Three Teens Stall Ajax as Chelsea Serve Up a 5-1 Champions League Masterclass
22 October 2025
Match Recap
Chelsea produced a historic 5-1 victory over Ajax Amsterdam at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, the third matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Blues leaned on a fearless, youthful core to storm to a convincing win, leaving Ajax bird-dogged by counter-attacks and clinical finishing.
Marc Guiyo opened the scoring in the 18th minute, followed by Moises Caicedo in the 27th. Enzo Fernandez converted a 45th-minute penalty, Estevao Willian added a second spot-kick on 45+6, and Thierry George completed the five with a strike in the 48th. The half-time whistle read 4-1 in favor of Chelsea.
The night finished with Chelsea’s teenagers celebrating a landmark result that echoed through the competition’s history books.
Record-Breaking Night
Opta data shows Chelsea became the first team in Champions League history to have three players under 20 score in a single match. Estevao Willian, aged 18 years and 181 days, became Chelsea's youngest scorer in the competition, breaking Marc Guiyo's previous record (19 years, 291 days). He is also the third youngest penalty scorer in the competition's history after Bojan Krkic.
Squawka noted that four players have scored for two different clubs in the CL while teenagers, including Mbappe, Haaland, Ilienikin, and Guiyo. Ajax conceded four goals in the opening half for the first time in a European match since 1958.
Enzo Fernandez has been Chelsea's most prolific contributor in 2025, directly involved in 20 goals across all competitions (10 goals, 10 assists). He has contributed to 14 goals in 21 Chelsea home appearances at Stamford Bridge, a sign of the club’s bright, youth-forward direction following recent management changes.
Ajax’s Struggles and Chelsea’s Youth Project
Ajax are enduring a continental slump, with six straight European defeats — three in last season's Europa League and three in this season's Champions League — the worst run since 1988-89. The loss to Chelsea could be their sixth in a row, putting pressure on coach John Heitinga's future.
Heitinga started the match as one of four figures who have lost their first two European matches with the same club as both player and coach, alongside Mark van Bommel, Ivan Leko, and Krunoslav Juric, before tonight's defeat.
Ajax remains a renowned talent factory; in the previous round, a 17-year-old Gorty Mokio became the second youngest Ajax player to feature in the CL at 17 years and 214 days, part of a record 52 teenagers to represent Ajax in Europe—an unprecedented figure for any European club.
Caicedo and Joao Pedro stood out for Chelsea in midfield; Caicedo has delivered nine successful tackles in this CL season, ranking third in the competition for that metric. Pedro, though yet to score in the CL for Chelsea, has fond memories against Ajax from a Brighton goal in 2023 and aims to be the first player to score against Ajax for two different English clubs in major European competitions.
Beyond the action, Chelsea’s project continues to lean on youth, with the academy contributing more than a splash of color to Europe’s stage.
Sniper punchlines incoming: Ajax’s defense looked so porous that even a rookie could’ve dropped a paper pass through it. And Chelsea’s academy is so young that the scoreboard needed a babysitter—this match came with a built-in lullaby for the goals.
