By John Mutiso
Robert Sanchez delivered a mocking verdict of Barcelona’s teenage superstar, Lamine Yamal, after Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League by claiming that Blues defender Marc Cucurella had him ‘in his pocket’ for the entire game.
Goals from Estevao, Liam Delap and a Jules Kounde own goal ensured Chelsea defeated Barca at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening but the sending off of Ronald Araujo before half-time allowed the hosts more time and space on the ball.
Coupled with dogged and steadfast defending from Cucurella who made it his mission to keep Yamal quiet on Barcelona’s right wing, the LaLiga side were ineffective when trying to impose themselves on Chelsea.
Following the match, Sanchez spoke to Spanish media and talked about Cucurella’s battle with Yamal claiming that ‘he had him in his pocket’.
The Metro also report that Sanchez sent a message to Yamal which read: ‘Everyone is great until they come to the Premier League.’
Yamal was also the target of the Chelsea supporters due to his struggling performance with the fans taunting him throughout the game with chants of ‘You’re just a s*** Estevao’.
Chelsea’s margin of victory could have been even greater as Enzo Fernandez had two goals disallowed in the first half before Kounde’s own goal sent them ahead.
Speaking more openly about the match itself, Sanchez admitted that Araujo’s red card gave Chelsea an ‘advantage’ in the game but he believes the Premier League side were dominant from the first whistle.
“The red card gave us a slight advantage, but we dominated the game from the first minute,” Sanchez said. “We scored a lot of goals, three of them offside, and I’m very happy with the victory.
“I know the quality we have, we know how they played, we’ve faced them and won head-to-head. In matches against top opponents, we always rise to the occasion. We’re a team that always rises to the occasion in big moments, and we’ve done it once again. It’s just another game.
The win sent Chelsea up to fifth in the Champions League table with 10 points from five matches in the league phase.
