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ESTêVãO TROLLS BARçA: CHELSEA DELIVERS SAVAGE SOCIAL MEDIA TAUNT

After a dominant 3-0 Champions League victory, Chelsea trolled Barcelona on social media, referencing Andres Iniesta's famous 2009 goal with a new twist.

Estêvão Trolls Barça: Chelsea Delivers Savage Social Media Taunt
Chelsea Trolls Barcelona's Iniesta Post With Estêvão

Chelsea is enjoying their Champions League victory against Barcelona by playfully teasing their rivals.

The win moved Chelsea to seventh place in the Champions League table with ten points from five games. They're also second in the Premier League, six points behind Arsenal, who they'll play on Sunday.

After beating the Spanish team, Chelsea responded to Barcelona's pre-game post with a touch of humour.

Barcelona had posted an image of Andres Iniesta before the match, recalling the many clashes between these two powerhouses in the late 2000s, featuring goals from players like Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard.

In a past game, Michael Essien scored early in the second leg, putting Chelsea in a good position. But a series of controversial calls by the referee and a late goal from Iniesta in the 93rd minute gave Barcelona the win on away goals.

Before the recent game, Chelsea didn't respond to Barcelona's post. But after their win, they hit back.

On their X account, Chelsea posted the same caption as Barcelona but with a photo of Estevao's goal to poke fun at the La Liga champions.

Chelsea has now gotten their revenge on Barcelona and is making the most of it.

PROUD BLUES: ALEJANDRO GARNACHO HAILS CHELSEA'S TEN-MAN STAND AGAINST ARSENAL

Alejandro Garnacho hailed 10-man Chelsea's draw vs. Arsenal. Manager Maresca was proud but questioned VAR's inconsistent application on Caicedo, Hincapie, and Bentancur incidents.

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Garnacho 'Proud' of Chelsea

Alejandro Garnacho said he was after Chelsea managed a draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, even after playing 52 minutes with only ten players. Chelsea's Moises Caicedo was sent off for a bad tackle on Declan Rice after the video assistant referee got involved.

The referee, Anthony Taylor, initially gave Caicedo a yellow card, but it was changed to a red card after the VAR review. The Premier League Match Centre explained the decision on X and even included Taylor's announcement.

The post said: #CHEARS – 34’ VAR OVERTURN After VAR review, the referee changed the original decision from a yellow card to Caicedo to a red card due to serious foul play.

Referee announcement: “After review, Chelsea 25 makes a challenge with excessive force and endangers the safety of the opponent; therefore, my final decision is a red card.

Despite having one less player, Chelsea took the lead with a goal from Trevoh Chalobah in the 48th minute, but Arsenal tied the score through Mikel Merino shortly before the hour mark.

Garnacho, who came in as a substitute for Estevao at halftime, went to social media to say how proud he was of his team.

He shared a photo from the game on his Instagram story, with the caption: "Of the team today [blue love heart]."

He wasn't the only one feeling that way. Chelsea's coach, Maresca, was also happy with how his team responded after losing a player. But he also wondered why Arsenal didn't lose a player too, after Piero Hincapie seemed to elbow Chalobah.

When asked about the Chelsea red card, Maresca said, "I just said it there; he asked me about Moises' red card." It's a red card, but why wasn't Bentancur's against Reece a red card when we were at Spurs away?

So, as managers, it's hard for us to understand why they judge things differently. Moises' is a red card, yes. Bentancur's is a red card, yes. So why didn't they give him a red card? That's what we have a hard time understanding.

The thing is, it's a red card. But why do they judge things differently? And about the Trevoh one, I asked the referee, and he told me that it wasn't an elbow.

So, that's what they said. [He had a] black eye, with ice at halftime. But they judge things differently.

ENZO MARESCA'S MASTERCLASS: 10-MAN CHELSEA HOLDS ARSENAL, TITLE RACE ON

Enzo Maresca's tactical bravery, coupled with a dominant Reece James performance, allowed 10-man Chelsea to hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw and keep the title race alive.

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Bold Subs Save 10-Man Chelsea from Rooney Criticism

Just ten weeks ago, Wayne Rooney criticised Enzo Maresca's substitutions after Chelsea's loss to Manchester United when they were down to ten players.

Rooney felt that taking off Estevao, Pedro Neto, and Cole Palmer at Old Trafford let United control the game and weakened Chelsea's attack, even after Casemiro was sent off for the home team.

Chelsea fans might have worried about a repeat when Moises Caicedo was red-carded for a bad foul on Arsenal's Mikel Merino in their 1-1 draw.

Caicedo is the sixth Chelsea player to get a red card this season—seven if you count Maresca's for celebrating too much during their win against Liverpool at home.

While Maresca needs to sort out this lack of discipline, he didn't back down this time. Facing the league leaders with ten men for over 50 minutes, he showed bravery, and his players matched it.

Maresca didn't hesitate. Instead of playing it safe, he took a chance, bringing on Alejandro Garnacho at halftime and Liam Delap before the hour mark.

Kweku Afari says the title race is still alive after Chelsea drew with Arsenal while playing with ten men.

This bold approach paid off when Chelsea surprisingly scored first with Trevoh Chalobah's header from Reece James's corner in the 48th minute.

It was Chelsea's tenth goal from a set piece this season, second only to Arsenal.

If you can't beat them, join them!

Even though Merino equalised just 11 minutes later, keeping Garnacho and Pedro Neto on the field, with Delap as the main threat, meant Arsenal couldn't relax or commit too many players forward to find a winner. A win would have put them seven points clear at the top.

In the end, Arsenal's coach, Mikel Arteta, was happy to get a draw, just like Maresca, after a big week for Arsenal, having already beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich.

Chelsea wasn't going to be as easy to push around as Spurs were in the north London derby last weekend.

Joao Pedro set the tone for what Arteta called a proper London derby by fouling Cristhian Mosquera right after kickoff.

From that point on, Arsenal couldn't get into their usual flow, even with an extra player.

Everyone expected the battle between Caicedo and Declan Rice to be key, but it was captain Reece James, playing in midfield again, who led the way.

James was the best player on the field, stopping Rice from controlling the game and threatening Arsenal's defence with his great passing.

James's perfect corner led to Chalobah's goal.

It's no surprise that England's coach, Thomas Tuchel, really wants his former Chelsea player to be fit for next summer's World Cup.

If James can keep playing like this after struggling with injuries for three years, he'll be important for both his country and his club.

James's determined performance showed everything good about Maresca's confident Chelsea team, who will at least keep Arsenal under pressure in the title race.

What a difference ten weeks can make.

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