Chelsea made positive that Jose Mourinho’s homecoming to Stamford Bridge was an sad one, because the Blues scraped previous Benfica to safe the primary three factors of their Champions League marketing campaign on Tuesday night time.
Enzo Maresca’s facet got here into the match off the again of three defeats in 4 video games, together with back-to-back losses within the Premier League.
The Italian boss made a mess of adjustments from Saturday’s defeat to Brighton within the hope of adjusting his group’s fortunes, with Alejandro Garnacho coming into the group alongside 4 others.
Garnacho performed an enormous half within the profitable – and solely – objective of the sport, drilling Pedro Neto’s very good ball throughout the six-yard field, which Benfica defender Richard Rios smashed into the roof of his personal internet.
Chelsea struggled to create many alternatives following the opener, however they managed to carry out for a vital victory.
Day by day Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL was at Stamford Bridge and he has picked out some key speaking factors from the conflict.
Chelsea scraped previous Benfica on Thursday night time to document their first factors of the Champions League group part
Richard Rios netted a primary half personal objective in what was an uneventful sport at Stamford Bridge
Cole Palmer watches on from up excessive
Whereas Chelsea’s injured gamers had been sat behind the substitutes’ bench like ordinary, together with Liam Delap, Wesley Fofana and Andrey Santos, Cole Palmer obtained the VIP remedy.
He was up excessive and sat subsequent to the membership’s co-owner Behdad Eghabli, carrying what can solely be described as a sleeping-bag tracksuit. Palmer, that’s. Not Eghbali, who was suited and booted for this Champions League return to Stamford Bridge.
Injured Cole Palmer watched on from the stands in a coat that seemed like a sleeping bag
Blues flip a weak point right into a power
Chelsea are usually not used to being the beneficiaries of an unmarked attacker arriving behind the field on his personal. Normally, they’re those cursing their very own lack of expertise, having conceded targets that approach at Brentford and Manchester United.
However right here, it was Benfica who foolishly did not heed the warnings offered to them by Chelsea. Alejandro Garnacho was persistently ghosting into that exact area and he was there once more when Pedro Neto crossed deep within the 18th minute. Garnacho stretched to ship it again into the field for Richard Rios’ personal objective.
Rios had been man-marking Enzo Fernandez and it was his monitoring of the Chelsea midfielder, previously of Benfica, which helped ensure that he was completely positioned to bundle it in on the Blues’ behalf.
Given Enzo Maresca has been criticised for not noticing back-of-the-box threats throughout matches beforehand, it’s only honest to reward him for working it to his benefit this time.
Alejandro Garnacho ghosted in on the again put up to arrange the one objective of the sport
Fernandez leads from the entrance
Chelsea’s beginning line-up carried a median age of precisely 24 years previous – their youngest ever for a Champions League match – they usually wanted leaders inside this group. Fernandez introduced that after which some.
The Blues have resembled the strolling wounded this season, and the Argentinian warmed up with bandaging round his proper knee, however he’s a battler.
He was evidently pumped to attempt to stick it to his former followers who had been whistling him right here in addition to throwing missiles at him when he tried to take a nook within the first half. Benfica are sure to listen to from UEFA on that one with a wonderful doubtless.
Enzo Fernandez has the captains armband on and led the younger Chelsea group from the entrance
Chelsea followers love in for Mourinho
Chelsea’s supporters selected random moments all through this match to sing Jose Mourinho’s title, beginning after a single minute with the Benfica boss responding by blowing them a kiss.
If ever an opposition supervisor has earned that mid-match remedy, it’s Mourinho, whose facet by no means made essentially the most of their alternatives when Chelsea’s passing from the again was slack.
Chelsea followers sung Jose Mourinho’s title after only one minute which their former boss appreciated
George seems misplaced up high
Contemplating the criticism of Enzo Maresca’s tactical calls of late, Chelsea’s head coach was courageous right here in his curious alternative of assault. That included beginning Tyrique George, the 19-year-old academy graduate who is definitely a winger by commerce, as his striker.
Chelsea tried to promote George in the summertime and would have succeeded on deadline day, had been it not for his £22million transfer to Fulham collapsing as a result of it was contingent on Harry Wilson leaving for Leeds.
It might be too harsh to say George seemed like a child who had gained a raffle to characterize Chelsea up high of their first Champions League conflict at house since 2022. He tried his hardest as a young person taking part in out of place. However George seemed misplaced general, at a time when Maresca has one other Cobham teenager doing all he can to seize his supervisor’s consideration.
That’s Shim Mheuka, the 17-year-old striker who has scored 15 targets in 11 video games for membership and nation this season. That included a hat-trick – plus an help – for Chelsea’s Underneath 19s of their UEFA Youth League victory over Benfica yesterday.
Behind George was Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte, who was not even initially registered with UEFA till Dario Essugo’s harm opened up an area for him. Chelsea invited strain on themselves late on, however this time, they obtained away with attempting to carry on to their lead.
Tyrique George had only one shot and accomplished zero dribbles in opposition to Benfica
George lined up high in what was Chelsea’s youngest ever beginning XI within the Champions League
Ought to Chelsea have recalled Marc Guiu?
Talking of strikers, Marc Guiu’s state of affairs is rising stranger with every passing week. The 19-year-old was introduced again after solely 26 days on mortgage at Sunderland following Liam Delap’s harm however since then, he has not appeared for a single minute in any match. But once more, he was left to heat the bench right here.
