Chelsea is going to face Benfica tomorrow night at Stamford Bridge in a must winning match after losing the first round to Bayern München 3-0.
On facing Jose Mourinho with Benfica
"It's absolutely a privilege to face Jose Mourinho tomorrow. He is a legend for this club - not only this club - but many different clubs so it will be a privilege to face Jose tomorrow."
"We have a plan for these two, three things that I expect from Benfica. Jose Mourinho has showed during his career how good he has been playing with different shapes."
On the objective of the match
"We try to win every game. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow."
"I feel already lucky with that winning a trophy at Chelsea after one season. For sure, the target, hopefully one day, we can all together win this kind of moment winning the Champions League and/or Premier League."
On the difference between the match against Benfica in Club World Cup and tomorrow's game
"It's a little more difficult because they just played three, four games with Jose. For sure, it will be a completely different game compared to the Club World Cup game."
#UCL nights 🆚 S.L.Benfica! ⏪ pic.twitter.com/6qFVa270ui
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 29, 2025
On the relationship with Chelsea fans
"Probably continue to win trophies [fans singing my name]. I remember for some moments last season, Southampton away, the fans started to sing: 'we have our Chelsea back'. I would like one day for sure, but it is not my target. I am already happy if they sing 'we have our Chelsea back'."
On the missing players for Benfica's game
"We need to maintain levels for sure, because Champions League requires a high level."
"We have, unfortunately, many players out [because of injury]. This afternoon we will assess Caicedo, Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos. They are all players with some small problems. We will see if they are available."
On Estevao
"He is doing very good, very well. It is not easy for a 17-18 year old player to arrive in Europe at a big club. We are very happy with him. He's what we need in terms of energy."
On the Pressure of bad results recently
"We need to be positive because it's what the players need. Secondly, there is no reason to be negative. This morning, the club showed me the stats in the last six months we lost five games, four of them with red cards. We like to win games, no doubt."
"The reality is there is not any pressure. The pressure we have is the pressure of being at Chelsea, you need to win games."
"After reviewing the last two games, Man United and Brighton, I could have done better probably in terms of decisions, no doubt. For me, it's like a learning process to play with 10 players. It's not something normal. Unfortunately for us, it happened two times."
"If in this moment, after five defeats in six months, we aren't happy, then this probably shows a lack of balance in this sport. The only thing you can do is try to do better, learn and improve. The most important thing in this business is to win games."
On the team's mentality
"The reality is I have a very good feeling with the squad we have. Compared to us last season, we have all improved. Me, personally as a manager, I feel better than last year. There are many, many things I need to learn."
"We need high levels, no doubt. We have young players but already with experience in this competition. Hato has already experience. He will be a top player for Chelsea. Garnacho, Gittens, even if they are young, they've played in this competition."
Chelsea started the season in a slow way, winning just 2 games in the Premier league, losing two matches and draw in other two games, and they had a heavy defeat against Bayern München in the Champions League.
