Liam Delap has said Chelsea’s impressive win against Barcelona is an indication that they can do it against any top side.
The Blues produced a hugely impressive performance to thump Barcelona 3-0.
Chelsea broke the deadlock before the half-hour mark as Marc Cucurella’s work down the flank and Pedro Neto’s goal-bound flick saw Jules Kounde inadvertently divert the ball into his own net.
After the break, and with Barcelona down to 10 men, Estevao made it 2-0 with an incredible solo run and strike.
That came before Delap tapped home Enzo Fernandez’s square pass for the third of the evening.
“It was incredible,” Delap said on a win that moves the Blues to fifth in the league phase standings. “You grow up dreaming of nights like this, so it’s a very special moment for me. We had a game plan, and everyone executed it really well. I thought it was a great performance and a great night for everyone involved.
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“I believe we’re building something really good here. We’re working together every day, and we’re getting better and better. We come into every game with huge belief. Today, we showed that we can do it against anyone.”
Delap explained that Blues head coach Enzo Maresca’s plan was to try to impose their authority on the Blaugrana – and that the squad executed it perfectly.
“We knew how strong Barcelona are and how many good players they have, but we also knew that their high line is so high, and we knew that we needed to be defensively solid, and that we could hurt them. Defensively, everyone was really solid.
“We had to pass the ball about to create that space, and I think everyone should be really proud of themselves.”
Up next for Delap and his Chelsea teammates is a London derby with Premier League leaders Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
2 Comments
One of the best performances this set of Chelsea players have produced in recent times.
I dare say even better than their performance in the World club cup final. When you press your opponent the way Chelsea did, closing spaces, denying them time on the ball, winning most of the 50-50 balls, it becomes very difficult for your opponent. When they did not have the ball, Chelsea hunted it down in packs, like hungry wolves. If a Barca player had the ball, 2 or 3 Chelsea players were instantly upon him. No breathing space. To make matters worse, as the game neared its end, Barca could not even get the ball. Chelsea had possession for long spells. Alex Ferguson once described Barca’s playing style as a carousel. They get you on their carousel, and make you dizzy with their passes. Today, it was Barca that suffered from dizziness due to Chelsea passing of the football, especially in the last quarter of the game.
Cucurella is the weapon fashioned against Yamal. He thoroughly clipped Yamal’s wings. Yamal kept trying to dribble past him, and kept running into the Cucurella brick wall. He had to resort to back passes. There was no other way. The tight marking that Cucurella gave Yamal makes him a candidate for MOTM, in my opinion. Claudio Gentile would have been proud.
Tremendous performance by Chelsea today.
Is Caicedo the best DM in the world? If you think so, you are not crazy. When you have a Caicedo in your midfield, it’s almost like a cheat move.
How about the young prodigy Estevao? They need to increase that boy’s salary.
Indeed, it was a great team performance. Though Cucu, Caicedo and Estevao were outstanding in my opinion, every Chelsea player on that pitch pulled their weight. A very good performance from every player.
As for Yamal, to be subbed out when Barca needed a goal shows just how ineffective he was on the day, thanks to Cucu’s close marking. Barca is down and desperately needs goals, and Yamal is getting subbed? A great humiliation for Yamal. A player that is supposed to be Messi’s heir? Chelsea did not get that memo.
The 3 nil result does not flatter Chelsea at all. It could have been up to half a dozen.