Can Jose Mourinho break his 15-year Stamford Bridge hex? ‘The Special One’ prepares to return to Chelsea yet again in UEFA Champions League

It will be the first time since 2021 that Mourinho returns to the Bridge, and it will be the eighth time in total that he has come back after his first spell in charge of Chelsea, which ended in 2007.

“That’s going to be explosive, that’s going to be brilliant,” said Mourinho’s former player Joe Cole on TNT Sports a fortnight ago during Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League.

“It’ll be great to see him, old friends. Jose’s managed Manchester United and Tottenham but I think Chelsea fans always hold him fondly in their hearts and it’ll be a great night.”

Before the main event, let’s take a look back through his past visits…

The first time Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge after being sacked was in 2010, when he brought his all-conquering Internazionale side in March, in the last 16 of the Champions League.

A few weeks earlier, Inter had won the home leg 2-1, with goals from Diego Milito and Esteban Cambiasso, whilst Salomon Kalou scored for The Blues.

Chelsea fans had hoped to be able to turn things around in the second leg, but they were expertly shut down by Mourinho and Inter.

The Italian giants ended up with a 1-0 win, courtesy of future Blue Samuel Eto’o, and a 3-1 aggregate victory.

Inter would go on to win the tournament as part of a historic treble. Chelsea would have to wait two more years until they finally tasted European glory.

After leaving Inter, Mourinho’s career path took him to Real Madrid before making an emotional return to Chelsea in 2013.

He won the league again in 2014/15, but was sacked seven months later, with the club floundering in the bottom half of the table.

After spending a bit of time out of work, Mourinho returned to the Premier League with Manchester United, as the replacement for Louis van Gaal.

His first return to Stamford Bridge was a stark contrast to the first. His United team were completely blown away by Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.

The Blues scored within 30 seconds and ended up romping to a 4-0 win thanks to goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante.

The ordeal compounded with Stamford Bridge singing at their old manager, “You’re not special any more”.

Things were not much better six months later when Mourinho returned for a second time that season, this time in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Kante scored again but Mourinho had to endure chants of “Judas” from the Stamford Bridge faithful before biting back after the game.

“Until the moment they have a manager that wins four Premier Leagues for them, I’m the No. 1,” Mourinho said. “Until then, Judas is No. 1.”

Mourinho would take United to the Bridge twice more before he was sacked. In November 2017, he lost to an Alvaro Morata goal.

In 2018, he was famously involved in a furious touchline bust-up as Chelsea’s technical assistant Marco Ianni celebrated Ross Barkley’s dramatic late equaliser to make it 2-2 in front of the United dugout. Mourinho had to be held back as he attempted to chase Ianni down the tunnel.

The Portuguese had looked on course for his first victory since that night with Inter, after Anthony Martial’s brace had overriden Antonio Rudiger’s opener. But it was not to be as a frantic goalmouth scramble ended with Barkley poking home to rescue the draw.

After losing his role at Old Trafford, Mourinho was not out of work for long as he moved back to London, this time with Tottenham Hotspur.

However, once again it was not a happy return as his side were completely outplayed by Chelsea, now managed by his former player Frank Lampard.

Olivier Giroud scored the opener before Marcos Alonso finished off a fine team move, and although Spurs halved the deficit through Erik Lamela, they were firmly second-best in this contest.

Nine months – and one global pandemic – later, Mourinho and Spurs were back at the Bridge and this time they with left with a well-earned point.

Spurs were much more organised and were good value for a 0-0 draw, with both managers suggesting afterwards that their team did enough to win.

And that was the last time Mourinho coached at Stamford Bridge. In April 2021, Mourinho was sacked just days before the EFL Cup final and he went on to Roma and then Fenerbahce, not getting another chance to face Chelsea.

Mourinho has already had three games in charge since his return to Benfica. Things started well as they hammered AVS away 3-0, thanks to goals from Heorhiy Sudakov, Vangelis Pavlidis and Franjo Ivanovic.

However, last Tuesday they drew 1-1 at home to Rio Ave. Benfica dominated (19 shots to four) but they could not find a way past their relegation-threatened opponents until Sudakov scored in the 86th minute. Andre Luiz equalised for the visitors in the 91st minute to snatch a point.

Then on Friday, they went behind on 11 minutes against surprise package Gil Vicente. Pavlidis then scored twice to turn the game around and give Benfica the win.

They now sit third in the league, one point behind Porto and Sporting CP, albeit the former have played one game fewer than the other two giants.

Chelsea, on the other hand, are on a rough run. It began with a late equaliser conceded against Brentford, before they then lost back-to-back games away at Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

They stopped the rot briefly with a narrow 2-1 win at Lincoln City in the EFL Cup before being beaten 3-1 at home against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.