Fabrizio Romano has spoken about Chelsea after their landmark Champions League win over Barcelona.
If you’re a Chelsea fan, you’ve probably woken up this morning with a spring in your step.
Todd Boehly certainly will have.
The Blues ran through a Barcelona side that hadn’t failed to score since Christmas, proving once again that Stamford Bridge can be a fortress on European nights.
There were a couple of standout performances over the 90 minutes that have led football’s biggest transfer expert to make an emphatic Chelsea claim.
Who was your Player of the Match vs Barcelona?
Fabrizio Romano heaps praise on Chelsea and Todd Boehly’s transfer strategy
Whatever Romano thinks about Chelsea, he is certainly as clued in as anyone with how much transfer business he has had to report on since BlueCo’s takeover.
The performance against Barcelona felt significant for a number of reasons, one of which the Italian lays out in a recent YouTube video.
He remarks: “No one is making jokes anymore about Chelsea signings. I see after Chelsea have been always mentioned for years by people criticizing Chelsea strategy, criticizing Chelsea signings.
“You can see that they are really adding some special players to the squad.”
Chelsea players celebrating Barcelona win
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
It’s true. Chelsea have been mocked time and again for what can sometimes feel like a strategy of mindless consumption. But there’s method to the madness.
The Blues possess some of the most exciting young talents in Europe, and while their approach to getting there has received plenty of criticism, you just have to look at the last 12 months to see that the vision is bearing fruit.
3-0 against Barcelona. 3-0 against PSG. World Champions. Conference League winners. If you didn’t believe before, you surely do now.
Romano just another fan in awe of Estevao Willian
You can’t praise Chelsea’s recent business without mentioning Estevao.
He has been nothing short of phenomenal since coming to Stamford Bridge.
Estevao outshone Lamine Yamal during Chelsea’s win, raising the hype even further — something we didn’t think was possible.
What the big names were saying about Estevao after Barcelona masterclass…
“He’s incredible. He’s got the world at his feet. Just keep grounded and keep working hard, and he can do anything.”
Liam Delap
“The goal from Estevao reminded me of the goal he scored against us in the Club World Cup. Estevao needs to relax, enjoy his football. Him and Lamine, if you start to talk about Messi and Ronaldo, it’s too much pressure for young boys like them. It’s too much for them.”
Enzo Maresca
“It is right to give Estevao a little bit of space to keep growing. He is doing very well but he has a lot of ground to cover in my opinion.
“The more he plays, the more physically, he will be stronger. And he will read the game better. All those things come with experience and I think that he is promising to become a very, very important player.”
Gianfranco Zola
Romano’s reaction is no different to ours, as he says: “Estevao is the man of the moment. Estevao is doing fantastic. Three starts in the Champions League, three goals, 11 goal contributions with Chelsea and Brazil.
“When it’s about the Selecao, he’s doing fantastic. When it’s about Chelsea, he’s doing fantastic. So this kid is something absolutely, absolutely special.”
No arguments here.