Barcelona defender admits Chelsea star's individual brilliance 'killed' the game
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Barcelona defender Eric Garcia admitted that Estevao's brilliant goal was what "killed' their hopes in the game during Tuesday's 3-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea.
Chelsea made it look easy in the second half, but before the half-time break, the two sides traded blows, albeit not very clinically.
Chelsea had a goal disallowed for handball, the first of the three they had in the game, while Ferran Torres missed a big chance to take the lead from close range in this period.
It was Jules Kounde's own goal that finally broke the deadlock, and Ronald Araujo's red card put Chelsea in the driver's seat.
Barcelona had made ridiculous comebacks before, but a moment of brilliance from Estevao snuffed out that hope, at least according to Garcia.
"It was a tough night," the Barcelona defender said after the game, as quoted by Spanish outlet Marca.
"We were coming off a good match against Athletic (Bilbao). We started the match well and had a couple of very good chances.
"We tried to hold on a bit in the second half, but 2-0 kills you."
Estevao's goal might have extinguished Barcelona's hopes for a comeback, but Garcia also admitted that they could not cope with Chelsea's pressing throughout the game.
"I think they were putting us under pressure," he explained.
"We didn't know how to adjust properly. We tried to get forward with the fullbacks, but it was impossible.
"We had to run after the ball the whole time."
Thanks to this win, Chelsea have climbed up to fifth in the Champions League table and are closer to an automatic qualification to the knock-out stages.
Enzo Maresca's side now have to shift their attention to the Premier League with Sunday's derby against Arsenal ahead.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.