Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea got off the mark in the Champions League as they beat Jose Mourinho’s Benfica 1-0. Richard Rios hit an awkward own goal in the first half after turning Alejandro Garnacho’s cross home in the first half, badly miss-hitting his clearance in doing so.
It was a composed if imperfect performance from Chelsea after a difficult run saw them win just one in five, and Maresca will be thrilled to get back to winning ways. He will not be pleased, however, to have seen the substitute Joao Pedro sent off deep in injury time after being shown a second yellow card for a high boot. He will now be suspended for the Blues’ upcoming European outings, further complicating the Italian’s selection as he faces various first-team injuries.
Estevao tried out a new role in the second half, slotting in at striker in place of Tyrique George, who struggled after starting. Garnacho made his mark from the off, too, with Jamie Gittens struggling after coming on in his stead. Catch up on the action as it happened below with our dedicated match blog, complete with expert insight and analysis from Dom Smith.
Chelsea vs Benfica latest news
- GOAL! Chelsea lead after own goal
- Chelsea XI
- Benfica XI
- How to watch: TNT Sports
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:55 , Arthur FerridgeThe Blues hold firm! A huge three points for Chelsea.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:55 , Arthur Ferridge90+7mins: Last chance saloon for Benfica now.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:55 , Arthur Ferridge90+6mins: Pedro takes off his shinpads and undoes his laces en route to the bench. That takes us through the six added minutes.
RED CARD! Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:54 , Arthur Ferridge90+5mins: Wouldn’t be a Chelsea game without a red card, would it? Joao Pedro is sent off for a second yellow.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:53 , Arthur Ferridge90+4mins: Chelsea are really digging in here. They look to counter through Gittens, but he loses the ball in the box.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:51 , Arthur Ferridge90+3mins: Benfica slowing it down a bit now. Chelsea are pressing fairly high to keep them at bay, and James wins a foul high up the pitch.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:48 , Arthur Ferridge90mins: Six minutes have been added on as Benfica heap on the pressure.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:45 , Arthur Ferridge87mins: Benfica win a corner in front of the away fans, who go ballistic.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:42 , Arthur Ferridge84mins: Ivanovic shoots wide.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:41 , Arthur Ferridge83mins: Superb sliding block from Reece James denies Aursnes’ shot. The away end want a penalty, as do some of the players, and, in response, the referee books Otamendi. Seems to be for dissent. Play on, he says.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:39 , Arthur Ferridge82mins: Looks to be Estevao at striker with Joao Pedro in the No10 now.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:38 , Arthur Ferridge80mins: Those changes have really livened Benfica up. You would not be surprised if this didn’t end 1-0.
Reece James and Josh Acheampong replace Malo Gusto and Benoit Badiashile.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:37 , Arthur Ferridge79mins: Fernandez crosses to Estevao who heads at goal, but Trubin is equal to it! Big save.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:36 , Arthur Ferridge76mins: Lukebakio, Sudakov, and Rios are replaced by Ivanovic, Barreiro, and Schjeiderlup.
Elsewhere, Maresca is throwing everything at this win and is preparing to toss centre-back Josh Acheampong into the fray.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:34 , Arthur Ferridge75mins: Benfica are awarded a free-kick after Joao Pedro beats Otamendi in an aerial. He is on a yellow, remember.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:32 , Arthur Ferridge74mins: Here come the Benfica cavalry. Mourinho readying several subs.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:30 , Arthur Ferridge73mins: Silva is the injured party, and he is back to his feet. He is replaced by academy graduate Araujo.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:29 , Arthur Ferridge71mins: A smart cross from Neto is nodded behind for a corner, and a member of the Benfica back line in a heap on the floor of the box.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
21:28 , Arthur FerridgeBig final 20 minutes for Chelsea now. That second goal feels really important, and they could do with it sooner rather than later. No sign of any more subs for now.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:27 , Arthur Ferridge69mins: Neto nicks one in midfield and looks to break, but is immediately dispossessed.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:24 , Arthur Ferridge66mins: Lukebakio is down, now, after Badiashille clattered him. He’s a big guy, to be fair to him.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:22 , Arthur Ferridge64mins: Aursnes trips Caicedo in cynical fashion to prevent a Chelsea counter and is duly booked.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:20 , Arthur Ferridge62mins: Play is halted with Barrenechea down injured. He came together with Joao Pedro, who is booked mere moments after his introduction.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:19 , Arthur Ferridge61mins: George and Garnacho are replaced by Gittens and Joao Pedro.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:18 , Arthur Ferridge60mins: Neto sees a shot blocked, and Cucurella collects the rebound. For some reason, he passes back to Rob Sanchez.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:17 , Arthur Ferridge59mins: Garnacho dribbles through the middle and has options in the box, but decides to go it alone and misses badly.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:16 , Arthur Ferridge57mins: A loose pass from Badiashile leaves Gusto in an awkward spot, and Benfica win the ball high. They are forced to pass it round the back, though, and Garnacho nearly wins it back on the press.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:13 , Arthur Ferridge56mins: Estevao is already dancing through the lines.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
21:13 , Arthur FerridgeRomeo Lavia has just returned from the tunnel to the bench and is using a massage gun on his leg. I have one of those too, but I never use it. It kills.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:12 , Arthur Ferridge54mins: Sanchez comes up with a big save to deny Aursnes from close range, but the flag is up again.
Estevao replaces Buonanotte, who is on a booking. Maresca looking to avoid more red cards, perhaps.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge53mins: Caicedo and Pavlidis come together off the ball. Seems an innocuous one, but the latter looks to be in a bit of pain.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:09 , Arthur Ferridge52mins: Estevao Willian is being readied to come on.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:08 , Arthur Ferridge50mins: Neto clips a cross into the box from the free-kick, but it is easily cleared.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
21:07 , Arthur FerridgeInjured quartet Dario Essugo, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos are all watching on from just behind the substitutes on Chelsea's bench tonight.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:07 , Arthur Ferridge49mins: Rios trips Buonanotte from behind, and is now booked. Both Benfica centre-midfielders have now been cautioned.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:06 , Arthur Ferridge49mins: Aursnes is through on goal and one-on-one with Sanchez. The pair come together and there is a brief moment of panic as the referee blows his whistle... but does not point to the spot. The Benfica midfielder is offside.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:05 , Arthur Ferridge47mins: No changes for either side at half-time, by the way.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:04 , Arthur Ferridge46mins: Facundo Buonanotte is immediately booked for a late tackle on Barrenechea.
2ND HALF: Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
21:03 , Arthur FerridgeThe action is back underway at the Bridge.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:48 , Arthur FerridgeGarnacho is fouled on the counter-attack, but the Blues will not have time for the free-kick. That brings a close to the first 45.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:48 , Arthur FerridgeDespite objects being thrown at him by some Benfica fans, Enzo Fernandez has really shown his leadership in that first half. Benoit Badiashile has been very composed with his passing, too. Maresca has applauded him a lot. Chelsea deservedly ahead.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:46 , Arthur Ferridge44mins: Another big save from Trubin! Caicedo lofts a lovely ball from the halfway line into the box, where Cucurella knocks it down for George, whose shot is parried.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:44 , Arthur Ferridge42mins: A huge miss from Badiashile! Neto’s free-kick swings into the box, and the big Frenchman puts it over. He was offside anyway, so in some senses its a non-issue, but a bad miss nonetheless.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:42 , Arthur Ferridge40mins: Mourinho gets down the touchline to implore the away support to keep their projectiles in hand.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:41 , Arthur FerridgeEnzo Fernandez was getting absolutely pelted by objects against fans of his former team Benfica as he prepared to take a corner there. Ugly stuff.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:40 , Arthur Ferridge39mins: Another tidy Chelsea cross goes begging. This one came from Cucurella.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:37 , Arthur Ferridge36mins: For the third blog post in a row, Buonanotte is involved in an incident. This time, he is the victim again, and this one looks to have stung somewhat.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:36 , Arthur Ferridge34mins: Barrenechea is booked for a tackle on Buonanotte. A bit of an unfortunate one - looks more like bad timing than aything else, but he does catch the Argentine with his studs.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:34 , Arthur Ferridge33mins: Buonanotte takes down Rios, and it is another free kick to the hosts.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:32 , Arthur FerridgeChelsea looking very composed in possession at the moment and Benoit Badiashile in particular has been applauded on a number of occasions by Enzo Maresca, who has approved of his calmness and pass selection.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:32 , Arthur Ferridge30mins: A tantalising cross from Garnacho goes uncollected. Was begging for Neto to nod home at the back host, but he was a few steps behind it.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:30 , Arthur Ferridge28mins: The broadcast cuts to Cole Palmer in an executive box, looking thoroughly bored by the match, which has cooled somewhat since the goal.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:28 , Arthur Ferridge26mins: Cucurella trips Lukebakio in Benfica’s defensive third, and it is a free-kick for the visitors.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:27 , Arthur Ferridge25mins: Chalobah does not seem at all sure of himself so far. That red card against Brighton - plus a few days of subsequent media scrutiny - must be playing heavy on his mind.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:24 , Arthur Ferridge23mins: Buonanotte is the latest Blue to have a dig, but it is a routine save for Trubin.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:23 , Arthur Ferridge21mins: Lukebakio dances into the box and squares to Pavlidis, who goes over under pressure from Chalobah. The referee waves his appeal away.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
20:22 , Arthur Ferridge20mins: That goal has rather flipped the momentum. Chelsea seem to have settled a bit.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:21 , Arthur FerridgeMore than a touch of fortune about the goal - an own goal - but Chelsea mounted a smart attack there and deserved their slice of luck after upping the ante in the last few minutes. One winger to another, as well, with Neto switching to Garnacho.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Benfica | Rios (OG)
20:20 , Arthur Ferridge18mins: Chelsea are ahead! Neto swings it into the box from deep and Garnacho puts it back across the box for Rios to smash home into his own net.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:18 , Arthur Ferridge17mins: Neto cuts in off the right flank and flashes one a matter of centimetres wide of the far post.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:18 , Arthur FerridgeEnzo Fernandez has not started this match well and his manager is telling him so after a couple of poor giveaways of possession.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:18 , Arthur Ferridge16mins: Fernandez loses the ball in midfield and Benfica break at pace, but Rios’ shot is very, very poor. More presents from the Blues.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:17 , Arthur Ferridge15mins: Sudakov has a go from range, but his effort is wide of the post. He did have Sanchez momentarily concerned, though.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:16 , Arthur Ferridge15mins: Dedic, under pressure from Cucurella, runs into the advertising hoardings and takes a tumble into the Westview stand.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:14 , Arthur Ferridge12mins: Benfica clearly watched Chelsea vs Brighton. They are pressing the Blues back line with gusto.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:13 , Arthur Ferridge11mins: Chelsea responding to Benfica’s pressure, now, with Buonanotte pulling the strings in attack. A couple balls fall to Garnacho, who sees one shot blocked and sends a second wide.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:09 , Arthur Ferridge8mins: A big save from Sanchez. Cucurella loses it on the halfway line, and Lukebakio is in behind. He shoots from a tight angle, and the Spaniard puts it behind for a corner. Suddenly, Chelsea are under the cosh.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:08 , Arthur Ferridge6mins: Garnacho plays Cucurella into the corner, but his cross is cleared by Barranachea. Benfica counter, but Chelsea do well to get back and cover them off. Sudakov gets to the byline but can only cross to Sanchez.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:05 , Arthur Ferridge4mins: Fernandez pounces on a loose ball at the edge of the box and takes a snap shot, but misses narrowly wide.
Jose Mourinho, clearly relishing being the centre of attention here, blows kisses to the home fans.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge3mins: A tentative start here, as the Blues are content to knock the ball around and get settled.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge...And he's just stopped the ball going out of play from one of his players by standing in the way of the touchline! Classic Jose.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
20:03 , Arthur FerridgeMourinho jumped out of his seat the very second the match kicked off, and blew out a big puff of the cheeks.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:02 , Arthur Ferridge1min: Garnacho is hacked down by Rios almost immediately.
KICK-OFF! Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
20:00 , Arthur FerridgeWe are underway at Stamford Bridge!
Here come the squads...
19:57 , Arthur FerridgeThe players are out, and kick-off is imminent...
Ten minute warning
19:50 , Arthur FerridgeNot long till kick-off now. Here’s a reminder of the starting XIs.
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Neto, Buonanotte, Garnacho; George
Benfica: Trubin; Dahl, Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Dedic; Barrenechea, Rios; Sudakov, Aursnes, Lukebakio; Pavlidis
Around the grounds
19:45 , Arthur FerridgeElsewhere tonight, Tottenham visit Bodo/Glimt and Liverpool face Galatasaray.
Both are LIVE on Standard Sport for your convenience: Follow Spurs here, and Liverpool here, if you fancy, or stick around here for all the action in west London.
In the early kick-off, Real Madrid dispatched the Kazakh dreamers Kairat Almaty by way of a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick, and Atalanta scored twice late on to sink Club Brugge.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
19:40 , Arthur FerridgeStamford Bridge is filling up nicely ahead of what feels like a seismic night in Chelsea's Champions League group stage campaign.
Its importance, I think, comes not because of the opponents or the fact they're managed by Jose Mourinho but rather in the context of it being the immediately next game after that damaging defeat at Bayern Munich a fortnight ago.
If they were beaten tonight and had played two, lost two, that would present them with a small mountain to climb.
Enzo Maresca: No reason to be negative
19:35 , Arthur FerridgeEnzo Maresca said he is not panicking despite Chelsea’s poor run of form, which has seen them win just one of their last four matches.
That one win came against Lincoln in the League Cup, while the losses came to Brighton, Man United, and Bayern Munich.
He said pre-match: “In this moment, I think we need to be positive first of all because it’s what the players need,” he said.
“Second, because personally I think there is no reason to be negative this morning. The club showed me the stats that in the last six months we lost five games, four of them with a red card.
“So for sure, we like winning games, there is no doubt. But also the reality is that there is not any pressure.
“The pressure we have is the pressure that we know that being at Chelsea as a player, as a manager you need to win games, no doubt.”
A win today would work wonders for squad - and fan - morale.
Enzo Fernandez faces his former team...
19:27 , Arthur Ferridge...and is promptly booed by the away support as his name is read out over the Stamford Bridge tannoy.
No love lost, then.
Mourinho's cult following
19:20 , Arthur FerridgeMuch has been made this week about Mourinho’s grand return to Chelsea.
But, as many have rightfully pointed out, he has been back to Stamford Bridge several times since his second spell with the Blues ended in 2015. He has taken to the visitors’ dugout with Man United and Tottenham since.
So why the misty eyes as he returns to SW6 again?
His silverware record is tough to overlook. Mourinho is still Chelsea’s winningest manager in the Premier League, clinching the title three times, with an FA Cup and three League Cups to boot.
Not a bad haul, really. Given Chelsea’s volatile fortunes in recent years, is there any surprise fans are nostalgic for his leadership?
Other notes on the Chelsea XI
19:10 , Arthur FerridgeTyrique George, a natural winger, starting up top is a big surprise, given Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu are both on the bench.
Reece James is rested, with Malo Gusto taking his place.
The bench features a couple interesting names, most notably academy youngsters Reggie Walsh and Max Merrick.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
19:01 , Arthur FerridgeChelsea's starting XI has an average age of just 23.45 — easily one of the youngest we'll see in the Champions League this week.
As an aside, Andrey Santos was named as a doubt by Enzo Maresca yesterday and he does not make the matchday squad today.
Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge
18:55 , Arthur FerridgeIt's a slight surprise to see Joao Pedro only make the bench for such an important game, but he has played a lot of football this season and is nursing a slight issue which Maresca mentioned yesterday at his press conference. He did train yesterday, but it isn't clear to what extent.
BENFICA CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
18:54 , Arthur FerridgeHere’s Jose Mourinho’s XI.
Benfica starting XI: Trubin; Dahl, Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Dedic; Barrenechea, Rios; Sudakov, Aursnes, Lukebakio; Pavlidis
Subs: Soares, Ferreira, Obrador, Ivanovic, Barreiro, Schjelderup, Araujo, Oliveira, Veloso, Rego, Prioste
CHELSEA CONFIRMED TEAM NEWS
18:46 , Arthur FerridgeEnzo Maresca names his side to face Benfica.
Chelsea starting XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Neto, Buonanotte, Garnacho; George
Subs: Jorgensen, Merrick, James, Acheampong, Hato, Lavia, Walsh, Gittens, Estevao, Guiu, Joao Pedro
Mourinho relishes the moment
18:42 , Arthur FerridgeJosé Mourinho catches up with Joe Cole, “the best pundit in the world”. #cfc pic.twitter.com/SfcFYy0VMT
— Dom Smith (@MrDomSmith) September 30, 2025
Chelsea team news
18:34 , Arthur FerridgeGood news for Chelsea fans as both Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro arrive with the squad.
So too does the highly rated academy youngster Reggie Walsh.
What else did Mourinho have to say pre-match?
18:30 , Arthur FerridgeQuite a lot, you may be surprised to learn.
On Cole Palmer’s injury, he said: “I’m happy with that. He’s a phenomenal player. But I think [Chelsea] have a good team, in a way that if Cole Palmer doesn't play, it's not a problem for them.”
On Chelsea’s owners: “Chelsea. (Roman) Abramovich’s Chelsea, my Chelsea, the Chelsea we built and lasted for many years was a winning club.
“It was winning everything with me and then with (Carlo) Ancelotti, with (Antonio) Conte and with (Thomas) Tuchel. Chelsea was a winning machine. Every season, Chelsea was winning.
“Then there was a big change with crazy investment and a period of a few years where it looked like they lost direction, with too many players, too many millions, accumulation of players and a team without a clear philosophy.”
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea homecoming provides untimely distraction for Enzo Maresca
18:20 , Arthur FerridgeSecond state visits aren’t as rare as they used to be, writes Dom Smith.
Now try a fourth. Jose Mourinho always did buck the trend, and his return to Stamford Bridge, where so many of his happiest days took place, is just the latest in a long line of Chelsea homecomings for a manager who coached them twice and is now preparing to take charge of a fourth team against them, at the stadium that made him what he is today.
Having led Inter Milan at the Bridge in 2010 following his first Chelsea stint and coached Manchester United and Tottenham there following his second, on Tuesday night he is back again, taking charge of only his fourth match since accepting the job of Benfica head coach back home in his native Portugal.
Sat in the Drake Suite before a bustling pack of reporters at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening, Mourinho rolled back the years, charming his way through the answers to question after question, full of praise for Chelsea as an institution and the reputation that preceded him after that fiercely successful 2004-07 first spell at the helm.
Standard Sport prediction
18:10 , Arthur FerridgeBenfica have some dangerous players that could hurt a depleted Chelsea side, but the Premier League outfit should be heavy favourites to win this.
Even without the likes of Palmer, their first-choice centre-backs, and their patchy form, they should have enough individual and collective quality to claim all three points here.
There will be added incentive to try and get one over Mourinho, too.
Chelsea to win, 3-1
Benfica early team news
18:00 , Arthur FerridgeBenfica have three injury concerns.
The first is former RB Leipzig man Bruma, the tricky Portuguese winger, who is nursing an Achilles issue.
Manu Silva and Alexander Bah are both recovering from rupturing their anterior cruciate ligaments.
Chelsea early team news
17:50 , Arthur FerridgeFor the world champions, talisman Cole Palmer is still out with a groin injury that has been troubling him since the start of the campaign. His absence is just the tip of the iceberg, with the Blues undergoing an injury crisis, particularly at centre-back.
Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo were both ruled out of the 3-1 defeat by Brighton with concussion and a calf injury respectively, which meant that deputy left-back Jorrel Hato deputised alongside Trevoh Chalobah, who saw red.
Longer-term absentees remain Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, and Levi Colwill, although there is some positive news, with Facundo Buonanotte able to return to action after he was ineligible to face his parent club at the weekend.
In more good news, both Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro both trained on Monday, so should be available for selection.
How to watch Chelsea vs Benfica
17:40 , Arthur FerridgeTV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports. Coverage starts at 7pm BST on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday right here via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dom Smith!
Good evening
17:29 , Arthur FerridgeHello, and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Chelsea vs Benfica!
Champions League nights return to Stamford Bridge. That anthem will sound oh so sweet.
Enzo Maresca is in dire need of a win, but will have to get the better of Chelsea’s greatest ever manager if he is to do so. Can the Blues get the job done?
Follow along here for all the latest updates from Stamford Bridge, with expert analysis from Dom Smith at the ground.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST.
