Barcelona’s players were left shaken after their team bus was attacked in London en route to a 3-0 Champions League loss against Chelsea.
According to a report from Football London by Aaron Morris, police have launched an investigation after Barcelona’s official team bus was “ambushed” in London on Tuesday evening as it travelled to Stamford Bridge for the Champions League match against Chelsea.
The incident resulted in “Staff were forced to patch up a shattered window,” and the players were described as “shaken” before being “rushed to Gatwick Airport straight after the match.” The scenes on the streets of the capital ahead of kick-off were described as having “turned ugly.”
The on-field match saw Chelsea secure a dominant 3-0 victory over the La Liga giants. The host’s scoring started with a Jules Kounde own-goal, followed by a second-half goal from Estevao, and was sealed by Liam Delap in the 73rd minute.
Matters were made worse for the Catalan side just before the break when skipper, Ronald Araujo, was sent off.
The Uruguayan initially received a yellow card for “seemingly venting his frustration towards referee, Slavko Vincic,” before being shown his second for “clattering a breaking Cucurella, who was bursting with pace down the left.”
Despite the 3-0 loss and the bus incident, Chelsea’s victory helped them toward a top-eight finish in their Champions League group. The focus now shifts to the police investigation following the attack on Barcelona’s team transport.