Chelsea edged Barcelona in a technically and physically superior performance to win 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Jules Koundé, a Barcelona defender, scoring an own goal, and Estevao Willian and William Delap adding the second and third after the break, sealed the result for Chelsea.
But it was left-back Marc Cucurella who delivered the standout performance within Enzo Maresca's plan for Chelsea.
This three-man left flank, with Alejandro Garnacho on the wing, Ecuadorian Moisés Caicedo in midfield and Cucurella at left-back, stifled Barcelona's threats from the start. They closed all channels to Lamine Yamal, Barça's young star and the most dangerous weapon in the Catalans' attack, while Lewandowski and Ferran Torres faded as the opening minutes passed and Torres missed a golden chance early on.
Things did not brighten much after Dani Olmo, Raphinha, and Marcus Rashford came on in the second half, as Barça failed to conjure enough danger.
Marc Cucurella, the man of the match, played a major role in neutralising Yamal, outduelling him in almost every duel and preventing him from weaving into the box or exploiting his skills.
Over more than 80 minutes, Yamal appeared only twice or thrice with two weak efforts on Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, having lost the sharp mental focus and physical edge under pressure from his own teammate in La Roja, Marc Cucurella.
Cucurella did not merely pocket Yamal; he also exposed Barça head coach Enzo Maresca's plan, helped by Barça's numerical disadvantage after Ronald Araújo’s second yellow for a reckless challenge on Cucurella.
Beyond containing Yamal and drawing the red card, Cucurella sparked Chelsea's opener when he slipped into the box and delivered a cross that tangled Ferran Torres and Jules Koundé, the ball looping into his own net after 27 minutes.
Match statistics show Chelsea winning 4 of 5 takeaways from Barça's attempts, recovering the ball four times, blocking one Barça shot, and winning seven of 15 duels with Barça players, with two clearances from inside their own box; Koundé was named UEFA's man of the match by the officials.
With the win, Chelsea moved onto 10 points in fourth, while Barcelona stagnated on seven in 15th place.
According to Opta, Koundé has scored three own goals for Barcelona across all competitions since joining in 2022/2023, a quirky stat that has become part of the club's folklore.
The statistics also credit Koundé as one of the players with the most own goals in Barcelona's shirt since joining three years ago.
Estevão, aged 18 years and 215 days, is the third young player to score in each of his first three UEFA Champions League matches, after Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
Barcelona has not had great memories against Chelsea, with only one win from eight European ties since 2006, the win coming in February 2006 in the Champions League.
Since then, Barca has visited Stamford Bridge four times without a win (two draws, two losses).
The Catalan side, under German coach Hansi Flick, will need to make up five points in the final two rounds after a 3-3 draw with Club Brugge, as they host Eintracht Frankfurt in matchday six in early December.
Clearly Barcelona's midfield suffered from the absence of Pedri, and defensive errors persisted, a challenge for Flick ahead of fixtures against Atletico Madrid and then Real Betis in the last two league rounds before hosting Frankfurt in the Champions League.
Punchline 1: If snipers did stand-up, they’d still miss the punchlines—at least this time they also missed Barcelona’s attackers.
Punchline 2: Chelsea’s defense packed a lunch and a plan; Barcelona left with an empty stomach and a pocketful of excuses.
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