Chelsea produced a dominant display on Wednesday night, thrashing Dutch side Ajax 5–1 in their UEFA Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge. The London side made the most of an early red card to Ajax captain Kenneth Taylor, punishing the visitors with a flurry of goals.
Manager Enzo Maresca’s decision to heavily rotate his squad paid off handsomely. Marc Guiu and Moises Caicedo found the net early, while Enzo Fernández and Estevão converted penalties before halftime. Substitute Tyrique George capped off the night with a fine finish in the second half, sealing back-to-back Champions League wins for the Blues following their opening loss to Bayern Munich.
Despite a long injury list, Chelsea’s makeshift lineup looked sharp. Only Romeo Lavia retained his place from the weekend’s 3–0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest, with Maresca bringing back key players like Fernández, Caicedo, and 18-year-old Brazilian star Estevão, who continues to impress with maturity beyond his years.
Ajax, who came into the match without a single goal or point in the competition, saw their hopes crumble early. VAR upgraded Taylor’s reckless challenge on Facundo Buonanotte from a yellow card to a red in just the 15th minute, a decision that turned the tide firmly in Chelsea’s favour.
From the resulting free-kick, Guiu capitalised on Wesley Fofana’s header to score the opener. Caicedo doubled the lead moments later with a deflected strike off Josip Sutalo. Ajax briefly fought back when Wout Weghorst converted a penalty after Tosin Adarabioyo’s foul on Raul Moro, but Chelsea responded swiftly.
Two more penalties before the break put the game beyond reach, Fernández scored the first after being tripped by Weghorst, while Estevão won and converted the second with a confident finish high into the net.
In the second half, Maresca rotated again, bringing on fresh legs including Tyrique George, who needed only three minutes to score after a clever backheel assist from Andrey Santos.
The result lifts Chelsea to 11th in the group standings, while Ajax remain bottom, still searching for their first Champions League point or goal this season.