By Emmanuel Olagunju
Chelsea were the biggest winners on a thrilling Champions League night, producing a commanding display to defeat Spanish giants, Barcelona 3–0 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea opened the scoring in the first half when Barcelona defender ,Jules Koundé diverted the ball into his own net. The Blues doubled their lead shortly after the restart through teenage star, Estêvão , who finished off a sweeping attack. Liam Delap sealed the result with his first Champions League goal, rounding off a dominant team performance that leaves Chelsea well-placed to advance.
Elsewhere, Ajax’s poor European run continued as they fell 2–0 at home to Benfica. Samuel Dahl struck early for the Portuguese side before Leandro Barreiro wrapped up the win in stoppage time.
Galatasaray suffered a setback in Istanbul, losing 1–0 to Union Saint-Gilloise, while Borussia Dortmund maintained their strong form with a comfortable 3–0 victory over Villarreal, led by Serhou Guirassy’s brace.
In one of the night’s most dramatic fixtures, Juventus edged a five-goal thriller with a 3–2 win away to Bodø Glimt. The Norwegian side scored twice, including a late penalty, but Juventus responded with goals from Weston McKennie, Loïs Openda, and a stoppage-time strike from Jonathan David.
Napoli returned to winning ways with a 2–0 home victory over Qarabağ, thanks to Scott McTominay’s effort and an own goal from Marko Janković.
At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City suffered a surprise 2–0 defeat to visiting Bayer Leverkusen. The two goals came in each half .
In France, Marseille came from behind to beat Newcastle United 2–1, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring twice after Harvey Barnes had given the visitors an early lead. Meanwhile, Slavia Prague and Athletic Bilbao played out a goalless draw in the night’s only stalemate.
The results leave qualification spots finely balanced .
