- Safiu Kehinde
It was another UEFA Champions League night of terror for Spanish giant, FC Barcelona, as Chelsea them with a hefty 3-0 victory.
Barcelona had on Tuesday travelled to the Stamford Bridge in London with the hope of maintaining their stellar campaign in the league.
They were however given more than they can chew as an early own goal and a red card for captain Ronald Araujo at the end of the first half kept Barcelona on their feet.
The Spaniards had a douse of what to come in eh first 20 minutes of the game when Enzo Fernandez found the back of the net, but the goal was cancelled due to a handball situation in the buildup.
Chelsea’s pressure eventually paid off after 27 minutes when Marc Cucurella crossed low from the right and, as two defenders tried to block Pedro Neto’s effort, Jules Kounde instead poked the ball into his own net.
Another goal by Enzo was again ruled offside to save Barcelona’s blushes for the second straight time.
However, things would only get more complicated for the visitors as Araujo was sent off for a second yellow after a clumsy trip on Cucurella a minute before the break.
Straight into the second half, Chelsea continued their dominance, denying Barcelona opportunity to dictate the gameplay as they were known for.
The FIFA Club World Cup champions would suffer a third disallowed goal by substitute Andrey Santos who was ruled out for offside in the build-up five minutes after the restart.
Eventually, sensational Brazilian teenager, Estevao, took centre stage, driving past two tackles before unleashing an absolute piledriver from a tight angle into the roof of the net to put Chelsa two goals ahead.
The 18-year-old winger stole the shine from Barcelona’s youngster, Lamie Yamal, who was silenced all through his time on the pitch before being substituted in the second half.
Chelsea would put the icing on the cake as English striker, Liam Delap got in on the action, tucking home a Fernandez cross after 73 minutes for his first goal of the season.
The win saw Chelsea climb up to the top eight automatic qualifying slots, and well-placed with games against Pafos, Atalanta and Napoli to come.
Speaking after the game, the Blues coach, Enzo Maresca, lauded the team’s performace while heaping praises on Estevao.
“It is a huge night for Estevao, a huge night for the whole club,
“Winning the Club World Cup has been important for the players in terms of confidence, they realise they can win against any team. A winning mentality is the only way to build something important.
“If Barcelona don’t have the ball they don’t feel comfortable, so we tried to keep the ball.” Maresca said.
Reflecting on his goal, Estevao described the moment as a special moment for him as he emerged the third youngest player ever to score in three consecutive UEFA Champions League games after Man City’s Erling Haaland and Real Madrid’s Kylan Mbappe.
“It all happened very quickly,” he said. “I just found some space, wiggled my way through and then scored that goal. It was such a special moment for me in my career. I hope to score many more.” He said.