Tuesday night saw the renewal of one of the Champions League’s classic rivalries.
Barcelona and Chelsea had met each other a number of times over the years, and who can forget the Iniestazo at Stamford Bridge way back in 2009.
Or Lionel Messi’s introduction in 2005 when Asier Del Horno was led a merry dance in West London.
Talking of dancing feet… Ronaldinho’s spectacular effort that bamboozled just about the entire Chelsea defence.
But the 2025 vintage was very different indeed and ended up being an absolute nightmare for the visitors.
No fight and no desire from Barca
Although culers would love Barca to win every game in a certain manner, sometimes the sleeves have to be rolled up, and any effort from the opponents has to be more than matched.
There was nothing whatsoever in this regard from the Catalans to get excited about on the night.
The lacklustre showing was due in part to Chelsea’s energy, intensity, physicality and tempo throughout; however, that shouldn’t even be a talking point from Barca’s point of view.
Players were routinely bullied off the ball, consistently threw up their arms when not getting every decision, and were more often than not second-best to the ball.
Ultimately, for Hansi Flick and Co., it was one of the worst Barca performances of his tenure.
Cucurella returns to haunt Barca as goalscoring run ends
Let’s be honest… Chelsea do actually have a half-decent team. The likes of Estevao, Enzo Fernandes and Moises Caicedo et al would grace any team, and they’re second in the Premier League for a reason.
Marc Cucurella also enjoyed a good night against his former employers, teeing up the opening goal – even though he looked offside – and walked off with the MVP award.
Physicality is all well and good too, but there were plenty of occasions when Chelsea’s dirty tricks left a sour taste in the mouth.
Trevoh Chalobah’s studs-up challenge on Robert Lewandowski and his blatant push on Fermin Lopez which could’ve seen Barca awarded a penalty, were two of at least half a dozen instances in the first half alone that the officials appeared to believe were within the rules of the game.
Chelsea defensive work also ensured that Barcelona’s historic streak of 53 consecutive matches scoring came to an end at Stamford Bridge. They did have their chances, and Ferran Torres will wonder how he missed, but Flick’s side finally failed to find the back of the net for the first time since playing Leganes on December 15, 2024.
Another Araujo head loss
Many times in these columns, I’ve espoused that Ronald Araujo is not Barcelona captain material, and just as many times, I’ve been met with pushback.
However, there surely cannot be any defending the Uruguayan after his performance in West London.
The sum total of his contribution before his red card was one interception. Not even a tackle attempted. From the club captain.
His ridiculous posturing deserved the yellow card he subsequently received, and the less said about his challenge on Marc Cucurella, the better.
