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Champions League: Schalke coach Jens Keller proud after Chelsea draw

Image: Jens Keller: Schalke relieved some of the pressure with Chelsea draw

Schalke coach Jens Keller was "incredibly proud" of his team after they relieved some of the pressure on him with a battling 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Not for the first time, Keller's job has been called into question after the Royal Blues made a poor start to the season.

And it was not the first time either that his team responded with a performance and result which will keep the critics quiet, for now at least, after Klaas Jan Huntelaar cancelled out Cesc Fabregas' opener for Chelsea.

"I'm incredibly proud of my team," said Keller. "The way we played here was incredible.

"It's not easy to play like this, especially not against Chelsea, particularly when you consider the problems we had to fight with in the build-up to the game.

"But the lads stuck to the plan for 90 minutes and worked extremely well against the ball, shifting quickly and tackling aggressively, chipping away at them.

"It was really impressive the way we worked and played here.

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"Maybe Chelsea underestimated us a little but, regardless of that, my team played well and did exactly what we planned."

Keller is aware that one good result in England will not be enough to dispel the doubts over his future for a long time, though.

"We now have to bring in a bit of consistency," he added on his club's website. "Of course I hope we don't lose any more players and that one or two of our injured players come back.

"You can't perform like this permanently when you only have 12 or 13 fit players. You need to have more options."

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