Chelsea's Kiev Display Puts Talk of a Jose Mourinho Mutiny to Bed

If Jose Mourinho's Chelsea players have lost faith in his tactics and approach, they did a poor job of showing it in Kiev on Tuesday night.

It could be that this group of Chelsea players have become that bad at everything that they can't even get the manager sacked these days.

Or maybe, just maybe, they've been behind Mourinho all the way, despite some differences.

We didn't see the team which ran away with the Premier League title last season. Nor will Chelsea's Kiev display convince the doubters they can go on to scoop Europe's top club prize this term.

What we witnessed instead was a group of talented individuals finally playing collectively again.

A goalless draw against Dynamo Kiev may not say much on paper, yet the reality is far different.

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A few weeks ago, Mourinho's men were throwing away a similar game to this against Porto. They had their chances to win and didn't take them, but then, at the back, they let themselves down further still to suffer a 2-1 loss.

Since that time, Mourinho has put the international break to good use. He's reassessed his approach, reinstalling the fundamentals in his players that have delivered success time and again throughout his career.

It started with a rigid defensive display against Aston Villa on Saturday that was replicated in Kiev's Olympic Stadium.

It's a venue that has been the scene to some giant slayings of the past, so given their turgid displays at times this season, it wasn't beyond reasonable doubt Chelsea could be on the receiving end of another away-day defeat in Europe.

The notion is that Chelsea are there for the taking right now, only Dynamo couldn't quite make their home advantage count because of how the Premier League champions set up and grafted.

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We saw superiority in all areas from Chelsea—with or without the ball.

Nemanja Matic went some way to restoring his reputation, playing a commanding role in the heart of midfield which was the basis for Chelsea's entire display.

Chelsea asserted themselves, no longer looking punch drunk. It was almost like they actually believed their hype again.

There's still plenty more to achieve, however. They still lack that ruthless edge in the opposition third which would have seen them win this game by more than the odd goal; on the break they seem to get caught in two minds as to whether go for the jugular or proceed with caution.

It's that indecision that prevented them from exploiting the clear deficiencies in this Dynamo team. Back at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight, it may well be a different story.

Rediscovering their killer instinct should come in time. What's vital now is that Chelsea become hard to beat again, which the past few days have hinted they're on the way to achieving.

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Mourinho called for sacrifice from his players and he got that in Ukraine. Despite a victory at the weekend, his comments post-Villa were a rallying cry to his squad.

The Chelsea manager said on Saturday, per the Guardian:

"

I [have] told the players that this is not the moment to think about themselves.

This is not the moment to think about their personal situation; this is not a moment to moan; this is not a moment to try to be selfish in the approach. This is a moment for the team, just the team and nothing else.

I ask them exactly that, to look at the picture in a different way than in a normal situation where I have to make decisions to try to bring results back.

"

Eden Hazard made headlines for being dropped at the weekend. Given the subsequent fallout, it was always going to be intriguing to witness his response. Judging by Tuesday's performance, the Belgian has shown he's the sort of character Chelsea need.

Mourinho demanded the 24-year-old work harder for his team-mates, to contribute as much defensively as he does in the opposition half.

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Hazard did that against Dynamo and more. Indeed, had it not been for an exceptional Oleksandr Shovkovskiy save in the first half to tip a Hazard shot on to the post, we may well be talking about the Belgian delivering a vital win.

Instead, we got a nil-nil draw. It's a result that shows the recent progress Chelsea have made—they've only kept back-to-back clean sheets once since mid-April—but also of the continuing work they must do to salvage their campaign.

Mourinho was understandably satisfied at the final whistle, despite criticising the referee for not awarding Cesc Fabregas with a penalty after he was brought down in the first half.

"The referee was weak and naive," he told BT Sport, presumably in reference to Arsene Wenger's comments after Chelsea faced Arsenal earlier this season, and the Gunners boss wasn't reprimanded by the authorities.

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Mourinho added:

"

[...] We had a very good defensive performance against a dangerous team.

To lose this game would be really bad for us. You get into a moment in the middle of the second half where you don't score a goal and by 60, 70 minutes and you have the risk of conceding, so the pressure is coming a little bit.

[...] It was a second clean sheet in a row. Everybody was fighting for each other, everybody trying to give the tactical discipline the team needs.

"

It's the last part of Mourinho's quote that stood out. His team were on message, fighting collectively to a man, the Chelsea players delivered on the manager's mandate.

There weren't any personal agendas on display in Kiev; we didn't see a mutiny.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes