Chelsea 5-1 Ajax: Maresca's talented teenagers produce five-star triumph

Chelsea made it back-to-back Champions League victories as Enzo Maresca's talented teenagers starred in their 5-1 rout of 10-man Ajax at Stamford Bridge. 

The game was put to bed during a frantic opening period that saw a red card, three penalties and five goals, though it was the Blues who eased to victory.

Ajax were a man down after just 17 minutes when captain Kenneth Taylor lunged into a challenge with Facundo Buonanotte, with the initial yellow card upgraded to red following a pitchside review.

And Chelsea made their man advantage count immediately when Marc Guiu tucked Wesley Fofana's header across the box past Remko Pasveer from close range. 

Moises Caicedo doubled the Blues' advantage nine minutes later when his shot from distance deflected off Josip Sutalo and into the net, but the first of three first-half penalties was then awarded to the visitors after a clumsy tackle from Tosin Adarabioyo. 

The Chelsea defender stepped on the foot of Raul Moro, with Wout Weghorst stepping up to place the ball into the bottom-right corner for Ajax's first goal in the Champions League this season in the 33rd minute. 

But Weghorst was involved at the other end on the stroke of half-time as he recklessly fouled Enzo Fernandez inside the box, with the Chelsea captain coolly dispatching from 12 yards. 

Referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot for the third time in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time when Youri Baas clipped Estevao, who dusted himself down to score the penalty handed to him by Fernandez.

Not wanting to rest on their already sizeable advantage, Chelsea moved four goals clear three minutes after the restart through Tyrique George, whose deflected strike wrong-footed Pasveer. 

Chelsea were unable to build on their lead, with Estevao and Jamie Gittens going close, though the hosts were comfortably out of sight to continue their impressive run of recent results. 

Data Debrief: Teenage kicks guide Chelsea through the night

Injuries to many of his first-team regulars saw Maresca make eight changes to his lineup on Wednesday, though those alterations put together a strong bid for a first-team spot, most notably his youngsters. 

Indeed, Chelsea (22 years, 163 days) named the second youngest starting XI by an English side in Champions League history, with only Arsenal against Olympiakos in December 2009 ever naming a younger side (21 years, 151 days).

And in Guiu (19), Estevao (18), and George (19), Chelsea are the first side in Champions League history to see three different teenagers score for them in a single match.

In addition, Reggie Walsh became the youngest ever Champions League player for the Blues (17 years, two days) and second-youngest Englishman ever, behind Jack Wilshere (16 years, 329 days).