Chelsea Cruise Past 10-Man Barcelona In 3–0 UEFA Champions League Win
2 min read
By Sedara Philip
Chelsea produced one of their most dominant performances of the season as they defeated 10-man Barcelona 3–0 at Stamford Bridge, with teenage sensation Estevão Willian taking centre stage.
The 18-year-old winger delivered a brilliant display, overshadowing Barcelona’s own teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal in a highly anticipated clash between two of the world’s most exciting young attackers. Estevão capped his performance with a spectacular solo goal in the second half—arguably the moment of the match.
Barcelona’s hopes unraveled late in the first half when captain Ronald Araújo received a second yellow card and was sent off just before the break. Chelsea had already taken the lead through an unfortunate Jules Koundé own goal, the result of a clever short-corner move involving Estevão, Alejandro Garnacho, and Marc Cucurella.
Despite missing star forward Cole Palmer through injury, Chelsea controlled the contest. Enzo Fernández had two set-piece goals disallowed for offside, while Reece James forced multiple saves from long range. Neto also squandered a clear one-on-one opportunity to extend the lead.
Barcelona’s best chance of the first half fell to Ferran Torres, who dragged a close-range effort wide before being replaced at halftime by Marcus Rashford. But the introduction of the Manchester United loanee did little to alter the momentum.
Estevão’s moment of brilliance arrived shortly after the restart when he glided past Pau Cubarsí, held off Alejandro Balde, and rifled a shot beyond goalkeeper Joan Garcia to make it 2-0. The home fans roared his name, while Yamal was substituted in the 80th minute to a chorus of jeers from the Chelsea faithful.
Two minutes later, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca withdrew Estevão to a standing ovation.
The night grew even better for the Blues as substitute Liam Delap ended his 11-game goal drought with a composed side-foot finish, following Fernández’s well-timed run and unselfish square pass.
The win pushes Chelsea into the top eight of the new 36-team Champions League league phase—crucial positioning that would allow them to skip the February play-off round should they maintain their standing in the remaining three games.
A memorable night for Chelsea, a forgettable one for Barcelona, and a statement performance from Estevão Willian.
Sedara Philip is a Sports writer, an administrator,Journalist,and editor
