Chelsea 3 Barcelona 0
This was a statement game from Chelsea. Whilst they sit 2nd in the Premier League I think most people would say that Chelsea have been inconsistent this season so far, they’ve had matches against the likes of Liverpool and Spurs were they were excellent but then had games against Manchester United and Sunderland were the performances left a lot to be desired but from minute 1 to 90 they absolutely dominated Barcelona who didn’t lay a glove on the Chelsea goal all night.
Estevao is the real deal, if it wasn’t abundantly clear before tonight Estevao is well on his way to becoming one of the best wingers in the world. The goal tonight had everything you could possibly want from one of your wingers, the quick turn of pace followed by a great touch to setup a brilliant roofed finish on your weak foot past Joan Garcia in the Barcelona goal. At 18 years old the sky is the limit for Estevao and you can’t help but switch the TV on when he’s playing which is almost the highest praise you can give someone these days.
Barcelona’s defensive woes continue. Yet again after a Barca game we’re talking about how bad Barcelona’s defence looks, even before Ronald Araujo’s second yellow Chelsea created numerous chances and were by far the better team in the first and second half. This isn’t a surprise if you watch Barcelona week in week out but what may worry Barca fans more than anything is the lack of chances created throughout, other than the chance Ferran Torres had in the first 10 minutes which should have been converted, Barcelona created no real chances which is very rare for Hansi Flick’s side.
What is the ceiling for this Chelsea team? One thing which will be very interesting to find out over the next few weeks is how Enzo Maresca will fit Cole Palmer back into this team, over the last couple of years when Palmer has been injured Chelsea have really struggled but it shows how far they’ve come when they can go on this run of form when he’s missing, whilst I think it’s too early for this team when it comes to the Premier League, there’s no reason that Chelsea can’t go deep in the Champions League this season given how strong their 1st team and squad is as a whole.
Chelsea’s midfield is as good as anyone’s in Europe. Enzo Fernandez has been a polarising player to say the least whilst he’s been at Chelsea but I’ve always a been a fan of his since we saw in the World Cup in 2022, finding his best position has been an issue whilst he’s been at Chelsea but I think Marseca has found it in that 10 role over the last 12 months, Fernandez seems to be finding that knack of making late runs in the box and could have had a couple of goals if it wasn’t for some close offside calls. As for Moises Caicedo there isn’t really much to be said that hasn’t been said already but he dominated that Barcelona midfield today albeit who were missing Pedri who is fundamental to their team. There is no doubt that with those two on form and Palmer coming back into the fold, it could be an exciting few months ahead for Chelsea.