The clash between the English and Spanish heavyweights was billed as the standout draw of matchday five of the Champions League, with fans expecting a closely contested clash. ..Continue reading
But after Ferran Torres missed an early chance to put Barcelona ahead, Chelsea took control and dominated the match – even before Ronald Araujo’s dismissal just before half-time.
A Jules Kounde own goal opened the scoring for Chelsea before Estevao Willian and Liam Delap added to the score in a match that also saw three goals ruled out for Maresca’s men.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, Maresca acknowledged that he had instructed his players to follow a clear plan to disrupt Barcelona’s rhythm.
The Italian said: “It’s a good win. To be honest, it was nothing more than that. We knew how important this match was, but they are all important matches. When you beat Barcelona it’s always nice, so we are happy today.”
“We dropped points at Qarabag away, then we won against Benfica and Ajax, then we lost the last one against Bayern Munich. That shows that all these games are complicated.”
“Barcelona is a team that feels comfortable when they have the ball. When they don’t have the ball they don’t feel comfortable, so we tried to keep the ball. Even in 11v11 my feeling was very good because the team played well.”
“The defensive part is always important because you need balance. Fortunately, in the last month we started to finish games with nils in the Premier League. It is something you have to do if you want to achieve important things.”
With Araujo’s elimination tipping the balance even further, Chelsea finished the match with 55.5% possession and 35 possessions in the penalty area, while Barcelona failed to register a single corner and only managed nine possessions in the penalty area.
Although Chelsea are expected to drop down the League Phase standings after Wednesday’s games, Maresca will be happy with their current fifth place and ten points from five games.
Securing a place in the top eight remains the goal, with trips to Atalanta BC and Napoli still on the horizon, along with a home game against Pafos.
One more win would confirm a place in the top 24, but Chelsea are aiming higher to avoid the play-off round.
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