Chelsea became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenage scorers in a single match as they cruised to a 5-1 victory over a lacklustre Ajax side at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Guiu, 19, opened the scoring and briefly became Chelsea’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer during a disastrous spell for Ajax, which also saw their captain Kenneth Taylor sent off.
However, Guiu’s record lasted just 33 minutes before 18-year-old Estevao Willian struck from the penalty spot — Chelsea’s third of the night — after earlier spot-kicks from Enzo Fernandez and Wout Weghorst, and a long-range strike from Moises Caicedo in a chaotic first half.
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In a match reported by the BBC Sports, at the start of the second half, Chelsea made three substitutions, including introducing forward Tyrique George.
The youngster made an instant impact, scoring from just inside the box three minutes after coming on to become the third teenager on the scoresheet.
Substitute midfielder Reggie Walsh, 17, also made history, becoming the youngest player to feature for Chelsea in the Champions League and the second-youngest Englishman to appear in the competition after Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.
It was a dismal showing from Ajax, four-time winners of the competition, whose discipline unravelled early on. Taylor’s reckless, high challenge set the tone before further poor tackles compounded their misery.
Weghorst had briefly offered Ajax hope with a penalty following a foul by Tosin Adarabioyo, but soon after, he himself conceded a spot-kick with a clumsy tackle on Fernandez.
The Argentine midfielder converted from 12 yards to make it 3-1 just before half-time.
Ajax’s woes deepened when Youri Baas fouled Estevao inside the area, allowing the Brazilian teenager to step up and score in the sixth minute of first-half added time.
After George netted Chelsea’s fifth, both teams noticeably eased the tempo, with Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca taking the opportunity to rest key players such as Caicedo, Fernandez and Adarabioyo, completing all five substitutions by the 65th minute.
Once a dominant force in European football, Ajax have now lost all three of their Champions League group matches and sit bottom of the expanded 36-team table. They are also winless in their last four matches in all competitions.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have recovered from their opening defeat to Bayern Munich with back-to-back European wins and will next travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag.
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