Chelsea 1-0 Benfica: Mourinho downed in Stamford Bridge homecoming

Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge was unsuccessful as his Benfica side were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.

An own goal from Richard Rios proved to be the deciding factor between the two sides as they both struggled to find their rhythm, with the Blues picking up their first win of the Champions League campaign.

Benfica had two great opportunities to take the lead, with Dodi Lukebakio striking the post before Rios shot straight at Robert Sanchez from close range, and Chelsea punished them soon after as Rios turned Alejandro Garnacho’s cross into his own net.

The hosts had a great chance to double their lead on the brink of half-time when Marc Cucurella picked out Tyrique George in the box, but the forward rushed his effort and could only poke it towards Anatoliy Trubin.

It was a largely cagey second half, with both sides struggling to create chances as Chelsea looked to hit the visitors on the counter while defending their lead.

The best chance of the second period fell to Enzo Maresca’s side, with Estevao failing to beat Trubin with his header from Enzo Fernandez’s cross, but they were able to see the win through to the full-time whistle despite a late red card shown to Joao Pedro for a second yellow.

24 – Chelsea’s starting XI against Benfica has an average age of exactly 24 years; their youngest ever for a UEFA Champions League match. Youthful. pic.twitter.com/vLCJzOQdMR

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 30, 2025

Data Debrief: Maresca trusts Chelsea youth in the big time

Maresca opted to play George through the middle to start the match as he rotated his attack, with Chelsea accumulating 0.93 expected goals (xG) from eight shots to Benfica’s 0.66 from the same number of attempts.

The average age of Chelsea’s starting lineup was exactly 24 years, their youngest-ever for a Champions League match, as the Italian coach’s decision to trust in his younger players paid off.

It was a particularly impressive performance from 23-year-old Moises Caicedo, who created two chances and completed 98.4% of his passes (60/61).