We knew — Maresca reveals how they beat Barcelona

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca lauded his team’s performance against Barcelona, noting that they capitalised on Barcelona’s weaknesses without the ball.

The Blues were at their brilliant best against Barcelona, dominating for nearly the entire contest, with goals from Estevao and Liam Delap following a Jules Kounde own goal helping Chelsea to a 3-0 win.

Speaking after the game, the Chelsea manager explained that they prepared for the game against Barcelona and understood that their out-of-possession weaknesses were there to be exploited. 

"We dropped points at Qarabag away, then we won against Benfica and Ajax, then we lost the last one against Bayern Munich. That shows all of these games are complicated,” he said, per the BBC.

"Barcelona are a team that feel comfortable when they have the ball. If they don't have the ball, they don't feel comfortable, so we tried to keep the ball. Even 11v11, my feeling was very good because the team was playing well.

Chelsea were steely, limiting Barcelona to few chances, and Maresca noted that their showing in the game was a continuation of their improved defensive form in recent matches.

"The defensive part is always important because you need balance. Fortunately, in the last month, we have started finishing games with clean sheets in the Premier League. It's something you need to do if you want to achieve important things."