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Preview: Chelsea welcome back a hero as Benfica visit in the Champions League

Preview: Chelsea welcome back a hero as Benfica visit in the Champions League

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It’s past vs present at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as now Benfica boss José Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge, hoping to get one up on his former side. Considering Chelsea’s recent form, it could have come at a better time or the legendary Portuguese coach.

By Alex Roberts

Enzo Maresca’s side suffered a second consecutive Premier League defeat with a 3-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday, and just like that, the good work done during the summer’s Club World Cup was forgotten.

Benfica are so far undefeated under Mourinho, with two wins and one draw in their three games together. Sitting third in Liga Portugal, just one point behind the top two (Porto and Sporting), they’ll now test their mettle on the continent.

Just keep eleven players on the pitch, lads

Chelsea were 1-0 up and relatively in control of the game against Brighton before Trevoh Chalobah was shown a straight red card for a last man challenge on Diego Gómez, thanks to a hospital pass from Andrey Santos.

In fact, four of Chelsea’s five defeats this calendar year have featured a red card for one of their players, Nicolas Jackson with two, Robert Sánchez with one, and now Chalobah with one. So, are they in crisis or are they just making some bad decisions?

Maresca has admitted that having to play with ten men is a learning curve for him, but their 3-1 defeat to Bayern in the previous round of fixtures was their only one of the five defeats without a red card. Keeping eleven on the pitch for this one will give Chelsea a better chance of getting something.

An unlikely circumstance

Ironically, Benfica beat Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe in the qualifiers to earn a place in this season’s Champions League league phase, and their 3-2 defeat to Azerbaijani Qarabağ in the previous round was the game that sealed Bruno Lage’s fate.

Benfica were 2-0 up after just 16 minutes before it all went to hell, such a result that Mourinho simply wouldn’t tolerate. He took charge of just 10 Benfica games back in 2000 when he first started his managerial career but never had the chance to lead them out in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.

Now, he will manage his first Champions League game against the club that he still calls home. As far as footballing narratives go, it couldn’t have worked out better for one of the most iconic coaches in the history of the game.

Team news

Chalobah’s red card against Brighton won’t have any effect on the game here and he is likely to retain his position at centre-back simply due to the lack of options Chelsea currently have in that position. Facundo Buonanotte is also available again after being unable to face his parent club.

Chelsea are still missing talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer due to his ongoing groin problem, with Levi Colwill (knee), Liam Delap (thigh), Dário Essugo (thigh), Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) and Wesley Fofana (head) all also ruled out.

Benfica are also far from full strength, with Manu Silva and Alexander Bah still recovering from ACL injuries, while winger Bruma faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and may not return until 2026 due to a ruptured Achilles.

Gianluca Prestianni is also away representing Argentina at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile.

Prediction

Sometimes, it’s hard to ignore fate. This has a classic 1-0 Mourinho smash and grab written all over it.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Chelsea welcome back a hero as Benfica visit in the Champions League

It’s past vs present at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as now Benfica boss José Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge, hoping to get one up on his former side. Considering Chelsea’s recent form, it could have come at a better time or the legendary Portuguese coach.

By Alex Roberts

Enzo Maresca’s side suffered a second consecutive Premier League defeat with a 3-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday, and just like that, the good work done during the summer’s Club World Cup was forgotten.

Benfica are so far undefeated under Mourinho, with two wins and one draw in their three games together. Sitting third in Liga Portugal, just one point behind the top two (Porto and Sporting), they’ll now test their mettle on the continent.

Just keep eleven players on the pitch, lads

Chelsea were 1-0 up and relatively in control of the game against Brighton before Trevoh Chalobah was shown a straight red card for a last man challenge on Diego Gómez, thanks to a hospital pass from Andrey Santos.

In fact, four of Chelsea’s five defeats this calendar year have featured a red card for one of their players, Nicolas Jackson with two, Robert Sánchez with one, and now Chalobah with one. So, are they in crisis or are they just making some bad decisions?

Maresca has admitted that having to play with ten men is a learning curve for him, but their 3-1 defeat to Bayern in the previous round of fixtures was their only one of the five defeats without a red card. Keeping eleven on the pitch for this one will give Chelsea a better chance of getting something.

An unlikely circumstance

Ironically, Benfica beat Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe in the qualifiers to earn a place in this season’s Champions League league phase, and their 3-2 defeat to Azerbaijani Qarabağ in the previous round was the game that sealed Bruno Lage’s fate.

Benfica were 2-0 up after just 16 minutes before it all went to hell, such a result that Mourinho simply wouldn’t tolerate. He took charge of just 10 Benfica games back in 2000 when he first started his managerial career but never had the chance to lead them out in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.

Now, he will manage his first Champions League game against the club that he still calls home. As far as footballing narratives go, it couldn’t have worked out better for one of the most iconic coaches in the history of the game.

Team news

Chalobah’s red card against Brighton won’t have any effect on the game here and he is likely to retain his position at centre-back simply due to the lack of options Chelsea currently have in that position. Facundo Buonanotte is also available again after being unable to face his parent club.

Chelsea are still missing talismanic playmaker Cole Palmer due to his ongoing groin problem, with Levi Colwill (knee), Liam Delap (thigh), Dário Essugo (thigh), Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) and Wesley Fofana (head) all also ruled out.

Benfica are also far from full strength, with Manu Silva and Alexander Bah still recovering from ACL injuries, while winger Bruma faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and may not return until 2026 due to a ruptured Achilles.

Gianluca Prestianni is also away representing Argentina at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile.

Prediction

Sometimes, it’s hard to ignore fate. This has a classic 1-0 Mourinho smash and grab written all over it.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.