Chelsea came out victorious in Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge, defeating Benfica 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League.
Mourinho, who replaced former Wolves boss Bruno Lage 12 days ago, responded by waving to both ends of the ground. But he would undoubtedly have preferred Benfica not to provide a gift to their hosts as Colombian midfielder Richard Rios could not get out of the way when Alejandro Garnacho sent Pedro Neto’s-far post cross fizzing back into the six-yard area, giving goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin no chance of keeping the ball out.
There was frustration for the Blues though as well, with subsitute Joao Pedro sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time for a second yellow card.
It was the Blues’ third red card in four games, but didn’t affect the outcome as they saw out the game to get them off the mark in this season’s UCL campaign and maintain their perfect record against Benfica, having now won each of their five meetings.
It also marks Chelsea’s first victory in the Champions League since March 2023.
