Since the turn of the Millennium, the Blues have faced teams managed by our ex-bosses on 24 occasions and lost only once while winning 17 games and drawing six.

Benitez managed one victory in 12 games at the Bridge as manager of Liverpool from 2004 to 2010 and since his short spell as our interim manager in 2012/13, the Spaniard has found success even harder to come by in SW6 with defeats on all three of his visits with Newcastle United.

The Magpies were beaten 3-1 in the Premier League and 3-0 in the FA Cup during the 2017/18 season and lost 2-1 in the league the following season.

As manager of Inter Milan, Jose Mourinho inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Blues in March 2010 which eliminated us from the Champions League in the round of 16. However, there was little joy for the Special One on his subsequent trips with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

His first visit with United in October 2016 proved a chastening experience as the Blues took the lead through Pedro after 30 seconds and hammered the Red Devils 4-0 with Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante also getting on the scoresheet.

Kante was also on target when we edged them 1-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final later that season, Alvaro Morata got the only goal when we won by the same score in the league the following season and Ross Barkley’s strike deep into stoppage time rescued a 2-2 draw in 2018/19.

Mourinho’s two league games at the Bridge as Spurs boss also failed to yield a victory as we beat our London rivals 2-1 in 2019/20 and drew 0-0 in 2020/21.

Two other former Chelsea managers also failed to win at the Bridge when they returned with Tottenham.

Glenn Hoddle saw his Southampton side draw 1-1 in SW6 in March 2000 before he took charge of Spurs a year later with his reign at White Hart Lane producing one draw and three defeats in away matches against the Blues.

They lost 2-1 in the League Cup and 4-0 in the Premier League in 2001/02, gained a point from a 1-1 draw in 2002/03 and lost 4-2 in September 2003 just a week before he was dismissed by the club.

Meanwhile Andre Villas-Boas’ lone return visit late in the 2012/13 season ended in a 2-2 draw which all but ended Tottenham’s hopes of overtaking us in the race for a Champions League spot.

Benitez’s predecessor as Everton manager, Carlo Ancelotti, is fondly remembered by Chelsea fans for leading us to the Double in 2009/10 but his Toffees failed to end their long winless run at Stamford Bridge as they were beaten 4-0 in 2019/20 and 2-0 last season.

Avram Grant also lost on both of his return trips as manager of Portsmouth (2-1) in 2009/10 and West Ham United (3-0) in 2010/11.

Finally, Claudio Ranieri’s return visits to the Bridge with three different clubs have ended in three losses and a draw. The Italian was in charge of Juventus when they lost 1-0 in the last 16 of the Champions League in February 2009, Leicester City when they drew 1-1 in May 2016 and lost 3-0 five months later, and Fulham when they were beaten 2-0 in the west London derby in December 2018.