A chaotic night at Stamford Bridge ended in disaster for Barcelona, who collapsed 3-0 to a ruthless Chelsea after going down to 10 men late in the first half.
An own goal from Jules Koundé opened the scoring before Estevão doubled the lead with a brilliant strike. Liam Delap sealed the 3-0 victory with Chelsea’s third.
Chelsea could have scored three more, but those efforts were ruled out for offside or handball.
Chelsea dominated from the outset and nearly took the lead in the fourth minute. Enzo Fernández put the ball into the Barcelona net from close range, but the referee disallowed it for a handball by defender Wesley Fofana in the buildup.
Two minutes later, Ferran Torres squandered a golden opportunity to put Barcelona ahead. Receiving a pass from Lamine Yamal inside the box with only the goalkeeper to beat, the 25-year-old forward inexplicably fired wide from near the penalty spot. That was all for the night for Barça.
The home side’s breakthrough came through fortune. In the 27th minute, Marc Cucurella’s cutback caused confusion inside the Barcelona box—Neto’s flick was cleared off the line by Ferran Torres, only for the ball to rebound off Koundé and roll into the net.
Barcelona’s troubles deepened just before halftime when captain Ronald Araújo picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Cucurella, leaving his team a man down and visibly shaken.
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Chelsea struck again shortly after the restart. In the 55th minute, young Brazilian Estevão produced a superb solo effort, bursting into the box, cutting past Eric García and Alejandro Balde, and smashing the ball inside the near post to double the lead.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick responded with changes, sending on Raphinha and Andreas Christensen. But the visitors’ resistance didn’t last long. In the 73rd minute, Liam Delap finished from a Fernández pass inside the area. Although the flag initially went up for offside, VAR confirmed the goal, sealing Barcelona’s defeat.
Statistically, Chelsea controlled 55 percent possession, took 15 shots and hit the target six times. Barcelona managed only five attempts, with just two on goal.
Robert Sánchez preserved Chelsea’s clean sheet with a brilliant save to deny Raphinha in the 81st minute—Barcelona’s only real threat after going down to 10.
Chelsea now sit on 10 points after five group-stage games, while Barcelona, suffering their second defeat, drop to 15th with seven points in a disappointing campaign.
After arriving in London on the back of a 4-0 La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao, the Catalan leave bruised, beaten and searching for answers ahead of Saturday’s league clash with Alavés.