Enzo Maresca has revealed what he instructed his Chelsea players to do in order to make Barcelona 'feel uncomfortable' in their dominant 3-0 victory on Tuesday night.
The Premier League and La Liga giants were squaring off in the most anticipated Champions League fixture of matchday five with many supporters anticipating a closely-matched game.
However, after Barcelona somehow failed to take the lead through Ferran Torres during the early stages, Chelsea comprehensively outplayed their Spanish opponents, even prior to Ronald Araujo being sent off just before half time.
A Jules Kounde own goal gave Chelsea a deserved lead ahead of the half-hour mark before Estevao Willian and Liam Delap netted after the break in a game where Maresca's side also had three goals disallowed.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, Maresca conceded that he told his players to employ a specific tactic in order to overcome Barcelona
Maresca reacts to Chelsea win over Barcelona
The Italian said: "It is a good win. To be honest, it was no more than that. We knew how important this game was, but they are all important games. When you beat Barcelona, it is always nice so we are happy today.
"We dropped points at Qarabag away, then we won against Benfica and Ajax, then we lost the last one against Bayern Munich. That shows all of these games are complicated."
Estê ̶v̶ã̶o̶WOW ?
A super goal from Chelsea's young Brazilian to make it 2-0! ??? pic.twitter.com/B8NJlt4Xby
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 25, 2025
"Barcelona are a team that feel comfortable when they have the ball. If they don't have the ball, they don't feel comfortable so we tried to keep the ball. Even 11v11, my feeling was very good because the team was playing well.
"The defensive part is always important because you need balance. Fortunately, in the last month, we have started finishing games with clean sheets in the Premier League. It's something you need to do if you want to achieve important things."
Helped by Araujo's red card, Chelsea had 55.5% of possession and had 35 touches inside the penalty area in comparison to just nine for Barcelona. Meanwhile, the visitors did not earn a single corner.
What next for Chelsea in Champions League?
Although Chelsea will inevitably drop down the League Phase table after Wednesday's game, Maresca will be delighted with their fifth place on Tuesday and 10 points from a possible 15.
There is still much work ahead to seal a top-eight spot with trips to Atalanta BC and Napoli remaining on their schedule either side of a home fixture against Pafos.
One more win would guarantee a top-24 spot, but Chelsea will push to finish in the top eight in order to avoid a playoff tie.