A night marked by wholesale rotations, defensive mistakes and a moment of teenage brilliance saw both Manchester City and Barcelona fall to damaging Champions League defeats on Tuesday. While 18-year-old Estevão lit up Stamford Bridge with a stunning solo effort, lapses at the back hurt both European heavyweights. Pep Guardiola’s 100th Champions League match in charge of City turned sour as Bayer Leverkusen punished a heavily changed side with a 2–0 win. Guardiola rested almost his entire starting XI from the weekend loss to Newcastle, including Erling Haaland, but the reshuffle backfired. Alejandro Grimaldo put Leverkusen ahead in the 23rd minute with a precise low finish, before Patrik Schick doubled the lead with a well-placed header in the 54th. “It feels wonderful and we gave everything until the last second,” Schick told DAZN. Barcelona’s night was even more chaotic. Chelsea cruised to a 3–0 victory at Stamford Bridge, helped by Jules Koundé steering the ball into his own net after a defensive mix-up in the 27th minute. Things worsened when Ronald Araújo collected a second yellow just before half-time for a reckless challenge on Marc Cucurella. Chelsea took full advantage. Estevão shrugged off two defenders to score a superb solo goal in the 55th, and Liam Delap added a third from close range in the 73rd. Barcelona have now lost four of their last 10 matches across competitions, leaving coach Hansi Flick under mounting scrutiny. The results left the top end of the table unchanged. A City win would have pushed them higher, but Wednesday’s fixtures featuring Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Inter Milan will now shape the standings. Borussia Dortmund climbed to fourth, Chelsea moved into fifth, and both clubs sit level with City on 10 points. Barcelona slid to 15th, while Juventus rose to 21 points as their revival continued. There was better news for José Mourinho, who finally secured his first Champions League victory with Benfica. Samuel Dahl smashed in a sixth-minute volley and Leandro Barreiro sealed a 2-0 win at Ajax, who remain winless after five games and have managed just one victory in their last 10 overall. Elsewhere, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice in four minutes to lead Marseille to a 2-1 comeback win over Newcastle. Dortmund snapped a three-game winless stretch with a commanding 4-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal, powered by a brace from Serhou Guirassy. Juventus edged Bodo/Glimt 3–2 in the Arctic Circle, needing a stoppage-time finish from Jonathan David after the hosts equalized late. Substitute Kenan Yildiz was involved in all three goals. Union Saint-Gilloise edged Galatasaray 1–0 through Promise David, with the Turkish side missing injured top scorer Victor Osimhen and ending the match with 10 men after youngster Arda Ünyay was dismissed. Scott McTominay continued his scoring run by netting the opener in Napoli’s 2–0 win over Qarabag. Qarabag’s Kevin Medina was briefly knocked unconscious after being struck by another McTominay effort but was later replaced. Napoli supporters also marked the fifth anniversary of Diego Maradona’s passing. Finally, Athletic Bilbao’s goalless draw with Slavia Prague kept both teams outside the qualification spots with five matches played.
