By John Mutiso
The official Barcelona team bus was ambushed in London as it made its way to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League showdown with Chelsea.
A window was left shattered, forcing staff to patch up a makeshift repair so the shaken players could be rushed to Gatwick Airport straight after the match against the Premier League side on Tuesday night (November 25).
Police were called to the scene and have launched an investigation into the shocking incident, with the Spanish club said to have been left furious as a result of the attack. Neither Barcelona or Chelsea have commented on the incident.
Barcelona lost the match 3-0. Chelsea opened the scoring thanks to a Jules Kounde own goal, following a clever short corner routine that saw Pedro Neto’s flick richochet off the Barca man and into the net. His team-mate Ronald Araujo then received a second yellow card for a challenge on Blues defender Marc Cucurella and was sent off shortly before half-time.
Barcelona squandered their best chance of the first half when former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres put a close-range effort wide. Goals from the outstanding Estevao Willian and striker Liam Delap in the second half sealed victory for the home side against 10 men, as Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea put in a dominant performance in west London.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was left frustrated by the efforts of his team and slammed their lack of fight in his post-match press conference.
He said: “We need to be more aggressive, especially in the one against one situations. When you see Chelsea, they always have that aggression, they play more with the body, more dynamic in the one against one situations. This is what I want from my team.
“Sometimes we think we can we control, also with the ball, but here in the Champions League, and especially here against a club playing in the Premier League, second in the table, it’s not like that, so we have to fight a little bit more and play more aggressive.
“But we started very well in the game, we had a big chance to score the first goal and, of course, with a red card, everything changed.
“It’s not easy against this fantastic team to come back with 10 players. We have to accept this defeat, but I am looking very positive for the next games.”
Chelsea welcome Premier League leaders Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, with the second-placed Blues knowing a win would cut the Gunners advantage to just three points.
Commenting on his side dismantling the Spanish giants, Maresca said: “It’s a big win, especially because it was Barcelona, but nothing’s changed in terms of what team we are and what we can achieve.
“It’s important tonight, but no more than that. Now we focus on the next one.
“The feeling was very good. At home with our fans, it’s way nice to share this kind of moment. Now, next 48 hours completely switch off, have a rest, recover energy.
“We need to keep the momentum. It’s much easier to recover energy when you win games.”
Barcelona next host Alaves in La Liga on Saturday.
