On Wednesday, Chelsea got their first Champions League victory of the season by a narrow win, beating José Mourinho’s Benfica 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. The own goal by Benfica’s Richard Rios in the first half was the only goal of the game and thus Mourinho’s return to his old club was not successful.
It was a tight and cautious game, but the Blues didn’t let the chance slip away after the Eagles missed two big chances, one of them was a shot by Rios right before he unintentionally redirected an Alejandro Garnacho cross into his own net.
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea manager, believed in the future of his players, thus, he started the club’s youngest-ever Champions League starting XI for a Champions League match with an average age of exactly 24 years. The performance of Midfielder Moises Caicedo was particularly notable as he managed to achieve 98.4% completion of his passes (60/61). Despite the sending off of João Pedro in the dying moments, Chelsea managed to hold the important victory.
Reds Stumble as Osimhen Makes History
In another Champions League tie, Liverpool were held to a limp 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray. Victor Osimhen’s penalty kick in the 15th minute following Dominik Szoboszlai’s foul on Baris Yilmaz was the only goal of the match.
When a second penalty was given, Liverpool believed they were going to be saved in the dying moments, but after the referee reviewed the incident using VAR, the decision was reversed due to contact on Ibrahima Konaté.
Osimhen was the hero for Galatasaray, who finally ended their longest unbeaten home run in the competition. The Nigerian striker created his personal record, becoming the first player from his country to score he is the top scorer with 10 Champions League goals during the main competition and the first Nigerian player to score in the Champions League with three different clubs (Lille, Napoli, Galatasaray).
Besides, Bayern Munich got a 5-1 victorious match over PASOF, and Real Madrid secured a 5-0 win against Kairat Almaty. Tottenham played to a 2-2 draw with Bodo Glimt, and Athletico Madrid defeated Frankfurt with a 5-1 scoreline.
