José Mourinho said that he is sustained by wins rather than memories after the Benfica manager endured a 1-0 defeat on his latest return to Chelsea.
Mourinho, winless in his past seven trips to his old club, was grateful to receive a fine reception from the Stamford Bridge crowd on Tuesday. But the most successful manager in Chelsea’s history was frustrated in his quest for victory and already faces a challenge to lead Benfica into the knockout stages of the Champions League. It left the 62-year-old reluctant to dwell on his two glorious spells at Chelsea.
“I don’t feed myself with these memories, I feed myself with results,” Mourinho said. “My career took me to a position where everybody thinks I have magic to make things happen.
“I left Man United after winning things, I left Tottenham after taking them to a final, Roma after two European finals. With me it is never enough. If I am in a job I like to put myself on the line every day. I am desperate to win the match, that is the nature.”
Mourinho felt that Benfica, who lost because of a Richard Ríos own goal, merited a point. “We deserved something. We started well, we controlled and had chances for sure. The goal is the only mistake we made defensively.”
Enzo Maresca was happy that Chelsea secured their first win of the league phase and bounced back after a poor run. But the head coach was left frustrated when João Pedro was sent off in added time. It was Chelsea’s third red card in as many games.
João Pedro will be suspended against Ajax later this month, leaving Chelsea short of options in attack. “Another red card that we need to avoid,” Maresca said.
Chelsea were not at their best but fought for the points and will face Liverpool on Saturday with renewed belief. “We needed the win,” Maresca said. “Second half we dropped. We have some players on the pitch that unfortunately are not 100% but are playing because we have seven or eight out. Sometimes you need to learn to win in an ugly way.”
