Chelsea beats 10-man Barcelona 3-0 as Guardiola's much-changed City loses in Champions League

On a night of changes, blunders and a glorious individual goal by 18-year-old Estevão, defensive lapses cost Manchester City and Barcelona dearly as both teams slumped to notable losses in the Champions League on Tuesday.

In Pep Guardiola's 100th Champions League game as City coach, his team struggled to cope with Bayer Leverkusen's quick transitions in a 2-0 defeat, while Barcelona had an own goal and a red card in its 3-0 loss at Chelsea.

Guardiola made 10 changes to his starting lineup following Saturday’s loss to Newcastle in the Premier League, with Erling Haaland among those on the bench, but it didn’t have the desired effect.

Alejandro Grimaldo fired home Leverkusen’s first goal with a low shot into the far corner in the 23rd and Patrik Schick headed in a second in the 54th.

"It feels wonderful and we gave everything till the last second,” Schick told broadcaster DAZN.

Chelsea comfortably beat 10-man Barcelona 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to earn its third league-phase win and move closer to the top.

It was the second loss for Barcelona, which went down a man after defender Ronald Araújo was shown a second yellow card just before halftime for a forceful tackle on Marc Cucurella.

Jules Koundé's own goal handed Chelsea the lead in the 27th as Barcelona defenders got tangled up in the goalmouth.

The hosts stretched their advantage with a fine individual goal by Estevão in the 55th as he held off two defenders, and a close-range shot by Liam Delap in the 73rd.

Barcelona's fourth loss in 10 games in all competitions could mean more criticism of coach Hansi Flick's approach.

City would have moved atop the table with a win but the night ended with the top three unchanged. Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Inter Milan all play Wednesday.

Borussia Dortmund rose to fourth and Chelsea is fifth after both won to join City on 10 points, while Barcelona is down in 15th and Juventus improved to 21st with a win as the Italian club tries to turn around its campaign.

While Guardiola had an unexpected loss, his old foe José Mourinho picked up his first Champions League win with his new club Benfica as left back Samuel Dahl's early goal set the stage for a 2-0 win over troubled Ajax. It was No. 36 vs. No. 35 in the pre-game standings as the two winless teams met in Amsterdam.

Dahl scored an unstoppable volley in the sixth and Leandro Barreiro added a second goal in the 90th. Ajax has lost all five of its Champions League games and won only one of its last 10 games in all competitions.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in four minutes early in the second half to turn the game around for Marseille in a 2-1 win over Newcastle.

Serhou Guirassy scored two goals as Dortmund routed 10-man Villarreal 4-0 to end a three-game winless run in all competitions.

Juventus won 3-2 on its trip into the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt and needed a stoppage-time winner from Jonathan David after the Norwegian host leveled the score in the 87th.

David scored on the rebound of a shot by Kenan Yildiz, who was brought on at halftime and had a hand in all three Juventus goals.

Canadian forward Promise David scored the only goal as Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise won 1-0 at injury-depleted Galatasaray. The Turkish club was without injured Champions League top scorer Victor Osimhen, and finished with 10 men after 18-year-old defender Arda Ünyay picked up two yellow cards.

Scott McTominay scored the opening goal as Napoli won 2-0 against Azerbaijan’s Qarabag, whose player Kevin Medina seemed to be knocked unconscious by another McTominay shot and was later substituted. Napoli fans commemorated the fifth anniversary of club legend Diego Maradona’s death.

Athletic Bilbao was frustrated in a 0-0 draw with Slavia Prague which leaves both clubs outside the qualifying places after five games.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the game during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Chelsea's Estevao, second right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Chelsea and Barcelona in London, England, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong gestures after Chelsea's Liam Delap scored his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Chelsea and Barcelona in London, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola walks on the pitch after the end of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal gestures during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Chelsea and Barcelona in London, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Union SG's Promise David celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Galatasaray and Union Saint-Gilloise, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho gives instructions to Benfica's Samuel Dahl during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Ajax and SL Benfica in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, (second left) Marc Cucurella (left), Tosin Adarabioyo (centre), Moises Caicedo and Malo Gusto (right) during a training session at Cobham Training Ground, in London, Monday Nov. 24, 2025. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)

Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Athletic in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Julian Champagnie had a career-high 36 points and the San Antonio Spurs survived an injury scare to Victor Wembanyama, rallying to beat the New York Knicks 134-132 on Wednesday night in a rematch of the NBA Cup final.

Wembanyama finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes before limping off the court with an apparent leg injury with under 11 minutes remaining. He returned to the bench in warmups in the final minutes.

New York's Jalen Brunson had 29 points, including a 3-pointer at the close of regulation after stripping Keldon Johnson of possession as he celebrated with San Antonio's bench. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson added 20 points apiece for the Knicks, who had a three-game winning streak halted.

Wembanyama hobbled off the court unassisted with 10:32 remaining, heading to the locker room after injuring his left leg. He had soared to gather an offensive rebound over Towns and lost possession when he landed. Replays showed there was no contact, but Wembanyama’s left foot slid forward and his knee appeared to hyperextend.

Wembanyama returned to San Antonio's bench with 1:22 remaining, walking calmly and without a limp. It was a good time for the 7-foot-4 center to return. Wembanyama cheered from the sidelines as the Spurs held on to beat the Knicks to snap a two-game skid.

Champagnie scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 4 for 5 on 3-pointers, as San Antonio erased a double-digit deficit.

New York outscored San Antonio 28-27 in the second quarter, but it would have been much worse without Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 center had 16 points in the second period.

Wembanyama brought the sell-out crowd to its feet with a one-handed slam off an alley-oop pass from Castle that cut New York's lead to 54-50. The Knicks responded with a 17-2 run following a timeout and Wembanyama's exit, including 14 straight points to cap the surge.

Wembanyama returned to help pare the deficit to 73-63.

Champagnie hit back-to-back 3-pointers, capping a 16-2 run that tied the game at 86 midway through the third.

Wembanyama made his 300th career 3-pointer, becoming the fastest to do so among 7-footers and accomplishing the feat in 138 games. That beat the previous mark of 141 games by Utah’s Lauri Markkanen.

Knicks: Host Sacramento on Thursday.

Spurs: At Indiana on Friday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, right, tangles with New York Knicks players Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

New York Knicks guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (9) passes to Knicks center Ariel Hukporti as he is guarded by San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, is fouled as he drives against San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) and Spurs center Victor Wembanyama during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)