LISBON, Portugal — José Mourinho enjoyed a winning return to coaching in his native Portugal after new club Benfica beat AFS 3-0 on the road on Saturday.
Mourinho was announced as Benfica’s coach on Thursday, the same club where he started his storied coaching career back in 2000.
The win left Benfica in second place in the Portuguese league standings at five points behind FC Porto and with a game in hand.
Heorhii Sudakov opened the scoring in first-half injury time. Vangelis Palvidis doubled the lead, and Franjo Ivanovic put it away. AFS was left in last place.
Mourinho replaced Bruno Lage, who was fired on Wednesday, a day after the team’s 3-2 home loss to Qarabag in the Champions League.
The 62-year-old Mourinho led Porto to the Champions League title in 2004 and left Portugal to t