Key events
GOAL DISALLOWED! Bodø Glimt 1-0 Spurs
Huge cheer as the referee rules that there is no goal. Van de Ven is furious. He is judged to have fouled Bjørtuft by pulling his shirt. Moments later the Spurs captain gets a yellow card for another foul, this time on Auklend. He needs to keep his head here.
GOAL! Bodø Glimt 1-1 Spurs (Bentancur 55)
Spurs immediately respond! It is from a set piece and the hosts are caught sleeping. Johnson gets the ball back into the area after it is half cleared and Bentancur flicks it in. But here we go … a VAR check. The referee heads to the screen.
GOAL! Bodø Glimt 1-0 Spurs (Hague 53)
It has been coming! Bodø Glimt have their first ever goal in the Champions League and what a finish from Hague. On the left, he skips past a few Spurs shirts and then curls one into the net. Huge noise from the yellow-donning supporters.
Hague was born and raised in the city and played every minute of their European campaign last season. What a moment for him.
Bodø Glimt 0-0 Spurs: The home fans cheer as Spence miscontrols a ball that goes out. Very indicative of their performance so far.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica: The visitors come close! Aursnes is through on goal from the left hand side but he is tripped over by Sánchez. He was judged to be in an offside position anyway.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica: An early yellow card for Buonanotte thought the replay shows he did get the ball before Barrenechea did. The commentators are saying Fernández – who is also on a yellow – was cautioned by the referee to “be careful” in the second half.
We are back underway across the grounds! More goals? Yes, please!
Half-time: I missed a couple goals during a massive rush. Griezmann scored Atlético’s third, his 200th for the club, but it was all made possible due to Alvarez, who beat his man on the left before picking out Griezmann to finish it.
Inter are 2-0 up with their second coming from Dumfries. Thuram found the full-back and all he needed to do was poke it home at the near post.
Bayern are 4-1 up at Pafos, with Kane scoring his second shortly after Jackson scored his first goal for the club. The hosts got one back on the brink of half-time with a sensational top corner shot from Mislav Orsic, who managed to wrongfoot Neuer.
And in the Football League, with Jeremy getting in touch to tell me the Championship is “SERIOUS”. Hard agree. But hard to keep up with on a European night.
Championship
Birmingham 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Blackburn 1-1 Swansea
Bristol City 1-0 Ipswich
Hull 1-2 Preston North End
Leicester 1-0 Wrexham
Middlesbrough 0-0 Stoke
Sheffield United 1-0 Southampton
Derby 0-1 Charlton
League One
Blackpool 1-0 Luton
Cardiff 0-0 Burton Albion
Half-time scores in the Champions League
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica
Bodø/Glimt 0-0 Spurs
Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool
Atlético Madrid 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Pafos 1-4 Bayern Munich
Inter 2-0 Slavia Prague
Marseille 3-0 Ajax
Bodø Glimt 0-0 Spurs: Hague hits the side netting from a low effort after cutting inside. Fet then almost gets the opener after skying a chance from just outside the six-yard box. Spurs getting lucky here.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica: A well-worked free-kick routine that lands to Badiashile but his header goes over the bar. The offside flag saves his blushes as he probably should do better from that chance.
Chelsea 1-0 Benfica: Fernández goes over for a corner kick and he applauds the Benfica fans – the midfielder played there for half a season – but the feeling is not reciprocated. The fans start chucking things his way and Mourinho is forced to walk down the touchline to tell the supporters to stop. The corner leads to nothing.
GOAL! Atlético Madrid 2-0 Frankfurt (Le Normand 33)
The defender is the quickest to react at the back post after Antoinne Griezmann has his flick saved by the goalkeeper. A dominant performance from the Spanish club after their 5-2 hammering of Real Madrid at the weekend.
PENALTY MISS! Bodø Glimt 0-0 Spurs
Huge let-off for Tottenham! Bentancur concedes a penalty for a follow-through on Bjørkan that is confirmed by VAR. Høgh steps up and sends his spot-kick wildly over the bar. So poor!
GOAL! Inter 1-0 Slavia Prague (Martínez 30)
The Inter captain has had a handful of chances and he finally makes one count. He does not let his misses get to him as he presses Stanek. The keeper has a howler, passing it straight to the striker, who scores into an open net.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: Before kick-off, Mourinho was blowing kisses to the Chelsea faithful who were chanting his name. Now he has a very serious look on his face as he directs Pavlidis up the pitch.
GOAL! Marseille 3-0 Ajax (Greenwood 26)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gets his second assist of the night as the hosts cruise in the first half.
Bodø/Glimt 0-0 Spurs: Tottenham are surprisingly sitting deep and struggling to get out of their own half. But they’re keeping their defensive shape well. The hosts have had 70% possession but only one chance on target.
GOAL! Pafos 0-2 Bayern (Guerreiro 21)
Olise is again involved, working the ball from the right before a quick give-and-go between Guerreiro and Jackson. The defender then smoothly slots into the back of the net.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Benfica (Ríos 18og)
A good cross from the right finds Garnacho after a good run into the box and the former Manchester United forward hits into the box. It smashes against Ríos and straight into the net.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: Neto has George at the edge of the box but he opts to go for goal after cutting inside on the right and it is a good effort – just wide!
GOAL! Pafos 0-1 Bayern (Kane 15)
Who else?! The English striker continues his fine form in Cyprus, scoring after linking up with Olise moments after hitting the woodwork.
GOAL! Marseille 2-0 Ajax (Paixão 11)
Another for the Brazilian! Ajax are an absolute mess at the back! The lose the ball near their own box and Paixão’s long range shot doubles the score.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: George, who is starting up front in a somewhat unfamiliar position, is making good runs but is not getting much of the ball from his teammates. Meanwhile, the ball lands to Garnacho after some good work on the right hand side but his bouncing half-volley is wide.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: A poor ball from Cucurella which lands to Lukébakio but the Belgian can only hit the post. Warning signs for Chelsea’s defence.
GOAL! Marseille 1-0 Ajax (Paixão 7)
Some great quick passing from the hosts before a well-timed run from Paixão. He is essentially 1v1 with the keeper and fires a low shot at the near post.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: The Benfica fans are in full voice but it is Chelsea who have started well. Fernández has a go from outside the box but it is just wide.
GOAL! Atlético Madrid 1-0 Frankfurt (Raspadori 4)
The hosts find an early lead! Giuliano Simeone does well on the right before hitting a low cross to Giacomo Raspadori who fires it home.
Bodø/Glimt 0-0 Spurs: The visitors win an early free kick. Porro whips it to the far post but it is dealt with by the hosts and goes out for a goal kick.
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica: Mourinho and Maresca shared a long chat in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. A manager making his Champions League debut this season against a two-time winner.
Kick-offs in the late Champions League games. Here we go!
Chelsea 0-0 Benfica
Bodø/Glimt 0-0 Spurs
Galatasaray 0-0 Liverpool
Atlético Madrid 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Pafos 0-0 Bayern Munich
Inter 0-0 Slavia Prague
Marseille 0-0 Ajax
Full-time in the early Champions League kick-offs.
Kairat 0-5 Real Madrid: A Kylian Mbappé hat-trick plus goals from Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Díaz give the visitors an emphatic yet expected win.
Atalanta 2-1 Club Brugge: After a much-better showing in the second-half, Lazar Samardzic’s penalty and Mario Pasalic’s header helped the hosts come from behind to secure victory.
Some of your thoughts have landed in the postbag as we approach the late kick-offs.
Jeremy knows what to expect from today:
Yeah, OK, looking forward to Liverpool scoring/conceding a stoppage time winner, to Spurs grinding out a draw in the Arctic Circle with their soft-southerner gloves and tights on, but obviously all eyes are on Stamford Bridge, just as The Special/Mellow/Sacked one would like it. He had us all fooled for a while, taking it all on his heavily stubbled chin to allow the players space to express themselves. But actually it was all up there to see long before. Where were the cameras for his Porto period Old Trafford knee-slide? Goalscorer? Assister? JoseKneeSlide?
What on earth have Benfica done putting him on the payroll? Graham Potter is available, is it too late? It all feels a bit like this.
And Krishna with an eye-catching prediction:
A club that has won all the European cups (CL, EL and the new CL) meets its former boss who has also won all the three cups as a manager. I expect decorum to last till half-time after which the special one will poke Maresca in the eye.
Liverpool are at Galatasaray and Arne Slot has left a couple big names on the bench. Follow along with Scott Murray in our minute-by-minute report.
Real Madrid are up 3-0 in Kazakhstan, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a penalty before netting two in the second-half. The hosts were doing well to fend off the Spanish giants but inexperience cost Kairat with their 18-year-old goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza made a silly foul in the box on Franco Mastantuono. The Kazakhstani keeper saved a spot-kick against Sporting in their first Champions League match but could not do the same against Mbappé.
His second came after Thibaut Courtois caught the hosts’ defence sleeping. Mbappé latched onto the keepers long ball before lifting it over Kalmurza. The Frenchman’s hat-trick was rounded out with a laser shot into the bottom corner.
Club Brugge led at Atalanta after a curling finish from Christos Tzolis. That is now two goals and four assists in six Champions League matches this season (includes qualifying). But the hosts bounced back after VAR confirmed a penalty, Lazar Samardzic pulling one back.
Bayern head to the coasts of Cyprus to take on Pafos and Harry Kane will be keen to add to his Champions League goal tally. He has scored eight goals in his last eight Champions League appearances and is now one of only three players with 20+ goals scored for two different clubs, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
The striker has also scored a century of goals for the club in record time and, somehow, Bayern and Kane is a combination that just makes sense. Here is more from Andy Brassell.
Team news: Bodø/Glimt v Spurs
Bodø/Glimt (4-3-3): Haikin; Sjøvold, Bjørtuft, Aleesami, Bjørkan; Evjen, Berg, Brunstad Fet; Auklend, Høgh, Hauge
Subs: Lund, Sjong, Nielsen, Gundersen, Blomberg, Helmersen, Klynge, Riisnaes, Määttä, Jørgensen, Hansen
Spurs (4-3-3): Vicario; Spence, Danso, Van de Ven, Porro; Sarr, Bergvall, Bentancur; Johnson, Richarlison, Odobert
Subs: Kinský, Austin, Palhinha, Simons, Udogie, Gray, Kudus, Davies, Scarlett, Olusesi, Hardy
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia)
Team news: Chelsea v Benfica
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández; Neto, Buonanotte, Garnacho; George
Subs: Jørgensen, Merrick, Gittens, João Pedro, Hato, James, Acheampong, Guiu, Estêvão, Lavia, Walsh
Benfica (4-2-3-1): Trubin; Dedić, Otamendi, António Silva, Dahl; Barrenechea, Ríos; Lukébakio, Aursnes, Sudakov; Pavlidis
Subs: Ferreira, Soares, Obrador, Ivanović, Barreiro, Schjelderup, H Araújo, T Araújo, Oliveira, Veloso, Rego, Prioste
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Farther north, Thomas Frank will hope his side can find a creative spark, something they have lacked since the start of the season. While they lie fourth in the Premier League, they are ninth for chance creation.
Last year, most of the games, it was [Dejan] Kulusevski, [James] Maddison, Sonny [Heung-min] and Dom[inic Solanke] who played. Now we have more or less a new front four and they are doing very well. Maybe we are creating more chances, dominating a bit more. All the right signs are there.
Read more from Frank and the task at hand in Bodø from Jonathan Wilson.
Check out the always-funny David Squires on Mourinho’s homecoming before watching the Portuguese describe in his own words his special connection with Chelsea.
José Mourinho made his name in European football when he followed up a 2002-03 Uefa Cup success at Porto with a historic Champions League win the next season.
He went on to lift league titles with Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid and a second Champions League with the Nerazzurri. The Portuguese legend more recently won the Europa League with Manchester United and completed a clean sweep of the major Uefa club trophies by steering Roma to Conference League glory. Now he is back at Benfica, the club where, for a few months in 2000, he took his first senior coaching role.
He faces a Chelsea that is much changed from his days as manager. Enzo Maresca has had an tumultuous tenure so far, with Conference League and Club World Cup highs and injury-woes and in-game management lows. While the comparison with Mourinho’s glory days will be clear, the Stamford Bridge hierarchy firmly believe in their current man and he must use his squad if he wants to win over Mourinho today.
How things stand in the Champions League league phase table after the first games.
And here is a refresher on who stood out in matchday one. Hint: Marcus Rashford and PSG.
Preamble
José Mourinho is back in west London. The Special One™ returns to Chelsea today with an abundance of memories that swirl around him in his introduction to English football. With three Premier League titles to his name at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho claims he remains the club’s best manager.
But he will have his work cut out for him. Benfica are without a win in their last seven Uefa competition games against English teams, their most recent being a 3-1 away victory against Tottenham in the 2013-14 Europa League round of 16. Plus the Portuguese is winless in his past seven against Chelsea. Can he cause an upset with Benfica today? And will we get a revival of his greatest hits on the touchline?
That is, of course, not all in this jam-packed matchday 2 of the Champions League league phase. Two all-time Champions League/European Cup geography records will be broken today as Thomas Frank’s Tottenham head north of the Arctic Circle to face Bodø/Glimt in the competition’s most northerly match ever. And Real Madrid are 30 minutes into their match against Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, the competition’s most easterly match.
Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid host Eintracht Frankfurt while Ajax head to Marseille.
Plus action in the Championship and League One includes Leicester v Wrexham, Bristol v Ipswich and Blackpool v Luton.
Champions League
Atalanta 0-0 Club Brugge
Kairat Almaty 0-1 Real Madrid
Pafos v Bayern Munich
Atlético Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt
Bodø/Glimt v Spurs
Chelsea v Benfica
Inter v Slavia Prague
Marseille v Ajax
Galatasaray v Liverpool
Championship
Birmingham v Sheffield Wednesday
Blackburn v Swansea
Bristol City v Ipswich
Hull v Preston North End
Leicester v Wrexham
Middlesbrough v Stoke
Sheffield United v Southampton
Derby v Charlton
League One
Blackpool v Luton
Cardiff v Burton Albion
Phew! Lots to look forward to. Feel free to get in touch with any thoughts, predictions, queries or memories of your favourite former managers returning to their previous clubs à la José via email.
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