Chelsea starlets rip 10-man Ajax apart
FIVE-STAR DISPLAY: Tyrique George, right, celebrates after scoring Chelsea's fifth goal against Ajax at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. Pic: Adam Davy/PA
On a memorable night when Chelsea took Ajax’s 10 men to the cleaners, Enzo Maresca unleashed an historic teenage rampage in a Stamford Bridge monsoon.
And as one of European football’s fallen giants were humiliated, the Blues became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenagers score in the same game.
For Marc Guiu, Estevao, and substitute Tyrique George, Chelsea’s plunder was no more arduous than nicking sweets off the smallest kids in the playground.
But it is a measure of Ajax’s plight that Blues head coach Maresca felt empowered to make 10 changes from the side who gatecrashed Ange Postecoglou’s last stand at Nottingham Forest last weekend - and his team still enjoyed an unprecedented night of teenage kicks.
Once the spiritual home of Total Football, Ajax have not recovered from blowing a nine-point lead in their title race six months ago, including a ruinous 99th-minute equaliser against 10-man Groningen in the penultimate game, to gift PSV Eindhoven the crown.
In their only previous excursion along Fulham Broadway, they blew a 4-1 lead and finished with nine men in a chaotic 4-4 draw six years ago.
If that madcap thriller was a rollercoaster straight from the fairground, Chelsea’s 200th Champions League tie was always likely to be no more mountainous than a speed bump by comparison.
But elite European football isn’t meant to be this easy.
Ajax were pushing a grand piano up Mount Everest inside 18 minutes, and the task only became steeper.
Captain Kenneth Taylor’s dangerous challenge on Facundo Buonanotte, above ankle-high, was adjudged to be a red card on review by German referee Felix Zwayer after only a brief glance at his pitchside monitor.
Just 78 seconds later, the Dutch didn’t know whether to stick or twist from a set piece and 19-year-old Guiu became Chelsea’s youngest Champions League goalscorer, if only for the next half-hour, by prodding home from six yards.
Guiu began the season on loan at Sunderland in search of regular first-team football, but with Liam Delap injured and Joao Pedro suspended, the stage was clear for him to open his account for the Blues this term.
Before 27 minutes had elapsed, Ajax’s hopes had diminished from slim to none, Moises Caicedo taking pot luck from 25 yards and his shot deflecting off Josip Sutalo to make it 2-0.
No sooner were Chelsea on cruise control than they were briefly shaken out of autopilot after 33 minutes, when Tosin Adarabioyo clumsily trod on Raul Moro’s foot and former Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst squeezed the resulting spot-kick under Filip Jörgensen.
The Chelsea goalkeeper’s ‘mortgage’ - he went down in instalments - was soon forgotten, however, when the Blues replied with two penalties of their own before the break.
First Weghorst cleaned out Enzo Fernandez and the Blues captain made no mistake from the spot, then five minutes into first-half added time 18-year-old Estevao - going nowhere - was tripped by Youri Baas.
Fernandez sportingly conceded penalty-taking duties to the Brazilian teenager, who accepted the duty with alacrity to break Guiu’s short-lived club record.
Now sensing a rout instead of mere capitulation, the Blues were soon back in the goals within three minutes of the restart.
George, who had replaced Guiu in a triple substitution at the break, potted No.5 with the aid of another deflection off Lucas Rosa and Ajax, already well-beaten, were now thoroughly demoralised.
As the Blues settled for energy conservation, all that remained was for another sub, Reggie Walsh, to become their youngest Champions League player at 17 years, two days — and the second youngest Englishman behind Jack Wilshere (16 years, 329 days).
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