Thomas Tuchel admitted Chelsea were ‘desperate’ to win against Leeds after their recent slump.
A late Jorginho penalty secured a 3-2 win and they did not lose ground on Premier League leaders Manchester City and Liverpool after defeat to West Ham last week saw them slip from first to third.
Joe Gelhardt’s 83rd-minute strike looked like causing Chelsea to drop more points after another Jorginho penalty had put Chelsea 2-1 ahead.
Tuchel admitted the late winner was vital to his side’s confidence.
"We needed this win desperately for the mood, the belief, for the atmosphere,” he said. “I am very happy how we got it, I’m very happy how we played, and we have two days off now and it’s a good feeling for the boys."
Raphinha had put Leeds ahead with a first half penalty, but Mason Mount equalised before the break.
Tuchel added: "I was confident that we maybe get one more chance and turn things around because we played very strongly in the first half and we showed again a good reaction after the equaliser.
"In between, we played maybe a little bit with the fear that we had something to lose, and we absolutely didn’t want to lose what we worked so hard for. So yeah, there is always a bit of luck, of course, when you get such a late goal. But we’ve conceded two of them so maybe it was our turn.”
Tuchel also hailed Antonio Rudiger after the defender won both second-half penalties.
He said: “He is always important, he did not accept to lose today and we can agree on this one that it was necessary.
“We expected today that it would be an intense game for Toni and for Azpi because of the very unique style of defending, we expected to have spaces where we could drive in.
“They made a lot of pressure, they constantly had to have their focus on defending and also attacking. They let us drive in these spaces but it was good, he did not accept to lose and we were lucky of course to have these last penalties so late. But we did everything to turn it around.”
