Returning Mourinho says he is still Chelsea's greatest manager

José Mourinho called himself "the biggest one" as he reflected on his record-breaking Chelsea history before his latest Stamford Bridge return.

- David Hytner

The self-styled "special one" is back with Benfica for tonight's Champions League tie and he repeated another famous old line of his to set the scene.

Mourinho anticipates no hostility from Chelsea's supporters as he seeks to ignite his Benfica tenure, having only joined them 12 days ago after his sacking by Fenerbahce at the end of August.

It has not always been the case when he has gone back to Stamford Bridge, with the nadir coming when he was barracked as the visiting Manchester United manager during an FA Cup defeat in March 2017. Mourinho, who won three Premier League titles for Chelsea across two spells, made the point back then that until another manager won four at the club, then "Judas is No 1".

"Chelsea is a winning machine that had in the past two or three years a moment without trophies," Mourinho said last night, back at the stadium where he gave his original 'special one' press conference.