Mourinho has lost on his last three visits to Stamford Bridge
Tuesday 16 October 2018 12:07, UK
Jose Mourinho takes his Manchester United side to former club Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime hoping to close the gap on the joint Premier League leaders.
Saturday will be the ninth time the Portuguese has faced his old side in competitive action, having first played them while in charge of Inter Milan in the Champions League eight years ago.
Since those two encounters, Mourinho has gone head to head with the Blues on six other occasions as United boss.
However, having tasted victory on his first return to west London, the 'Special One' has lost his last three matches at Stamford Bridge.
And with the chance to move within just four points of the team he managed over two spells between 2004-2007 and 2013-2015, we take a look at his previous clashes with Chelsea...
Mourinho enjoyed a winning start against Chelsea following his first stint at the club when his Inter Milan side hosted the Blues in the Champions League in February 2010.
Diego Milito put the Italians ahead after just three minutes when he beat Petr Cech at his near post and after Didier Drogba hit the bar from 25 yards, Salomon Kalou brought Chelsea level five minutes after the break.
But parity lasted just three minutes as Wesley Sneijder's cross fell to Esteban Cambiasso and he scored at the second attempt to give Mourinho's side a one-goal lead to protect in the return leg.
Mourinho said: "Mourinho does not lose at Stamford Bridge. We can go there with a legitimate ambition to go through."
Mourinho was confident of getting the result required at Stamford Bridge and his players did not let him down - Samuel Eto's clinical strike on 79 minutes settling a scrappy encounter and sealing a spot in the last eight.
An ill-tempered evening, in which the 'Special One' was targeted for abuse by the home fans, ended with Didier Drogba sent off in the closing minutes after a penalty area clash with Thiago Motta.
While his backroom staff celebrated wildly, Mourinho cut a more restrained figure, but he would go on to win the treble that season, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final before resigning to take over at Real Madrid.
Mourinho said: "We deserve this victory, this must be an almost a perfect performance. Chelsea had reactions of frustration, of a team that felt the opposition was stronger. They tried to get back with conflict, long balls and diving in the box but I think everything we did was superior."
The first of three meetings between the two clubs last season saw Mourinho humiliated at Stamford Bridge as the eventual champions routed his new side.
After a warm welcome from the home fans, it took just 30 seconds for the players to spoil his return to west London as Pedro pounced on a defensive mix-up to score, before Gary Cahill volleyed home on 21 minutes.
Chelsea then sat back after the break and hit United on the break, Eden Hazard weaving into the area to add a third on 62 minutes with N'Golo Kante wrapping up the win on 70 minutes.
Mourinho's frustrations were evident at the final whistle as he remonstrated with Conte about his behaviour on the touchline, feeling the Italian had "humiliated" him and his team.
Mourinho said: "You come with a strategy, you cannot concede a goal the way we did in the first minute and after that, that changes the game completely."
United returned to Stamford Bridge in March bidding to book their place in the FA Cup semi-final, but again Mourinho left the capital disappointed, with N'Golo Kante on target in a 1-0 win that saw United finish the game with 10 men.
Ander Herrera was the man to see red after two late first-half tackles on Eden Hazard; indicative of a feisty affair in which Mourinho and Antonio Conte had to be separated by the fourth official following a robust Antonio Valencia challenge on Marcos Alonso.
Chelsea took the lead six minutes after the break through Kante, who rifled home from 20 yards, with Marcus Rashford denied by the feet of Thibaut Courtois in United's best chance.
Mourinho said: "I don't speak [about the red card]. I just want to say that I'm really proud of my players and Manchester United fans."
Mourinho finally enjoyed some success over his former club as United boss when the Blues visited Old Trafford in April.
United were without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Marcus Rashford's early strike and a deflected Ander Herrera effort proved the difference between the teams as Chelsea suffered a setback in their ultimately successful title bid.
The result stretched United's unbeaten run in the Premier League to 22 games and moved them to within four points of Manchester City in fourth, although they would not catch them and needed Europa League glory to seal their place in this season's Champions League.
Mourinho said: "We were tactically very good and the players did an amazing job, controlling a team full of fantastic players."
Mourinho took his United side to the Bridge looking to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City, only to suffer defeat at his old home for the third match in a row.
Similar to United's narrow loss in the FA Cup the previous March, it was a closely fought contest decided by Alvaro Morata's 55th-minute header, with the visitors struggling to carve out any meaningful openings.
Mourinho said: "The game was controlled by us and the game was controlled by them. We had chances and they had chances."
United came from behind to secure an important league victory over Chelsea last February as the home team moved back up to second in the table.
Romelu Lukaku got his side back on level terms with a first-half equaliser after Willian's early strike, before the Belgium international set up Jesse Lingard to head home the winner 15 minutes from time.
And that victory helped Mourinho finish above his former club in last season's race for the top four.
Mourinho said: "We beat a very good team, and to beat a very good team you need to be organised, but you need to also to have a humble spirit where everybody works, everybody fights, everybody tries to follow a game-plan. I repeat - we beat a very good team."
Mourinho suffered his first-ever cup final defeat in England after Eden Hazard's first-half penalty saw Chelsea edge out United 1-0 in the FA Cup showpiece at Wembley last May.
The Portuguese and his opposite number Antonio Conte had been at loggerheads all season long, making this a particularly painful loss for United's manager.
However, despite dominating the second half, United were unable to find a way past Chelsea 'keeper Courtois as 'The Special One's' most recent meeting with his former team ended in defeat at the home of football.
Mourinho said: "I think we were the best team, but that is football. I am quite curious to know what you say or what people write because if my team plays like Chelsea did, I can imagine what people would say."
