Chelsea completely dismantled Barcelona to climb up the UEFA Champions League table as Enzo Maresca’s men put on a dazzling performance, stunning the travelling Catalans.
Chelsea move up to fifth place in the league table with this immense showing from Enzo Maresca’s side. Three goals and a clean sheet are quite something, especially against one of the world’s best teams.
Hansi Flick has got a lot of work to do in this UCL campaign as Barcelona drops to 15th place, which is a complete contrast to last season’s league phase in the UCL, as they were almost unstoppable, finishing in second place on 19 points.
Match Events - As it Happened
European nights at Stamford Bridge are known to be feisty, and as the two have formed quite a rivalry due to dramatic matches in the past, the atmosphere was booming from both sets of fans.
Very early on, both sides had great chances to take the lead: Enzo fernández had his goal ruled out due to a handball from Wesley Fofana, and then, almost immediately down the other end of the pitch, Ferran Torres was given a golden opportunity to open the scoring from close range but missed the target.
Enzo Fernández had a second goal ruled out, this time for an offside call, as a beautiful free-kick delivery from Estêvāo was misheaded by Trevor Chalobah and finished by the Argentine. But Chalobah was in an offside position, interfering with the Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García’s view.
Another chance came for Chelsea as the ball was cut back by Alejandro Garnacho to find fellow companion Fernández, whose first-time shot was blocked by Barça defender Alejandro Balde, which went out for a corner.
From the corner, Chelsea finally opened the scoring of the night through a nicely threaded ball by Garnacho into the feet of Marc Cucurella, who drilled the ball on his weaker foot towards the middle of the Barcelona box to find Pedro Neto, whose shot was failed to be cleared off the line as opposing right-back Jules Koundé rolled the ball under his foot into his own net.
The momentum was most certainly on Chelsea’s side as they almost had a second with Reece James finding some space on the edge of Barcelona’s box to have a shot on goal. Struck with some venom, his effort fired just over the bar with García beaten.
Just before the break, Hansi Flick’s side went down to 10 men as Ronald Araújo was sent off for a late sliding challenge on Cucurella. There were no doubts from referee Slavko Vinčič, who went straight to his pocket to show the Uruguayan his second yellow and ultimately, a red card.
Five minutes into the second half, Chelsea had a third goal disallowed as Garnacho was leaning into an offside position before playing the ball to substitute Andrey Santos, who finished past García on his near post.
Stamford Bridge was in jubilation after a superb solo dribble from Brazilian star Estêvāo, who twisted and turned through Barcelona defenders Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde, shifting the ball on to his right foot and rifling the ball into the roof of García’s net.
The Blues’ third and final goal came from substitute Liam Delap as Barcelona’s high defensive line was exposed again. Pedro Neto played a wonderful through ball to Enzo Fernández, timing his run perfectly, which was first deemed offside by the lineman and corrected as onside by VAR, then unselfishly squaring the ball to Delap to break his goalscoring drought.
Match Ratings
Player of the Match (POTM): Marc Cucurella 9
Team Ratings: Chelsea 9 | Barcelona 3
Manager Ratings: Enzo Maresca 10 | Hansi Flick 2
Chelsea Ratings
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| R. Sánchez | 7 |
| M. Gusto | 7 |
| W. Fofana | 7 |
| T. Chalobah | 8 |
| M. Cucurella (POTM) | 9 |
| R. James (C) | 8 |
| M. Caicedo | 9 |
| Estêvāo | 8 |
| E. Fernández | 8 |
| A. Garnacho | 7 |
| P. Neto | 8 |
Substitutes
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| A. Santos (46’) | 7 |
| L. Delap (59’) | 7 |
| J. Gittens (76’) | 6 |
| J. Acheampong (82’) | N/A |
| T. George (82’) | N/A |
FC Barcelona Ratings
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| J. García | 4 |
| J. Koundé | 3 |
| R. Araújo (C) | 2 |
| P. Cubarsí | 4 |
| A. Balde | 5 |
| E. García | 4 |
| F. de Jong | 6 |
| L. Yamal | 6 |
| F. López | 5 |
| F. Torres | 5 |
| R. Lewandowski | 5 |
Substitutes
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| M. Rashford (46’) | 4 |
| A. Christensen (62’) | 5 |
| Raphinha (62’) | 5 |
| G. Martín (80’) | 5 |
| D. Olmo (80’) | 5 |
Up Next
Barcelona are called into action first on Saturday, 29 November, against Deportivo Alavés at the Camp Nou, which should expect Hansi Flick’s side to get back to winning ways. Especially since Barça have been unstoppable at home this season, and in their return at the Camp Nou, they thrashed Athletic Club 4-0.
Then, on Sunday, 30 November, Chelsea take on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, which should host a similar type of atmosphere to tonight, as not only is the fixture a London derby, but also a massive tie between first and second in the Premier League. This has all the makings to be a great match, so to ensure a seat, buy your ticket from 1BoxOffice.
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