Juan Mata has hailed his side's belief following their 2-1 triumph over Manchester City on Monday night.

The Blues fell behind to an early Mario Balotelli goal, but struck back to secure all three points against Roberto Mancini's unbeaten side and extend their win streak to three games.

"We kept fighting, kept struggling and we managed to turn the game around against a team who had not lost a game all season," he told the club's official website. "That gives us a lot of belief.

"The most important thing in football, in any sport, is confidence. A few days ago we didn't have as much confidence as we do now, and that can only be attributed to results.

"We have won three vital games, against Newcastle, Valencia and now this one, which has broken the negative run we were in and now we can hopefully start a good sequence to keep on rising up the table."

Chelsea are currently in third place in the Premier League, seven points adrift of Manchester City.