Jose Mourinho endured a frustrating reunion at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as his new club, Benfica, fell 1-0 to Chelsea in the Champions League.
The decisive moment came midway through the first half when Richard Rios, under pressure, inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net after Alejandro Garnacho stretched to meet a looping cross from Pedro Neto.
Despite Chelsea being reduced to ten men in stoppage time when substitute Joao Pedro collected two late bookings, Enzo Maresca’s side clung on to claim their first victory of this season’s competition.
The win offered some relief after their return to Europe’s elite tournament had begun with a defeat to Bayern Munich earlier in the month.
For Mourinho, who famously guided Chelsea to three Premier League titles across two spells, the occasion was bittersweet.
Having only taken charge of Benfica less than a fortnight ago, following the dismissal of Bruno Lage after an opening loss to Qarabag, the Portuguese coach was left searching for his first continental breakthrough with the Lisbon giants.
