Injured Barcelona captain present at Stamford Bridge to support team vs Chelsea

FC Barcelona fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Chelsea last night at Stamford Bridge, which complicates their path to a top-eight finish and direct qualification to the knockout stages.

The Blaugrana were completely outplayed by the home team on the night, with their control only increasing after the Catalans’ captain on the night, Ronald Araujo, was sent off in the first half following two yellow cards in quick succession.

Ter Stegen travelled to London with the squad

While Araujo trudged off the pitch having let the team down, a certain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the Catalans’ first captain, watched on from the sidelines at Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, according to SPORT, the German goalkeeper, who is currently recovering from an injury, travelled to London and was seated just behind the benches in the stands at Chelsea’s home ground.

Ter Stegen flew to London to support his teammates. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Last year, Ter Stegen received criticism when Jules Kounde travelled to Milan to support the team in the Champions League semi-finals against Inter Milan, and he did not.

This time, understanding his responsibility as captain and senior figure in the dressing room, he did not want to miss such an important match.

As such, the 33-year-old goalkeeper travelled to England, was with his teammates at the hotel, in the dressing room before the match, and supported them from the stands for the entire ninety minutes.

For a Barcelona side going through a delicate moment, his gesture was a clear message of internal commitment that was valued far more inside the stadium than could be seen from home.

As for his return, Ter Stegen has already started training individually at high intensity at the Ciutat Esportiva and is close to rejoining the group.