Jose Mourinho’s biggest strength is Enzo Maresca’s weakness ahead of Chelsea vs Benfica showdown
Chelsea lost their second-straight Premier League fixture, falling 3-1 to Brighton a week after their 2-1 loss to Man United.
Chelsea’s loss to Brighton was their second of the season, leaving Enzo Maresca’s side with eight points from their first six Premier League games.
Chelsea’s Malo Gusto was lucky not to concede a penalty for a high foot on Yankuba Minteh against Brighton, but Trevoh Chalobah did see red after denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
It was the host’s second red card in as many weeks after Robert Sanchez was sent off for Chelsea against Man United a week prior.
Jose Mourinho’s set-up is Enzo Maresca’s nightmare
Chelsea will be all too familiar with what type of team Jose Mourinho will bring to Stamford Bridge when Benfica travel to the capital in the Champions League.
Mourinho will have Benfica in a low block, and they will look to hit Chelsea on the counterattack, something Maresca’s side has struggled to deal with this season.
The first goal Chelsea conceded against Brentford came from a counterattack as Jordan Henderson’s incisive diagonal pass found Kevin Schade one-on-one with Sanchez to give the Blues the lead.
A week later, Sanchez was sent off for scything down Bryan Mbeumo, who broke through on goal after a Benjamin Sesko’s flick-on created a counterattack opportunity for Man United..
Another seven days on, it was Trevoh Chalobah who saw red after bringing down Diego Gomez on a fast counter following Andrey Santos’ loose possession in midfield.
Maresca will hope his side can stem their tide of poor defensive transitions, but Mourinho will relish the opportunity to play the pantomime villain again at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca will worry about attacking power against stubborn Benfica
Since making his Benfica return, Mourinho has allowed 2.3 expected goals in the three Liga NOS games the Portuguese manager has overseen so far.
There are ominous signs for Maresca, who is without Liam Delap against Benfica, and will need to look for some consistent goals in his side, who are also without Cole Palmer for this fixture.
| Benfica under Jose Mourinho | xG allowed |
| AVS Futebol 0-3 Benfica | 0.9 |
| Benfica 1-1 Rio Ave | 0.2 |
| Benfica 2-1 Gil Vicente FC | 1.2 |
Chelsea invested £140 million in their frontline of Joao Pedro, Estevao, and Jamie Gittens, yet Maresca’s side have struggled to score goals of late.
Maresca will hope his underwhelming attack can find their shooting boots against Benfica, but no one will be more aware of the opposition Mourinho will pose than the Chelsea fans.