Chelsea secured a 3-0 Champions League home victory against 10-man Barcelona, with winger Estevao Willian outperforming fellow teenage superstar Lamine Yamal.
Estevao, 18, scored a remarkable second goal after Barcelona was reduced to ten men, with captain Ronald Araujo being sent off for a second yellow card just before halftime.
By then, the hosts had grabbed the lead thanks to an own goal by Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, and replacement Liam Delap completed the scoring, breaking an 11-game drought with his first goal of the season.
However, Estevao took the spotlight from visiting Yamal, also 18, in a battle between probably the world’s two best teenage attackers.
The biggest moment came when the Brazil international skipped past Pau Cubarsi, held off Alejandro Balde, and fired past goalkeeper Joan Garcia, while Yamal was replaced in the 80th minute to jeers from the home crowd.
Two minutes later, manager Enzo Maresca led Estevao off to a standing ovation.
This comes after Estevao supplied the highlight of a fantastic night at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea, who was missing star forward Cole Palmer due to a toe injury.
Chelsea earned their early lead with a clever short-corner routine featuring Estevao, Alejandro Garnacho, and Marc Cucurella, which culminated with Neto’s flick ricocheting off Kounde and into the net for 1-0.
Earlier, Enzo Fernandez had two set-piece goals disallowed for offside, while Reece James forced two long-range saves and Neto blasted over when clean through.
Barcelona missed their greatest chance of the first half when former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres shot wide from close range before being replaced at halftime by Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.
Rashford, however, was unable to stem the tide as Estevao scored 2-0 on a solo run, and Delap added a third with a side-footed shot after Fernandez broke the offside trap and squared a pass into the box.
Victory propelled Chelsea into the top eight of the 36-team league phase, avoiding an extra playoff round in February if they maintain their place with three more games to go.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick downplayed the significance of the defeat.
His team finished with ten men; winger Raphinha was just fit enough to play as a replacement, and Rashford had only recently recovered from a fever after returning from England duty during the November international break.
However, the most notable absentee was perhaps outstanding midfielder Pedri, who allowed Chelsea to force mistakes in possession with a heavy press.
Flick remarked after the game, “We made some big ball losses—this was the key today. We had some players making unusual mistakes. But I also saw some positive things, and we have to work on the other things.
“I am happy Raphinha is back and Marcus [Rashford] is at this level, and, as I said, I prefer to look positively.”
The new Champions League format also gives Barcelona plenty of opportunity to progress, with a favorable run of three remaining Champions League fixtures: home games against Eintracht Frankfurt and Copenhagen, and an away tie at Slavia Prague sandwiched between.
They will likely need to win all three matches to qualify directly and avoid the playoffs.
