This was the night when everything went right for Chelsea.
The visit of Barcelona was supposed to be their biggest home test in this league phase of the Champions League, but the Blues made incredibly short shrift of that, battering the ten man Catalans 3-0 in an emphatic statement of intent at Stamford Bridge.
Aside from the three allowed to stand, Chelsea netted a further three goals disallowed for various marginal decisions as they prevailed in a truly one-sided encounter.
Barcelona boasted the attacking threat of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and, from the bench, Marcus Rashford — but all were anonymous as goals from Estevao, substitute Liam Delap and a Jules Kounde own-goal saw Chelsea produce one of the greatest wins of the Enzo Maresca era.
Estevao's greatest moment yet
In this battle of the wonderkids it was Yamal skulking off the pitch when substituted as Estevao, Chelsea’s sensational 18-year-old Brazilian right winger, took centre stage with his dazzling footwork.
The teen forced the early corner that led to Enzo Fernandez’s first disallowed goal, and that prompted raucous cheers around Stamford Bridge as the home faithful set in for an evening of Estevao-provided entertainment.
His goal, to double Chelsea’s lead in the second half, was a move of careful craft and real beauty, his jinking, jiving run and clattered roof-of-the-net finish the latest — and so far best — example of the starlet demonstrating why so many in the game believe his sky-high potential makes him a genuine Ballon d’Or contender of the future.
Estê ̶v̶ã̶o̶WOW 💥
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 25, 2025
A super goal from Chelsea's young Brazilian to make it 2-0! 🔵🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/B8NJlt4Xby
Having already announced himself to Chelsea and to Brazil, this was the night Estevao announced himself to the world.
Selection decisions vindicated
When the line-up was announced, there were one or two surprises. The eyes of Chelsea fans will have inevitably been drawn to the name ‘Estevao’, and what it likely meant for the thrilling wing play they were likely to see. The Brazilian did not disappoint.
That Liam Delap and Joao Pedro were both dropped following ineffectual performances at Burnley on Saturday was no real shock but still a big call as the Chelsea manager gambled on setting up without a recognised striker.
Further back, Malo Gusto and Reece James both started, and shuttled between right-back and midfield.
Maresca’s decisions paid off emphatically, with only the substituted Malo Gusto and Alejandro Garnacho producing something short of a fantastic individual display.
All others set to, and worked in harmony to take the game to Barcelona, who were concerningly off the pace compared to a Chelsea team totally in the groove.
Ruthless intensity
Chelsea’s famous win was born of their dogged work ethic, sustained from start to finish. They were still pressing relentlessly hard in injury time, when Barca had long been well, well beaten.
They started with ferocious intensity, scoring a disallowed goal after three minutes when Wesley Fofana set up Enzo Fernandez but had handled in the build-up.
Chelsea did not let up, coming close through the magnificent Reece James, twice, and scoring another chalked-off goal when Fernandez headed home from Estevao’s free-kick but from an offside position.
One more Fernandez chance later and Chelsea finally had the lead — a richly deserved one — as Jules Kounde scored a calamitous own goal on 27 minutes.
From here, the Chelsea juggernaut was off and proved unstoppable. Fernandez and Moises Caicedo never stopped running; Andrey Santos was brought on at half-time and scored a disallowed goal moments later; Delap came on and scored for the first time since the Club World Cup to greatly boost his confidence. Against Barcelona, no less.
For Maresca and his players, the feeling at full-time will have been unforgettably sweet.
