Chelsea captain John Terry was delighted after the Blues took all three points from the away game against Sporting Lisbon.
By full-time, the visitors had enjoyed 54% of possession with more than 15 goal attempts and needed Nemanja Matic to keep his cool on the far post to give them the lead on the 34th minute of the game.
"They're a good side but it's been about 10 years since they've been in the Champions League so it was a big night for them," Terry told Sky Sports.
"We had so many chances, it was one of those nights where it just didn't go in, but thankfully 'Mati' came up with a good header.
"We lost our first game last year and came back to win the group - so that was in our minds; that we had to win."