Mourinho’s return to England ends in defeat

Chelsea 1 - 0 Benfica 

A much-needed win for Chelsea as they picked up their first points of their Champions League campaign.

Author | Lauren W

Stadium | Stamford Bridge 

View from the stands

José Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge ended in disappointment as Chelsea edged past his new club Benfica with a narrow Champions League win sealed by Richard Rios’ first-half own goal. 

The affection from the home crowd was evident, with Mourinho serenaded throughout and responding with waves to both ends of the ground, but the evening turned on a moment of misfortune when the Colombian midfielder diverted Alejandro Garnacho’s driven cross beyond his own goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin.

Chelsea, however, did little to convince despite the victory. Garnacho spurned chances on his second start and teenage substitute Estevão Willian forced only a late save from Trubin, while João Pedro’s stoppage-time dismissal for a second booking made it three red cards in four matches for Enzo Maresca’s side. 

Pre match Tifo

Still, the result delivered Chelsea their first Champions League win since March 2023 and lifted the gloom of a poor run in which their only other triumph this month came against Lincoln City in the EFL Cup. It also offers Maresca some respite ahead of Saturday’s league meeting with Liverpool.

Failing to win on returns to Stamford Bridge is a recurring theme for Mourinho.

Since guiding Inter Milan to victory here in 2010 on his first return, he has now gone seven away games without success against the club where he twice enjoyed title-winning spells.

Benfica’s best chance came early in the second half when Fredrik Aursnes went close. The subsequent offside check could have been contentious, with replays suggesting the margins were extremely fine.

Mourinho’s side were disciplined and compact, and aside from the decisive own goal and a couple of loose touches from Trubin that threatened to gift Chelsea a bizarre second, they were rarely opened up. The problem came at the other end, where Benfica offered almost nothing to unsettle their hosts, much to Mourinho’s obvious irritation.

The Portuguese manager did intervene when tempers flared, urging his supporters to stop throwing objects at Enzo Fernández, but the contest itself left little else to linger in the memory.