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Two European giants clash in the fifth round of Champions League play as Barcelona visit Chelsea as league-phase play continues.
Both sides sit neck-and-neck in the table, level on seven points as they are 11th and 12th in the standings respectively. They are both on course to qualify for the knockout stage with room to spare, but both sit outside the all-important top eight, which would potentially earn them a playoff-round bye.
Barcelona have closed the gap with Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, trailing by just a point after beating Athletic Club over the weekend in their return to the Camp Nou.
The Blues have also positioned themselves well domestically, as a three-match winning streak saw them elevated to second in the Premier League standings after Manchester City slipped over the weekend.
The Sporting News is following the Chelsea vs. Barcelona match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.
Chelsea vs. Barcelona score
| Score (HT) | Goal scorers | |
| Chelsea | 1 | Kounde (27′, OG) |
| Barcelona | 0 | – |
Location: Stamford Bridge (London, England)
Referee: Slavko Vincic (SLV)
Starting lineups:
Chelsea (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Sanchez (GK) — 27. Gusto, 29. Fofana, 23. Chalobah, 3. Cucurella — 24. James, 25. Caicedo — 41. Estevao, 8. E. Fernandez, 49. Garnacho — 7. Neto.
Barcelona (4-2-3-1, right to left): 13. Garcia (GK) — 23. Kounde, 5. Cubarsi, 4. Araujo (red card, 44′), 3. Balde — 21. De Jong, 24. E. Garcia — 10. Lamine Yamal, 16. F. Lopez, 7. F. Torres — 9. Lewandowski.
Chelsea vs. Barcelona live updates, highlights from Champions League match
HALFTIME: Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
It’s a deserved lead for Chelsea who, aside from about a 10-minute spell, were the more dangerous side in the first 45 minutes. They caught Barcelona too high up the pitch on many occasions, and after a very silly own-goal put the Blues in front, Ronald Araujo’s very poor decision to foul Marc Cucurella put the Catalan side down a man in addition to down a goal.
The Blues will be warned, though…they were also up 1-0 and up a man at home in 2009 when Barcelona came back to draw 1-1 on a last-gasp equaliser from Andres Iniesta, which sent the La Liga club to the Champions League final on away goals.
Araujo doesn’t complain at all, just walks off! This is a disaster for Barcelona!
40th min: Malo Gusto is the first Chelsea player booked as he drags back the jersey of Alex Balde in transition.
35th min: We get a look at the semi-automated offside technology, which shows that Cucurella was onside as he fed the ball across. As the incident is shown on television, the Chelsea fans sing some amusing yet derogatory things at Lamine Yamal.
Uefa GFX confirms Cucurella was onside as Chelsea fans chant “You’re just a s*** Estevao” to Lamine Yamal. pic.twitter.com/5cW4yyAKRX
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) November 25, 2025
32nd min: Ronald Araujo is the first player shown a yellow card as he argues with the referee a little too much.
27th min: GOAL! CHELSEA! CHELSEA ARE IN FRONT, and this one will stand!
Marc Cucurella skips away from his defenders on the right edge of the penalty area near the end line, and he sends a laser beam across the face of goal. Pedro Neto is there to put the Chelsea defenders under pressure, and it seems to clip off Jules Kounde and slow-roll into the back of the net! Ferran Torres had the ball stopped short of the goal line, but Kounde inadvertently back-heeled it off his feet and over the line!
WAIT A MINUTE!!! Replay shows that Cucrella seems to be quite clearly leaning offside, but the goal stands!! In all likelihood, semi-automated offside technology has been able to prove that camera angles can be deceiving!
🤔 𝗗𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗘: Is Cucurella offside? pic.twitter.com/fsKOY7CaDa
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 25, 2025
HIGHLIGHT: Watch Chelsea goal in the USA | Watch in UK | Watch in Canada | Watch in Australia
24th min: Chance, Chelsea! Pedro Neto is through on goal, but he puts it over the crossbar! Chelsea try to catch the Barcelona high line out, and Jules Kounde recovers just enough to usher Neto wide and put him off on the shot, which results in the Chelsea forward firing it high!
23rd min: Chance, Chelsea! Enzo Fernandez has another goal DISALLOWED! The ball ends up in the back of the net off a free-kick, and a replay shows that Trevoh Chalobah is leaning well offside on the chance and is clearly interfering with play. The ball skirts directly over Chalobah’s head, as the Chelsea defender ducks to get out of the way and let it run to his teammate, so offside is absolutely the right call.
15th min: This has been a frenetic start to the match, with Barcelona controlling the attacking intent. Chelsea have made a lot of mistakes in possession, leading to Barcelona opportunities to build forward. Every time the hosts try to slow the match down and take a little bit of sting out of the ball, Barcelona press them and look to force mistakes.
Both goalkeepers have had to come out off their line to clear long balls looking for attackers free running at goal.
6th min: Chance, Barcelona! WHAT A MISS BY FERRAN TORRES! Off a turnover deep in Chelsea’s own defensive third, Lamine Yamal slips a pass through to Torres in acres of space directly in front of goal, but he gets the ball stuck at his feet and by the time he lets it go, it’s an awkward effort that skips wide of the right post!
He was so in on goal that Robert Sanchez had to guess which way to dive, and he guessed wrong! Torres should have scored! Chelsea are so lucky not to be down a goal!
The giveaway was by Reece James, whose one-touch redirected pass put Moises Caicedo under pressure, and he was unable to latch onto the ball.
FERRAN TORRES MISSES A HUGE CHANCE!!! pic.twitter.com/dcLAJef42G
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) November 25, 2025
4th min: Chance, Chelsea! Enzo Fernandez has the ball in the back of the net, but it’s RULED OUT! It’s been disallowed for a hand ball by Wesley Fofana who controlled the ball with his arm and fed it along the six-yard box to his Argentine teammate on the doorstep.
That’s an early warning shot for Barcelona’s back line!
1st min: Hardly seconds into the match and Trevoh Chalobah has already stepped straight onto the foot of Robert Lewandowski with a very hard challenge over the ball. The referee decides not to book the Chelsea defender, being so early in the game, but he tells Blues captain Reece James that Chalobah has already earned his final warning.
Kickoff: They’re under way at Stamford Bridge!
Chelsea vs. Barcelona: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more
15 minutes to kick: Chelsea and Barcelona have played some classic matches in the last two decades, will today be another memorable installment?
A classic #UCL fixture across the years…
Titi reminisces on his memories playing in a Chelsea v Barcelona match 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/NN2JwSyIbJ
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 25, 2025
30 minutes to kick: Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has dipped deep into his attacking unit to deploy a number of starters all together, including Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, who had previously been rotated for each other at the No. 9.
Marcus Rashford is replaced as a result, while Dani Olmo also ends up on the bench, with Raphinha continuing to work his way back to full fitness.
45 minutes to kick: It’s quite interesting that after a summer of spending big money on both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, head coach Enzo Maresca has gone with Pedro Neto at the No. 9 position. Neto has been one of the few constants in Maresca’s lineup throughout his coaching tenure, which has largely been defined by excessive rotation.
1 hour to kickoff: These two teams have met 14 times previously, and they’ve had a perfectly even split of wins, draws, and losses! Who will take the series lead today?
Chelsea and Barca are EVEN in their all-time match-ups 😅
We are in for a treat 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Ufb8RDV81F
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 25, 2025
1 hour 15 mins to kick: Lineups are in! Estevao starts for Chelsea, with Pedro Neto taking over at the No. 9 position.
For Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski starts at the No. 9, while Frenkie de Jong returns to the XI after being suspended over the weekend.
1 hour 30 mins to kick: There’s a fox loose in Stamford Bridge!
Anyone call for a fox in the box? 🦊📦
There’s a fox loose at Stamford Bridge ahead of Chelsea v Barcelona! 😅 pic.twitter.com/PrXMBiRXcU
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 25, 2025
2 hours to kickoff: Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca waxed lyrical about his opponent ahead of this match, calling Barcelona “one of the best clubs in the world” and saying he got into management because of the Catalan side.
🚨🗣️ Enzo Maresca: “I decided to be a manager because of Pep’s Barcelona.”
“I don’t think no one can be compared to that Barcelona and Pep. I think they changed football in Spain, every club was trying to play that way.”
“And then Pep moved to Germany and everyone was trying… pic.twitter.com/yAYLeMqsny
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) November 24, 2025
Chelsea vs. Barcelona kick off time
This Champions League match kicks off from Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, November 25 at 8 p.m. local time in London, England. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA/Canada | Tue, Nov. 25 | 3 p.m. ET |
| USA/Canada | Tue, Nov. 25 | 12 p.m. PT |
| UK | Tue, Nov. 25 | 8 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Wed, Nov. 26 | 7 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Wed, Nov. 26 | 12:30 a.m. IST |
Champions League league phase standings
| Pos. | Team | GP | Points | W-D-L | Goal Diff. | GF-GA |
| 8. | Liverpool | 4 | 9 | 3-0-1 | +5 | 9-4 |
| 9. | Galatasaray | 4 | 9 | 3-0-1 | +2 | 8-6 |
| 10. | Tottenham | 4 | 8 | 2-2-0 | +5 | 7-2 |
| 11. | Barcelona | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | +5 | 12-7 |
| 12. | Chelsea | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | +3 | 9-6 |
| 13. | Sporting CP | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | +3 | 8-5 |
| 14. | B. Dortmund | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | +2 | 13-11 |
| 15. | Qarabag | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | +1 | 8-7 |
| 16. | Atalanta | 4 | 7 | 2-1-1 | -2 | 3-5 |
Chelsea vs. Barcelona lineups, team news
Reece James was substituted at halftime against Burnley, but Maresca confirmed this change was pre-planned and not a return of the captain’s injury woes. James could start in midfield alongside Moises Caicedo, with Malo Gusto at right-back.
Wesley Fofana will return to the matchday squad after being omitted as a precaution, but Tosin Adarabiyo could keep his place after impressing at the weekend.
Maresca has an enviable array of options in attack and must decide whether to start Estevao and set off a mouthwatering face-off with Barcelona’s teenage superstar Lamine Yamal.
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella — James, Caicedo — Estevao, E. Fernandez, Garnacho — Neto.
Chelsea subs: Jorgensen (GK), Badiashile, Hato, Acheampong, Adarabioyo, Santos, Buonanotte, Gittens, George, Delap, Guiu, Pedro.
Marcus Rashford missed the weekend win over Athletic Club with an illness, and his health will be monitored ahead of this game with a quick turnaround leaving his status in jeopardy.
Raphinha returned on Saturday after missing two months with a hamstring problem, seeing nine minutes off the bench, and it’s unlikely he will be ready for 90 minutes just yet. Despite missing international duty this month treatment on his chronic pubalgia, Lamine Yamal is available.
The Barcelona midfield is thin. Marc Casado was only available off the bench on Saturday, and Pedri missed out due to a minor issue that has seen him train on his own this week. Frenkie de Jong will return after being suspended for a red card on the weekend in league play.
In goal, Joan Garcia is back to full fitness, replacing Wojciech Szczesny in net.
Barcelona starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Garcia (GK) — Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde — De Jong, E. Garcia — Lamine Yamal, F. Lopez, F. Torres — Lewandowski.
Barcelona subs: Kochen (GK), Szczesny (GK), Christensen, Martin, D. Fernandez, Bernal, Casado, Olmo, Rashford, Raphinha, Bardghji.
Chelsea vs. Barcelona live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | TUDN, Univision | Paramount+, Fubo |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | — | Amazon Prime |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| India | — | JioTV, Sony LIV |
