‘That’s where they suffer’ – Enzo Maresca explains plan to beat Barcelona

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca masterminded a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night and spoke about his approach for the game.

The Blues deservedly took three points against Hansi Flick’s side, and Maresca says he wanted to make sure Barcelona didn’t have the ball and had to run instead.

“I think the feeling with the 11-on-11 game was that we were doing well, controlling the match and not conceding anything,” he told reporters.

“You know it better than I do: Barcelona is comfortable with the ball, and without it they struggle more. We wanted to make Barcelona run because we know that’s where they suffer. If you give them the ball, they’re comfortable, so we had to take it away from them as quickly as possible.

“It’s a great victory because it’s against Barcelona, ​​but it doesn’t change who we are or what we want to achieve. It’s an important match, but it’s just one match, because we have another one this Sunday.”

Chelsea now move up into fifth place in the Champions League standings, ahead of tonight’s fixtures, while Barcelona are down in 15th.