Jose Mourinho thanked Chelsea fans for their reception on his Stamford Bridge return but said memories will not “feed” him after Benfica were beaten 1-0 on Tuesday.
Home supporters sang Mourinho’s name as early as the second minute but there was little that came from their former hero or his team to generate an engaging sub-plot to complement a routine Blues victory.
An own goal from midfielder Richard Rios in the 18th minute was the difference in a match light on excitement as Enzo Maresca’s side got their Champions League season going at the second attempt.
All the talk in the build-up had been about three-time Premier League winner Mourinho but his side never looked a match for Chelsea.
“I don’t feed myself with these memories,” he said. “I feed myself with victories. Of course I take [the memories]. On the pitch I was focused on the game, but you have always a little bit of the sound.
“I thank [the fans]. I live around and when I’m in London I meet them every day on the street. I know that it’s going to be a relationship for ever. Hopefully I come back here in 20 years with my grandkids. They belong to my history and I belong to their history.”
This was not a vintage display from Chelsea, with Maresca crediting his players for “winning ugly.”
Alisson injured in Liverpool loss
Arne Slot says Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker will miss Saturday’s trip to Chelsea after going off injured in the 1-0 defeat away to Galatasaray.
Victor Osimhen’s first-half penalty proved the difference, with Alisson forced off after injuring himself saving from the Nigeria international in the second half.
“If my player is on the floor I nine out of 10 times fear the worst, and with the worst I mean that he cannot continue and that is what happened with Alisson,” said Slot.
“Normally he will not be able to play Saturday, that is 99.9 per cent.”
Striker Hugo Ekitike also came off in the second half and Slot added: “Hugo felt something and said he couldn’t continue. Let’s see how he is for the weekend.”
It was a second defeat in a week for Slot's side after their weekend humbling at Crystal Palace.
Slot responded to that defeat by leaving Mohamed Salah and record signing Alexander Isak on the bench among four changes.
However, he got little in the way of a response in another disjointed display from the Premier League champions.
"Again, disappointment because you lose and football is about winning, but for me this was a different performance," said Slot.
"The margins were very small last season but then we were a lot of times on the right side of the score.
"Today again the margins were really small, but for the second time in a row on the wrong side."
Mbappe hits treble in Almaty
Record 15-time European champions Real Madrid made the long trip east to face Kairat Almaty and ran out 5-0 winners.
Mbappe opened the scoring from a first-half penalty and made it 2-0 soon after the break before firing in from the edge of the area to complete his hat-trick on 73 minutes, making it 60 career Champions League goals.
The Frenchman has now scored 13 goals in nine games in all competitions this season for Real, who also saw Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz net towards the end.
Bayern Munich also scored five, with Harry Kane netting twice in the first half in a 5-1 win away to Pafos in Cyprus. The England star now has 17 goals in nine games in all competitions this season for his club.
Raphael Guerreiro, Nicolas Jackson and Michael Olise also found the net for Bayern, while Mislav Orsic scored for the hosts.
"I'm going into games with confidence, knowing I'll get my chances. Scored a couple more goals today, I'm happy with that," Kane said.
Atletico followed a 5-2 win over Real in the Madrid derby last weekend by thumping Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1.
Giacomo Raspadori, Robin Le Normand, Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone netted for Atletico before Julian Alvarez scored a late penalty. Griezmann's goal was his 200th for the club. Jonathan Burkardt pulled one back for Eintracht.
Igor Paixao netted twice in the opening 12 minutes as Marseille hammered Ajax 4-0. Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were also on target.
Lautaro Martinez got a brace either side of a Denzel Dumfries goal as last season's runners-up Inter eased to a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague at San Siro.
Mario Pasalic scored a late winner as Atalanta beat Club Brugge 2-1, after a Lazar Samardzic penalty had cancelled out a Christos Tzolis opener for the Belgians.
