Barcelona took a solid hammering against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last night, partly owing to the opposition’s quality and partly their own doing, losing 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League.
At no point in the game did Barcelona look to be the dominant side, and going down to ten men only reduced the odds in their favour further.
A Jules Kounde own goal handed Chelsea the lead midway through the first half, and Barcelona did not manage to convincingly fight back.
Estevao and Liam Delap then struck against the La Liga champions after the half-time break, inflicting a 3-0 defeat and completing the demolition to hand Barcelona a blow in their hope of a top-8 finish.
Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Chelsea 3-0 Barcelona.
Same player, same mistake
Every time one decides to hand Ronald Araujo the benefit of doubt and start him for his merits in a big UEFA Champions League game, the player comes up with a new game-changing error that costs the team dearly.
Two seasons back, he had himself sent off against Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg, sabotaging the team’s clear path to the semi-final of the competition.
Last season, he came off the bench in the team’s semifinal clash against Inter Milan and was involved in a very poor run of defending that directly cost the team the game.
Last night, starting in a big game against Chelsea, the player was sent off in the first half, leaving Barcelona with ten men for a whole half. Truth be told, however, he had himself sent off and has no one else to blame.
Araujo took a booking in the 32nd minute by unnecessarily arguing with the referee about a foul by Chelsea.
Despite being sanctioned, he was careless to jump into a rash tackle just 12 minutes later, leaving the referee with no option but to send him off.
Barcelona may not have been dominating Chelsea when he was on the field, but his departure sure did turn the tide completely in Chelsea’s favour and left Barcelona with little to no hope.
A non-existent midfield
Eric Garcia of Barcelona
Garcia and De Jong were overpowered in midfield. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Araujo’s error was one of the defining moments in last night’s clash, but Barcelona never really looked like the winning team from the opening minute.
The Uruguayan’s departure made the expected result unavoidable, but the fact remains that Chelsea were outplaying Barcelona for a long time before the red card.
It was in midfield, in particular, where Enzo Maresca’s men stole the game away from Barcelona for the Catalan trio were no match in terms of ball retention or pressure.
With Pedri missing through injury, Eric Garcia joined Frenkie de Jong in the double pivot at Stamford Bridge. The defender failed miserably against Chelsea’s physicality and press, and De Jong did not do much better.
Moises Caicedo and Reece James did spectacularly well in Chelsea’s defensive midfield and played like duel-winning machines, dispossessing the Catalan players time and time again.
They controlled the tempo and ensured Chelsea dominated the proceedings throughout.
That, coupled with Enzo Fernandez’s penetrative runs behind the defence, handed Chelsea control of the game, and it is safe to say that the Argentine star had at least twice the game Fermin Lopez did for Barcelona in the same position.
Trying times in the UCL
Barcelona have now lost two and drawn one of their five games in the UEFA Champions League and are not in a comfortable position in the competition standings by any means.
They are currently in 15th place, and with many teams yet to play their match day five clashes, they could well fall further down on the leaderboard.
With three games to go, Barcelona can acquire a maximum of nine points in the coming weeks, making their highest possible tally 16 points – the exact tally last season’s eighth-placed team had.
As such, one cannot say that Barcelona have no chance of making it to the top eight, but what is for sure is that it is not likely nor completely in their hands.
For Hansi Flick’s men, the objective now will be to prepare for the three games ahead and finish as strongly as they can from their side.
Concurrently, however, they must begin to mentally prepare for the two-legged qualifier should they finish outside the top eight – something that now looks increasingly likely.