Mourinho's debut fails to deliver victory as home opener ends in dropped points with a draw against a weaker team, placing Benfica lowest among the Portuguese league's top three.

At 03:15 on September 24th Beijing time, the postponed first round of the Primeira Liga saw Benfica host Rio Ave.

In the first half, Benfica dominated but failed to score, leaving the scoreline goalless at halftime; in the second half, Antonio Silva’s strike inside the box was disallowed for a foul, nullifying the opening goal. At the 86th minute, Sudakov scored the winner for Benfica, but in the 91st minute, Nikicir equalized for Rio Ave.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw between Benfica and Rio Ave, with Mourinho’s home debut for Benfica falling short of a full three points.

Facing a weaker side at home, Benfica remains unbeaten with 4 wins and 2 draws in 6 rounds, yet trails league leaders Porto by 4 points and ranks lowest among the top three in the Primeira Liga, one point behind second-placed Sporting CP.

Benfica vs Rio Ave featured starting lineups valued at €206 million versus €23 million, a difference of over nine times. Given such a disparity, Mourinho’s Benfica failing to secure all three points at home points to coaching issues. Benfica’s starting striker Pavlidis appeared disengaged, left winger Franjo was even worse, and right winger Oses was off form — the attacking trio collectively underperformed and failed to score. Mourinho must quickly boost Benfica’s offensive output because dropping points against weaker teams means falling behind in the title race. Rio Ave has scored 4 goals in 6 matches, ranking third from bottom. Mourinho’s inability to win his home debut with Benfica highlights the challenge he faces coaching this team!

Throughout the match, Benfica held 69% possession and took 19 shots, 7 on target; Rio Ave managed only 4 shots with 2 on target.