Chelsea outclass Barca in the Champions League, while Man City suffer defeat

PARIS, Nov 26 — Chelsea cruised to a commanding 3-0 victory over 10-man Barcelona in the Champions League yesterday, while a heavily rotated Manchester City side suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

In a meeting between the second-placed teams in the Premier League and La Liga, Chelsea delivered a convincing performance. An own goal from Jules Kounde gave the 2021 Champions League winners an early advantage, followed by strikes from 18-year-old Estevao and Liam Delap to seal the win.

Barcelona were reduced to 10 men just before halftime after captain Ronald Araujo was sent off for two bookable offences.

Both clubs entered the match seeking to rebound from disappointing results — Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag and Barcelona’s 3-3 stalemate with Club Brugge — and Chelsea’s victory now lifts them to fifth in the league phase with 10 points.

“It’s a big win, especially because the other team was Barcelona,” Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said.

Chelsea thought they had taken the lead twice through Enzo Fernandez, only for both attempts to be ruled offside. The breakthrough finally arrived in the 27th minute when a short-corner sequence ended with Marc Cucurella flashing the ball across the box, causing confusion in the Barcelona defence before Kounde diverted it into his own net.

Araujo’s red card in the 44th minute proved decisive.

Despite the pre-match spotlight on the young talents of both teams, it was Chelsea’s Brazilian prodigy Estevao who captivated, producing a brilliant solo effort in the 55th minute: receiving the ball on the right, skipping past two defenders, and smashing it high into the net.

“I don’t really have any words to describe how I feel right now. It was the perfect night,” Estevao said.

Substitute Delap added a third in the 73rd minute to complete the rout.

Barcelona now sit 15th after their second defeat, but head coach Hansi Flick remained upbeat about their prospects of progressing. “We’ve got players coming back and three games left. There are nine points to fight for,” he said.

Man City fall to Leverkusen

At the Etihad, Guardiola opted to rest several key players — including Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Gianluigi Donnarumma — as City lost 2-0 to Leverkusen. The defeat, following Saturday’s 2-1 setback at Newcastle, leaves the defending champions on 10 points.

“I take full responsibility,” Guardiola said. “I think the players who started were exceptional, but we lacked something required at this level.”

City fell behind when poor defending allowed Alex Grimaldo to score in the 23rd minute, and Patrik Schick doubled Leverkusen’s lead after the break.

Elsewhere in Europe

Marseille overturned an early Ashley Barnes strike to beat Newcastle 2-1 with a second-half brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Mason Greenwood, now at Marseille after leaving Manchester United following dropped charges related to attempted rape and sexual assault allegations, was kept quiet by Newcastle in his first match against English opposition.

In Norway, Juventus edged Bodo/Glimt 3-2 after an injury-time winner from Jonathan David, cancelling out Sondre Brunstad Fet’s late penalty.

Borussia Dortmund climbed to fourth after a 4-0 win over 10-man Villarreal, despite missing two penalties. Napoli defeated Qarabag 2-0, while Benfica secured a 2-0 victory against Ajax.

Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise claimed a 1-0 away win over Galatasaray, and Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 with Slavia Prague. — AFP