Chelsea ready for Mourinho reunion as Benfica visit in CL
LONDON: Chelsea will welcome Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge when they face Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday, with the Portuguese coach returning to the London club where he won three Premier League titles across two spells.
Tuesday’s other matches will see the Champions League sending its top-ranked teams to new places as record 15-time title winner Real Madrid, who never went to Kazakhstan, will play Kairat Almaty while Bayern Munich have a rare trip to Cyprus to face Pafos, another competition newcomers.
Tottenham Hotspur already went inside the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt — winning in the Europa League semi-finals in May — and return for the Norwegian champions’ first home game in the main stage of the Champions League.
Mourinho, who returned to Benfica 25 years after his first stint, managed Chelsea from 2004-2007 and 2013-2015, delivering a haul of trophies that cemented his reputation as one of Europe’s best managers at the time.
“For me, personally, Mourinho is a legend for this club. And in Italy he’s a legend for Inter Milan where he won the Champions League,” Chelsea’s Italian coach Enzo Maresca told reporters on Monday. “I think he has already shown how important a manager he has been and is.”
Mourinho, appointed at Benfica on Sept 18, inherited a team unbeaten in their opening four league games with three wins and a draw and has overseen two wins and a draw in his first three matches in charge.
Chelsea, however, have had a turbulent start to the season after a glittering campaign last term when they won the Conference League and Club World Cup. They are also without playmaker Cole Palmer, who is sidelined with a groin injury.
Maresca’s side, who like Benfica lost their Champions League opener, have two wins from six Premier League matches, losing their last two after being reduced to 10 men.
Asked what it would take for the home fans to chant his name like they do Mourinho’s, Maresca added: “Probably to continue winning trophies. I remember some from last season when the fans were starting to sing, ‘We have our Chelsea back’.”
ALONSO CALLS FOR FOCUS
Real prepare to face debutants Kairat days after a humbling 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid in La Liga and coach Xabi Alonso urged his side to shift focus to their Champions League campaign.
Alonso found himself fielding questions in what may be the most remote press conference in Champions League history on Monday in Almaty — 6,441km from Madrid and the easternmost city ever to host a game in the competition.
The Real coach faced a room packed with local media seizing the unique opportunity to host the record winners.
Saturday’s loss at the Metropolitano was Real’s first defeat to their city rivals since January 2024 and the first time they had conceded five goals to Atletico in 75 years.
Alonso called for lessons to be learned but stressed the importance of moving forward.
“I think that both in victory and defeat, the feeling should last 24 hours. Then comes the analysis,” Alonso told reporters. “It wasn’t just about attitude; it was also pace, tactics things about the game. We’ve done the analysis and we’re going to use it.”
Alonso emphasised the need to secure points on the road, regardless of the opponent or location.
“The match is just another match, it’s not an excuse,” he said of the long journey to Kazakhstan. “It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where we’re playing we want to win.”
FREEWHEELING WINS
Another game to watch on Tuesday will be be Atletico hosting Eintracht Frankfurt judging by their freewheeling wins in domestic league games on the weekend.
Atletcio, flying high after thrashing their fiercest rivals, will face Eintracht who scored six past Borussia Mönchengladbach in a lively match that ended 6-4.
Pafos will play their biggest game of the season against heavyweights Bayern but they will have to play their game away from their usual stadium as the clubs small stadiums do not meet UEFA standards for the Champions League.
Last season finalists Inter Milan will play their first Champions League home game on Tuesday as they host Slavia Prague and Inter’s winger Federico Dimarco said that they are not under-estimating their opponents.
“We mustn’t underestimate our opponents. Every Champions League match is difficult, and Slavia Prague are a strong side who have dominated their domestic league for years,” Dimarco told reporters. “They match you up all over the pitch, and we’ll need to be smart in playing out of their press so we can hurt them.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the English champions Liverpool will travel to Galatasaray for their first away day of the Champions League. The Reds are at full strength, bar Giovanni Leoni, who was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury.
Liverpool are coming off a 2-1 loss by Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Also on Tuesday, Dutch outfit Ajax will travel to face French side Olympique de Marseille while Atalanta host Club Brugge.
Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2025