Chelsea would have sacked Jose Mourinho had he lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in midweek, according to reports.
The Blues claimed just four points from their opening five Premier League games prior to this weekend's 2-0 win over Arsenal.
According to The Express, club owner Roman Abramovich was thinking about dismissing the Portuguese manager if they had suffered defeat in their opening Champions League tie.
Chelsea ended up securing a comprehensive 4-0 win over the Israeli side.