Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has admitted that he and his teammates had to work hard for Tuesday's win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

The Blues earned a narrow 1-0 victory in Portugal last night thanks to Nemanja Matic's first-half goal.

Despite coming away from Lisbon with the three points, Courtois insists that Chelsea's win was not an easy one.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game. Our priority was to win the game and the instructions from the coach were clear in that direction," he told the club's official website.

"We had chances. It's not always as easy as it looks. The pitch was quite sandy and bouncy which makes it more difficult. Sporting had a few good moments but in general we were okay."

Chelsea are back in Premier League action on Sunday when they host London rivals Arsenal.