Tuesday night’s Champions League triumph saw Chelsea dispatch Barcelona in a manner we very rarely see.
What a night at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are never short on confidence, but the way they just eased past the Spanish champions was extremely impressive.
Chelsea players wanted to face Barcelona this season, and after 90 minutes of domination, it’s easy to understand why.
The sending off didn’t help the Catalan outfit’s efforts, though they didn’t pose much of a threat even before Ronald Araujo’s dismissal — and that’s a rarity for a couple of reasons.
Who was your Player of the Match vs Barcelona?
Chelsea the first to hold Barcelona scoreless since last December
In the last 54 games under Hansi Flick, Barcelona have not failed to score. That is, until they met Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea.
And what makes that all the more impressive is that it wasn’t some freak performance from Robert Sanchez or terrible finishing from the away side — Chelsea stifled the Barcelona attack.
Their only chance worth speaking about was from Ferran Torres early on. He admittedly should have scored.
But Barcelona had no answer after that. Marc Cucurella completely shut down Lamine Yamal, and Moises Caicedo didn’t allow the midfielders a second’s reprieve. Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana looked imperious, too.
It was a masterful defensive performance from the Blues against one of Europe’s most dangerous attacks.
Chelsea players celebrating goal against Barcelona
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Chelsea hand Hansi Flick a career-first
Not only did Chelsea snap a Barcelona streak that has been running for almost a year, they were the first to do something to Flick in his entire coaching career.
The German coach has never seen his side fail to score in the Champions League. Tuesday night was his 35th European night, and the first on which he had no answer to an opposition defence.
The highlights from Chelsea’s dominant victory over Barcelona!
Barcelona’s style is focused on outscoring the opponent rather than playing a pragmatic game, which is why they’re usually so fun to watch.
But the Blues gave nothing away. Flick wants his players to play like Chelsea did against them.
They were absolutely nullified. A testament to the players, and especially to Maresca. A big game coach.