It was not the easiest game for Chelsea, but they fought it out and secured a 1-0 win against Benfica.
Chelsea had a surprise for Jose Mourinho as they handed him a UCL loss on his return to the Bridge. Chelsea came into this game looking for a win to boost their depleted morale after losses to Bayern, Manchester United, and Brighton.
From the start, the Blues showed that they were the favorites to win the game and secure all three points. While Benfica had the first set of attempts, the patched-up Chelsea defence held firm and ensured the Blues weren’t behind early in the game.
After controlling the game and setting off alarms in the Benfica defence for a while, Chelsea found the back of the net in the 18th minute. Chalobah swung a cross-field ball to Garnacho, who hit it first time into the danger area. His cross was slammed into the roof of the net by Benfica’s Ríos as he tried to clear the ball and stop Enzo from getting on the cross.
Chelsea controlled the game despite spells from Benfica. The new defence line kept the Benfica frontline off for a while, and at times when they were broken down, Sanchez was equal to the task. Chelsea didn’t create much after they scored, and their best chance came from an Estevao header.
Chelsea once again didn’t finish the game with 11 men as Joao Pedro, who was subbed on in the second half was red-carded for a high foot on Barreiro. It is now Chelsea’s third red in three games. The red card didn’t seem to faze the team as it happened in the last seconds of the game. At full-time, Maresca roared with joy, as the Blues picked up their first three points of the UCL campaign.
