Chelsea secured their first win of the 2025-26 Champions League thanks to a 1-0 win over Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, despite being reduced to 10 men again.
Enzo Maresca’s side held 56% possession in the match, but they only had taking eight, generating 0.93 Expected Goals.
While it wasn’t a free flowing attacking performance, Chelsea were able to keep their first clean sheet since their 2-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League.
In this article, we’ll cover
Maresca’s zone replacement
Chelsea’s build up was one of the most interesting details in the game. The Blues kept a 4-1 base which shifted into a 2-3 further forward, as seen in the first half against Brighton and Hove Albion.
This shape allows the two central defenders to split and Moises Caicedo to join them as anchors. The rest of the team then has more license to move and interchange with each other.
Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella and Alejandro Garnacho had some really nice moments of fluidity on that left side. They disrupted Benfica’s man-to-man approach when pressing out of their 5-4-1 shape, with Richard Rios operating in a hybrid role, tasked with following Fernandez when he dropped in.
This is clearly something Maresca is trying to add in his second season. It utilises the qualities of his players in multiple zones to deform opposition pressing schemes.
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Overload to isolate
Another key detail was the usage of Pedro Neto and Garnacho on opposite wings, looking to utilise overload to isolate dynamics. And it led to the only goal of the game.
Before Garnacho had even been signed, you could see Chelsea moving towards a heavy right-side bias in build up. They were working it down the side with Neto, Cole Palmer, Estevao and Reece James, looking to drag opposition players over.
With this amount of gravity on the right side of the pitch, the left side will often appear underloaded, leaving a man spare and therefore an opportunity to exploit.
This is exactly what happened in this game. Neto cut inside and found an in-swinging cross to the back post, while Fernandez occupied the Benfica full-back. Garnacho made the run to arrive free at the back post, flashing it back across the box and leading to the own goal.
Moises Caicedo’s brilliance
Caicedo was excellent as ever. He acted as that anchor in build up but also out of possession, winning 10 of his 15 ground duels and making a whopping eight tackles in the match.
The 23-year-old Ecuadorian also misplaced just one of his 61 attempted passes, while also creating two chances.
Despite being a doubt for this game, Caicedo put in an excellent display. He helped his side get back to winning ways, mopping up all kinds of danger in the middle of the park.
A welcome return for Badiashile
One key area Chelsea have been struggling this season is central defence. Levi Colwill picked up an unfortunately-timed ACL injury before the season begun, and is expected to miss the majority of the campaign.
Maresca’s issues don’t stop there. Tosin Adarabioyo has also picked up a knock, while Trevoh Chalobah was sent off against Brighton — meaning he will miss the Liverpool game at the weekend. And his other two options — Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong — are severely inexperienced at this moment.
A return to fitness for Benoit Badiashile couldn’t come soon enough. The Frenchman made an 11-minute cameo against Brighton before starting on Tuesday night.
Badiashile was composed on the ball playing out from the back, completing 95 of his 99 attempted passes. And he also completed three of his four long ball attempts.
The Frenchman won two of his three ground duels in the match, making two tackles, two interceptions and three clearances. He was a key factor in what was an important Chelsea clean sheet.