Mourinho’s Benfica beaten on Chelsea return in Champions League
LONDON: Benfica boss Jose Mourinho was beaten on his return to Chelsea as Richard Rios’ own-goal condemned the former Blues manager to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday. Rios’ costly blunder in the first half at Stamford Bridge ruined Mourinho’s hopes of a win over the club he is most closely associated with. Mourinho and then-owner Roman Abramovich transformed Chelsea into a superpower after his appointment in 2004, winning three Premier League titles among seven major trophies across his two spells in charge. The 62-year-old’s managerial star may be on the wane following a decade without a league title, but his west London home-coming was still a box office occasion. Mourinho had started the season in charge of Fenerbahce, who sacked him in August before he returned to his former club Benfica this month. While Stamford Bridge is the scene of Mourinho’s former glories, it has not been a happy hunting ground for him since. He has failed to win any of his seven visits with Manchester United, Tottenham and now Benfica since leaving Chelsea for the second time in 2015, while his lone success in the away dugout came with Inter Milan in 2010. Despite the loss, Mourinho took heart from Benfica’s battling display. “A defeat is always a defeat but this one can be a start for us. It was a stable performance,” Mourinho said. “When a team changes coach mid-season it’s because things are not good.
