CHELSEA produced a brilliant performance tonight to beat Barcelona 3-0 in their UEFA Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s slump continued as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Bayer Leverkusen, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, set to feature for Gabon at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in December, scored twice to steer Marseille to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United in France.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea winger Estevao Willian outshone fellow teenage superstar Lamine Yamal in a sensational home win over the favourites from Spain.
Estevao, 18, scored a stunning second goal after Chelsea had taken the lead through an own goal by Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, before substitute Liam Delap ended an 11-game drought with his first goal of the season.
Yet Estevao stole the limelight from Ballon d’Or runner-up Yamal, also 18, in a contest between arguably the world’s two best teenage attackers.
The headline moment came when the Brazil international skipped past Pau Cubarsi, held off Alejandro Balde and powered his shot past goalkeeper Joan Garcia, while Yamal was then substituted in the 80th minute to jeers from the home crowd.
Estevao provided the highlight of a memorable night at Stamford Bridge, for a Chelsea side missing star forward Cole Palmer through a toe injury.
Chelsea deserved their early lead with a clever short-corner routine involving Estevao, Alejandro Garnacho and Marc Cucurella, which ended when Neto’s flick ricocheted off Kounde into the net for 1-0.
Enzo Fernandez had earlier had two set-piece goals ruled out for offside, while Reece James forced two saves from long-range efforts and Neto blazed over when clean through.
Barcelona squandered their best chance of the first half when former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres put a close-range effort wide, before being replaced at half-time by Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.
Yet Rashford could not turn the tide as Estevao made it 2-0 with his solo run and finish, and Delap added a third with a side-footed strike after Fernandez broke the offside trap and squared a pass into the box.
Victory lifted Chelsea into the top eight of the 36-team league phase, meaning they would avoid an extra play-off round in February if they keep their position, with three further matches to play.
At the Etihad Stadium, Alex Grimaldo and Patrik Schick struck in each half to hand Manchester City their first defeat in this season’s Champions League, with Erling Haaland coming on in the second half to no effect for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Aubameyang netted twice in the first five minutes of the second half to turn the game around for Marseille after Harvey Barnes had Newcastle a sixth minute lead.
In the early kick-offs, Galatasay, without the injured Victor Osimhen, were beaten 1-0 by Union Saint-Gilliose, and Jose Mourinho’s Benfica defeated Ajax 2-0 in the Netherlands to earn their first win.
With agency report
RESULTS:
Galatasaray 0-1 USG
Ajax 0-2 Benfica
Bodo/Glimt 2-3 Juventus
Chelsea 3-0 Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Villarreal
Man City 0-2 Leverkusen
Marseille 2-1 Newcastle
Napoli 2-0 Qarabag
Slavia Praha 0-0 Athletic Club