Benoit Badiashile explained his delight at making his first start in a Chelsea shirt after three months out injured.
The French centre-back played 81 minutes in Tuesday night’s 1-0 Champions League win against Benfica at Stamford Bridge.
It was his first start and second appearance back after suffering a muscle injury at the Club World Cup, also in a match against Benfica.
The 24-year-old made a substitute cameo off the bench in Saturday’s league defeat to Brighton but played from the start on Tuesday and impressed alongside Trevoh Chalobah in central defence.
There could be more game time to come for Badiashile against Liverpool on Saturday, when Chalobah serves a suspension following his sending off in the Brighton match.
“It was a tough game against a good opponent,” Badiashile reflected on the tight win over Benfica.
“We are happy with the win because it was, like I said, a tough game. We suffered, but we win the game, so it’s the most important thing tonight.”
Asked whether Benfica played as Chelsea expected they would, he replied: “Of course. We played against them at the Club World Cup. We knew that they were a good team, especially now with Jose Mourinho. It was a tough game, but we are happy with the win.”
After making his first start in 94 days, Badiashile admitted: “I am a bit tired now, but I’m really happy to get back with the team and, yeah, I’m really happy.”
He said of the fact he has needed to be patient: “Yeah, of course. It’s been long months, so now I really enjoyed the win with the team.”
