Chelsea vs Benfica Review
Chelsea secured a 1-0 victory over Benfica in José Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge during the UEFA Champions League, extending Mourinho’s winless streak against the Blues as a manager to eight matches (3 draws, 5 losses). Mourinho, who remained unbeaten as Benfica’s coach before this game (2 wins, 1 draw), saw his team start strongly, with Dodi Lukébakio’s low shot forcing Robert Sánchez to make a save that deflected onto the post. Chelsea eventually responded to Benfica’s early pressure and nearly took the lead when Pedro Neto’s bouncing shot narrowly missed the goalpost.
Unfazed, the winger quickly delivered a whipped cross to the far post, where Alejandro Garnacho redirected the ball across the goal, causing Richard Ríos to accidentally deflect it into his own net. Once settled into the game, the Blues almost extended their lead before halftime, as makeshift striker Tyrique George connected with a pass from Marc Cucurella but failed to beat Anatoliy Trubin with only his second touch inside the box so far.
Benfica began the second half much like the first, posing threats to the home team on several occasions, with Fredrik Aursnes finding himself in promising positions, only to be ruled offside both times. Clear scoring opportunities were scarce, which favored the Blues as they kept the visitors at bay entering the final 20 minutes. Despite Mourinho making three substitutions to try to change the game, Chelsea came closest to scoring a second goal when substitute Estêvão forced Trubin into a strong save with a header.
Following red cards in consecutive Premier League matches, Chelsea were again down to 10 players here after João Pedro received a second yellow card during stoppage time. Despite this, the Blues managed to hold on and secure their first victory in this season’s Champions League campaign, extending their flawless record against Benfica to five wins from five encounters. On the other hand, the Portuguese club has failed to win in their last nine matches against English teams (drawing three and losing six) and still have no points in the group stage after their disappointing defeat to Qarabağ on the opening matchday.
