref, Graham Potter’s men have scored six goals below their expected goals metric (xG) — the fifth-worst in the Premier League this season.
That said, the players looked far more comfortable making risky, progressive passes in midweek, compared to when they used to play safer — arguably way too safe — just to avoid a defeat.
Potter’s tactical instructions might have played a part, but confidence likely did, too.
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