Chelsea 4 Stoke City 2: Willian breaks down in tears after scoring following death of his mum
Brazilian's mother tragically passed away in October following a two-year battle with cancer
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WILLIAN broke down in tears after scoring Chelsea's third against Stoke to seal a record 13th straight win.
The Brazilian's mum died in October following a brave two-year battle with cancer.
And he clearly struggled to deal with his emotions after helping the Blues continue their superb run.
After the game, boss Antonio Conte hailed Willian for his mental toughness in coming through a tricky period personally.
Willian posted a touching tribute on Instagram after his mother's tragic death.
The Brazilian missed the Blues’ clash against Leicester in October.
Willian took to social media, where he wrote a heartfelt poem in his native Portuguese, praising her and expressing how much he will miss her.
The post received over 90,000 likes in just seven hours with fans sending tributes and messages of condolence in their thousands.
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Willian's former club Corinthians tweeted the player their condolences.
Dona Zeze died of cancer in hospital after a two-year battle.
Willian scored Brazil’s second goal in their 2-0 victory against Venezuelawhile his mum was still ill and was clearly emotional.
After scoring, he said: “I am very happy with the goal.
“I also scored against Venezuela in the home match. Today, I was happy to score here.
“The goal today is for my mother, who is in hospital, for my wife, for my daughters and for all the families who cheers for me."
Dona Zeze battled the debilitating disease for over two years and underwent five operations.
Willian was in Canada, on a stopover flight back to London, when he received the news.
The 28-year-old immediately returned to Brazil.
Just a month earlier, Willian had posted an picture on Instagram of himself at his mother’s bedside.