Estevão didn’t just score a Champions League goal, he staged a one-man coup on Lamine Yamal’s hype machine as Chelsea dismantled a hapless 10-man Barcelona 3–0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The match billed as the “battle of the teenage wonders” quickly turned into a brutal reminder that only one of them came prepared for war. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had warned against comparisons, but after this? Good luck stopping them.

The Brazilian’s moment of genius arrived ten minutes after the restart, a reminder of why Chelsea paid big money for him. Picking up the ball wide on the right, he slalomed past two Barça defenders before detonating a rocket into the roof of Joan Garcia’s net — a goal dripping with arrogance, precision, and teenage venom. It was already his 10th strike of the season — not bad for a kid who just got here.

Barcelona, already dazed from a first-half mess and reduced to 10 men, were left clinging to hope by their fingernails. That hope evaporated in the 73rd minute when substitute Liam Delap calmly sidefooted home. The flag went up, Barça celebrated the reprieve… and then VAR killed their joy on sight.

Chelsea’s emphatic win was the least they deserved. From kickoff, the two-time European champions bullied a Barcelona side that looked like they’d left their intensity somewhere over the Pyrenees.

The match opened at breakneck speed. Enzo Fernandez forced the ball into the net in the fourth minute, but VAR spotted Wesley Fofana’s handball. Within minutes, Ferran Torres found himself alone with Robert Sánchez, only to panic and blaze wide like a man allergic to goals.

Fernandez struck again, and again it didn’t count, offside this time. Seconds later, Pedro Neto skied a sitter that nearly knocked a supporter’s drink out of his hand.

Chelsea’s pressure finally broke Barcelona in the 27th minute. A short-corner routine confused the visitors, who responded with slapstick defending. Jules Koundé ended the chaos by scoring the most embarrassing of own goals, and Stamford Bridge exploded with laughter.

Just before halftime, things got worse. Barça captain Ronald Araujo collected a second yellow for a reckless lunge on Marc Cucurella. His angry protest afterward did nothing but confirm he knew the night was about to get uglier.

Chelsea smelt blood after the break and feasted. Estevão dazzled, Delap delivered, and five-time champions Barcelona… well, they disappeared. The home fans jeered teenage superstar Yamal relentlessly once Estevão upstaged him, and cheered even louder when he was subbed off late in the game.

Back in the Champions League after two seasons wandering in the wilderness, Maresca’s Chelsea have now won three of their first five matches, putting a top-eight finish and automatic last-16 qualification firmly within reach.

With momentum growing and a Premier League showdown against leaders Arsenal looming, Chelsea suddenly look like a team that believes their own hype.

AFP