Chelsea memories don't 'feed' Mourinho after return ends in defeat

Benfica's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho gestures during the UEFA Champions League, league phase football match between Chelsea and Benfica at Stamford Bridge in London on September 30, 2025. [Adrian Dennis / AFP]

Jose Mourinho insisted fond memories of his time at Chelsea were not enough to satisfy him after Benfica were beaten 1-0 on his return to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Former Blues boss Mourinho was given a warm welcome by Chelsea fans who chanted his name on several occasions throughout the Champions League tie.

But the 62-year-old ended an emotional evening frustrated that Benfica couldn't turn their solid display into a tangible reward.

An own goal from Richard Rios in the 18th minute proved decisive as Benfica were beaten for the first time in Mourinho's four matches in charge.

After winning seven major trophies, including three Premier League titles, across two spells with Chelsea, Mourinho is the most successful manager in the history of the west London club.

While he was twice sacked by former owner Roman Abramovich and angered Chelsea fans by managing rivals Tottenham and Manchester United, time has healed those wounds and Mourinho's latest homecoming was a love-in from start to finish.

Ever the contrarian, Mourinho disagreed that he should be comforted by the show of affection because the loss was all that mattered to him.

"I don't feed myself with these memories," he said. "I feed myself with victories. Of course I take the memories. On the pitch I was focused on the game, but you have always a little bit of the sound.

"I thank the fans. I live around here and when I'm in London I meet them every day on the street. I know that it's going to be a relationship for ever.

"Hopefully I come back here in 20 years with my grandkids. They belong to my history and I belong to their history."

There was more disciplinary woe for Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca when substitute Joao Pedro was sent off in the final minute of stoppage-time for a high challenge.

That brought Chelsea's tally of red cards to three in four games.

"At least we learned how to win with a red card," Maresca said.

It was a more solid Chelsea performance than in Saturday's home defeat against Brighton, when they collapsed following Trevoh Chalobah's second-half dismissal, and also an improvement on recent losses to Manchester United and Bayern Munich.

Maresca had come under fire after Chelsea's slow start to the season and he acknowledged the significance of their first Champions League win this term.

"We needed the win," he said. "First half we controlled the game, scored and created more chances.

"We had some players on the pitch who unfortunately were not 100 per cent. They were playing because we have seven, eight players out.

"Sometimes you need to learn to win in an ugly way."