Video of the day: Watch Chelsea beat Man United 1-0 in Mourinho’s first game as Blues’ boss
On this day in 2004, Chelsea got their 13th consecutive season in the Premier League underway with a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge courtesy of a 15th-minute strike from Eidur Gudjohnsen in what was Jose Mourinho’s first competitive game in charge of the Blues.
The game also served as the Chelsea debut for Didier Drogba, Petr Čech, Paulo Ferreira, Mateja Kezman, and Ricardo Carvalho.
Chelsea, backed by Roman Abramovich’s millions, would go on to win their first league title in 50 years, as well as the League Cup, in a season that saw them win the most away games in a season (15), keep the most clean sheets in a season (25), concede the fewest away goals in a season (9), secure the most wins in a season (29), and concede the fewest goals in a season (15).
Of the 15 goals conceded by Chelsea all through the season, 6 were from the penalty spot, one own goal and one deflection. In other words, they conceded just seven goals from open play in 38 matches.
