Chelsea 1 Benfica 0 - Wingers offer flashes of quality to spoil Jose Mourinho’s latest homecoming

Jose Mourinho seems to love these returns to old haunts right up to the moment the football actually starts.

This was the Portuguese’s eighth return to Stamford Bridge either side of his two stints in the home dugout, and he has still only won once — with that powerful Inter with whom he went on to win the Champions League back in 2010. He spent much of the second half here scowling at perceived injustice as Benfica, impressive for periods, fell marginally short. He was booked late on, too, for good measure.

As it is, Chelsea, reduced to 10 men with Joao Pedro sent off in stoppage time at the end after picking up two yellow cards, are up and running in this season’s competition.

They led through Richard Rios’ own goal, the midfielder inadvertently turning in Alejandro Garnacho’s low first-half cross from close range. That concession actually curtailed a period of Benfica pressure which had threatened to yield an advantage they would have merited. Robert Sanchez tipped a Dodi Lukebakio effort on to his post early on, while Rios could only poke straight at the goalkeeper after a fantastically slick foray up-field.

There was slightly more authority to the hosts once ahead — makeshift striker Tyrique George might have scored with his first touch in the Benfica penalty area, just before half-time, only for Anatoliy Trubin to save, while substitute Estevao Willian was also denied — but this was rarely comfortable.

In the absence of the injured Cole Palmer, their main threat was carried by Pedro Neto against his compatriots, with flashes contributed from Garnacho on the opposite flank.

Here Cerys Jones and Simon Johnson dissect the key talking points at Stamford Bridge.

Was Mourinho made to feel at home?

Jose Mourinho may have lost on his return to Chelsea but it was still a special evening for him at Stamford Bridge.

He will have felt in very familiar surroundings the moment he took to the dugout, the autopilot perhaps kicking in as he turned left out of the mouth of the tunnel and took his seat. With Inter, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur he had turned right to reach the away bench but, as a result of Chelsea swapping the away and home areas over when Mauricio Pochettino took over in 2023, Mourinho got to prowl the same technical area as when he was this club’s head coach all those years ago (2004-07, 2013-15).

From that vantage point he grew accustomed to not seeing his team avoid defeat. It took 78 Premier League games for an opponent to better him as Chelsea’s supremo. Back then he was expected to win, though; that was not the case here.

Chelsea fans did not get to see him until after the game kicked off. The Portuguese left his entrance as late as possible and took his seat without seeking any attention. Yet the moment he walked out to his technical area for the first time, Chelsea fans chanted his name. There were under two minutes on the clock and he acknowledged them with a wave and a kiss.

Mourinho spent most of the game in the classic pose watching the action from the sideline with his hands deep in his pockets. When Benfica fell behind against the run of play, he shouted in encouragement to those in red.

There were a few trademark scowls at a decisions going against them. But he played the rare role as a peacemaker on this ground when Benfica fans took out their ire on their former player, Enzo Fernandez, in the first half. More on that shortly.

Mourinho was more like his old self in the second half — increasingly frustrated. He was chomping away at the fourth official and appealed for a penalty to no avail as replays showed Fernandez had not handled the ball as he claimed.

His arms were held aloft even more as he chuntered even louder in disgust when another appeal for a handball in the area, this time against Reece James, was ignored. There was a booking for his protests, and even a venture on to the pitch to retrieve a stray ball as the seconds ticked down. But the evening had perhaps been summed up earlier in the second half.

Despite the game being very tight, Chelsea fans sang his name once more. That spoke volumes.

Simon Johnson

Have Chelsea’s wingers clicked?

Garnacho did well on his first Stamford Bridge start for Chelsea, enjoying the space Benfica allowed him (perhaps naively) to drill in the cross that Rios inadvertently turned home. The 21-year-old’s rapport with Marc Cucurella is also clearly developing. It was Garnacho’s most promising game in a Chelsea shirt so far — though his decision to take on an ambitious shot rather than pass early in the second half shows where he can still improve.

Neto is one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment, given his ability to play on either wing, and performed well on the right against Benfica. He was characteristically direct, helping Chelsea retaliate quickly against Benfica’s counter-attacks, and looks one of their most robust options in a testing schedule.

Even as the match drew scrappy towards the end, he continued to pose a threat, fighting off Samuel Dahl to drive to the byline and attempt a cross into the area.

Another wide option, Estevao, was trialled tonight in the No 10 role after Facundo Buonanotte’s withdrawal. The Brazilian teenager’s ball control immediately after coming on, and some lovely skill at the beginning of stoppage time, gave Stamford Bridge a taste of what he can offer in congested central areas.

With Estevao auditioning for a more central role, which would be welcome in Palmer’s absence, and Jamie Gittens still struggling to impact games, Garnacho and Neto appear a strong choice for Maresca’s winger pairing. That does not, however, solve their lack of threat in central areas without Liam Delap and Palmer — the next attacking conundrum for Maresca.

Cerys Jones

How was Fernandez received by Benfica?

Not warmly. Fernandez spent half a season with the Portuguese club, joining in July 2022 and leaving in February 2023, but they clearly felt quite the emotional attachment to him.

Their ire started before he even appeared, with the away end jeering Fernandez’s name when it was read out before the players came out to warm up. Things came to a head in the 40th minute, when Fernandez — either trying to be the bigger person, or having not read the room very well — applauded as he walked over to take a corner in front of the Benfica fans. He was met with boos and a flurry of missiles, thrown from the away section, which littered the turf.

The eventual peacemaker was Mourinho, who ventured down the touchline to reason with the visiting fans. He gestured to them to stop flinging the missiles and Fernandez eventually took the corner kick.

That arguably constituted a harsh reception for someone who made Benfica roughly £96million ($129m) in profit — not bad business for a player who made 17 league appearances in Portugal.

Cerys Jones

What did Maresca say?

On the victory: “We needed the win, the three points. We controlled the game, we scored the goal and created chances. Second half, for different reasons, we dropped (our levels). We had some players on who are not 100 per cent fit, but it was good to win. The target is to compete in the next stage but if we are able to finish in the top eight then that is good for us.”

On Joao Pedro’s red card, following on from Nicolas Jackson (twice), Robert Sanchez and Trevoh Chalobah’s dismissals in defeats: “At least we learned how to win with a red card! It was just two or three minutes. Tyrique (George) played as a No 9 tonight. We have time to think about what we must do before the Ajax game (when Joao Pedro will be suspended).

“The Newcastle and Flamengo red cards (for Jackson) were for bad action. Sanchez wasn’t for bad action, it was because he wanted to defend a goal, and the same with Chalobah. Joao didn’t even touch the player for the second one tonight but it was the action. For me, personally, it is not any problem.”

What next for Chelsea?

Saturday, October 4: Liverpool (Home), Premier League, 5.30pm UK, 12.30pm ET

(Top photo: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)

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