Thomas Tuchel has stressed how important it was for Chelsea to enter the international break with a victory.
The Blues have slipped out of title contention following a tough festive period.
But Tuchel's side bounced back to claim a 2-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
"Now we go into a break and it was important to go into this break with a victory," Tuchel said.
"There's no doubt about it because if you don't have the results and the performances you want, there's no substitution for a win and that feeling.
"You cannot produce it artificially so we needed this but we needed also to do things better and keep on believing. The guys are very tired now because it was a long run but it was important for us.'