Chelsea became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenage scorers as they secured a 5-1 win over a woeful Ajax side at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Guiu, 19, was the first teenager to score and briefly became Chelsea’s youngest Champions League goalscorer in a calamitous minute and 17 seconds for Ajax after captain Kenneth Taylor was sent off.
However, Guiu’s record was broken 33 minutes later when Estevao Willian, 18, scored the third of three penalties – after spot-kicks from Enzo Fernandez and Wout Weghorst – and a long-range strike from Moises Caicedo in a chaotic first half.
Chelsea made three changes at half-time, including forward Tyrique George, who scored from just inside the box three minutes after coming on to become the third teenager on the scoresheet.
Substitute midfielder Reggie Walsh, 17, then became the youngest player to appear for the club in the Champions League and the second youngest Englishman after Jack Wilshere for Arsenal.
It was a poor performance from Ajax, who have won this competition four times, with Taylor’s high and late lunge setting the tone.
And it was further indiscipline which effectively sealed the result. Weghorst, who had earlier scored from the spot after a foul by Tosin Adarabioyo, made a poor tackle on Fernandez, the Chelsea midfielder picking himself up to score the resultant penalty after 45 minutes.
Remarkably, Ajax gave away another penalty as Youri Baas trod on Estevao, who picked himself up to score in the sixth minute of first-half added time.
After George scored the fifth, both sides dropped in intensity.
Such was Chelsea’s dominance that manager Enzo Maresca began resting players like Caicedo, Fernandez and Adarabioyo, making all five changes by the 65-minute mark.
Ajax were once giants of European football but have now lost all three Champions League matches and sit bottom of the 36-team table. They are also without a win in four matches in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have won back-to-back matches in Europe since losing their opening game at Bayern Munich, with a trip to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag next.
Bbc.com