Champions League: Jose Mourinho praises Chelsea performance in win over Sporting Lisbon

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was pleased with his side's performance in their away 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League Group G, despite a host of missed scoring chances.

The Premier League leaders dominated proceedings in Portugal but spurned a number of clear-cut opportunities to kill the game after Nemanja Matic headed them into the lead.

The win helped Mourinho's side move top of the group with four points after they only managed a draw in their opening at Stamford Bridge against Schalke.

Despite Chelsea’s profligacy in front of goal, the Portuguese boss praised the team’s overall performance and was delighted with the team’s shape and defending.

"Three points is three points," he said. "We lost two at home and now we have picked up three away from home.

"Chelsea are a young team who sometimes show a lack of efficiency in front of goal. Sporting lost but they have arguments that they can qualify.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

"We didn't kill the game off but we played very well, very compact and we had complete dominance in defence. Now it is time to rest and then we will think about Arsenal."

Chelsea face back-to-back games against Maribor in Europe and Mourinho knows if his team can get positive results in those games they will be in the driving seat to win the group.

"Now we can control our destiny," he said. "Now we play two matches against Maribor. But, attention because Maribor has two points.

"They didn't lose in Germany and they didn't lose against Sporting so Maribor is a team we must give attention to.

"But the reality is now we play at Stamford Bridge and if we manage to beat them we will have seven points. Seven points is not enough but that will give us some stability."