Chelsea reaching the top four is 'not an impossible mission', says Jose Mourinho

Mourinho pleased with performance despite close scoreline

Mourinho reacts during the win against Norwich City (Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho said that chasing a Champions League spot is "not an impossible mission" after seeing his Chelsea side beat Norwich City 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues may have only won by a solitary goal, Diego Costa curling in a neat effort after a quick free-kick, but they dominated possession and could have had more.

Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, both heavily criticised for poor performances this season, were back to their best as Norwich struggled to deal with the attacking threat of the Blues.

There was one first-half incident where Norwich may have won a penalty, but it wasn't a certain spot-kick and their arguments were waved away.

"We have to go game after game," Mourinho told the club website after the game. "The fourth position is not an impossible mission. To recover points to teams who are normally in the middle of the table and to catch one of the teams who will have a bit of a collapse for sure, because everybody will have one, is a possible target."

Mourinho said his team need to finish more chances to avoid feeling unde pressure late in matches.

"We didn’t deserve the heartbeat of the last four minutes," he added. "We deserved to be enjoying the last four minutes with a 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0 result, but we couldn’t. Once more the relation between how we played and the number of goals we scored wasn’t good. We should have scored three, four or five but we didn’t. We could cope with the pressure in the last five minutes because it was there, I felt it and the players felt it. We coped well with that and we got a result that we obviously needed very much.

"It’s a bit of a relief. I’m not nervous on the bench but you get a bit disappointed with the way things go. After the goal Zouma hit the bar, if he didn’t touch the ball it’s a goal. Then in the last four minutes you are there and you think that maybe we’d score in our own goal. So, yes, there is a bit of relief but fundamentally I’m happy for the players because they are working well and they deserved it."

Mourinho was also pleased Costa found the net, who had not scored since Chelsea's last win against Aston Villa on 17 October.

"I know for sure so many pundits we have were strikers and they know the feeling when you don’t score, you get heavier. For every game you don’t score you have five kilos more and the pressure is there.

"In the first half he missed two chances, the second one was a big one, so it was important for him. He’s working well, he’s a happy guy and tries everything. He’s positive. If I had to choose somebody to score the winning goal I would go with him.

"Everything is connected; when you are full of confidence you are fluent in your decisions, you choose well your movements and the number of touches, when to hold, when to keep possession. When you lose confidence you lose that. Yes he can do much better but one goal is very important."

When asked about Hazard he said: "I think everybody played well; between Eden, Pedro and Willian they had a good dynamic. Eden created chances for us which was important, and also for his confidence. Again, he’s a player who hasn’t been performing especially well and every top player who isn’t playing well feels it more than the others."