
"Chelsea's 3-0 Tuesday Champions League thrashing of Barcelona at Stamford Bridge saw Barcelona's 53-match scoring streak come to an end. Hansi Flick's side had scored in every game since their 1-0 defeat to Leganes on Dec. 15, 2024. Over the past year, Barcelona had often been blisteringly brilliant upfront while leaky defensively. This was most evident in last season's 7-6 aggregate Champions League semifinal loss to Inter."
"Against Chelsea on Tuesday, Barça were carved apart defensively on several occasions - relying on an offside trap which worked at times, but was insufficient in dealing with wave after wave of pressure from Enzo Maresca's side. Ferran Torres had a golden opportunity to score early on - which he squandered by firing wide one-on-one with Robert Sánchez - but Chelsea were generally on top from the start."
Chelsea produced a 3-0 Champions League victory over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, ending Barcelona's 53-match scoring streak that had stretched back to a 1-0 defeat to Leganes on Dec. 15, 2024. Barcelona had combined prolific attacking output with defensive fragility over the past year, exemplified by a 7-6 aggregate semifinal loss to Inter. Against Chelsea, Barcelona were repeatedly exposed defensively while relying on an offside trap that proved insufficient. Ferran Torres missed a one-on-one chance early, and Ronald Araújo was sent off shortly before half-time after a Joules Koundé own goal made it 1-0. Estêvão and Liam Delap scored in the second half. Chelsea had three goals disallowed, and Barcelona managed only five shots with two on target despite leading LaLiga scoring charts.
Read at ESPN.com
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