This Chelsea player may have earned starting spot against Liverpool in this one moment | OneFootball

Chelsea battled to a 1-0 victory over Benfica at Stamford Bridge last night, in no small part thanks to Alejandro Garnacho.

His cross was turned into the Benfica net by Richard Rios, and while the Argentine struggled to replicate that threat for the rest of the game, it was the decisive moment in a match we needed to win.

Garnacho on big three points under the lights

Alejandro Garnacho arrives for his Chelsea debut. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

“I think it was a really big three points and we needed that after losing the first game, so I’m really happy,” the winger said to the club’s official website after the dust settled on a scratchy win at Stamford Bridge.

“When we are young, we dream of Champions League nights. We are here now, so I am very happy to be at Chelsea, to play in this competition and to get the three points today.”

Garnacho was trusted with just his second start for the Blues today, in an attempt to force his way into the team for Saturday’s game against Liverpool.

“I am always ready for when I have to play, off the bench or from the start. The manager asked me to work and then to go one-v-one, that was the work I had to do,” Garnacho added politely.

Wing to wing link up with Neto pays off

Garnacho’s cross for the goal was in turn fed by a nice cross-field pass from Pedro Neto. He was asked about that connection:

“We always work on these movements. When, in this case, Pedro Neto crosses, I always have to be there [at the back post] and then things like this can happen. This time it’s an own goal, but it’s still a goal and so it’s good.”

In a team desperately lacking attacking chemistry, a little connection building between those two would be a huge coup.