Enzo Maresca looked to stick to a similar formula to what helped Chelsea win the Club World Cup final when selecting his side to face Barcelona.
Club captain Reece James returned to a midfield role, joining Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez behind a front line that did not include a recognised number nine.
The front three did not include either of Liam Delap or Joao Pedro, with Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto in attack for the Blues.
Confirmed Chelsea XI to face Barcelona
Robert Sanchez
Malo Gusto
Wesley Fofana
Trevoh Chalobah
Marc Cucurella
Reece James
Moises Caicedo
Enzo Fernandez
Estevao Willian
Alejandro Garnacho
Pedro Neto
Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Tosin, Hato, Badiashile, Santos, Buonanotte, Gittens, George, Guiu, Pedro, Delap
There were certainly eyebrows raised to not see Pedro start, especially after how well he performed against PSG in the final of the Club World Cup.
Chelsea FC v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5
Photo by Jan Kruger – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Enzo Maresca started Pedro Neto up front to expose Barcelona’s high line
Maresca was asked by Roberto Martinez, working as a pundit for Amazon Prime, if he made this decision due to the desire to expose Barcelona’s high line, which has become synonymous with Hansi Flick’s side.
The boss said: “Yeah, it will be one of the keys for the game. If you rush because they give you space, you give them the ball most of the time, and that’s not good.
“So we need to attack in behind, but play our football, but for sure the reason why we play Estevao, Pedro and Garnacho, we expect to have some space in behind.”
Neto has featured sporadically in the false nine role in the past, and temporarily filled the position against former side Wolves before the international break.
Garnacho and Neto combined on the counter that day for their third goal of the game, with the duo proving to strike up a decent partnership when playing together before.
It was the Portugal international whose shot was eventually turned in by Jules Kounde to hand Chelsea the lead in the first half.