The good times keep rolling on for Chelsea as they took their strong domestic form into the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Enzo Maresca made sweeping changes to the side that beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday, but instead of looking dysfunctional, they demolished Ajax 5-1.
Granted, the Dutch side were a man down after just 17 minutes, but even then, it was an impressive showing from the young Blues side.
There were brilliant performances from several starters, including the incredible Estevao and someone else who is now emulating the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.
Estevao’s performance vs Ajax
While he didn’t win the Man of the Match award on Wednesday, it was yet another sensational showing from Estevao.
The young Brazilian was seemingly here, there, and everywhere throughout his time on the pitch, and Ajax simply could not live with him.
His first Champions League goal may have come courtesy of Enzo Fernández letting him take the penalty just before half-time, but it was he who won it in the first place.
Moreover, on another night, he could have easily scored at least one more from open play.
It really was an all-action performance, one that should see him start the game on the weekend and one that left quite the impression on the Express’ Bobby Vincent, who awarded him a 9/10 match rating at full-time.
Unsurprisingly, his statistics more than justify such a rating.
In 95 minutes of action, he produced a combined expected goal and assists figure of 1.69, took eight shots, took 70 touches, won one penalty, played two key passes, completed 92% of his passes, and made one interception.
Estevao’s game vs Ajax
Minutes
95′
Expected Goals
1.51
Goals
1
Expected Assists
0.18
Shots
8
Touches
70
Penalties Won
1
Key Passes
2
Accurate Passes
34/37 (92%)
Long Balls
1/1
Interceptions
1
Recoveries
1
Overall, Estevao once again demonstrated why he is one of the most exciting youngsters in the world, even though it’s one of his teammates who is now emulating Haaland and Mbappé.
The Chelsea gem emulating Haaland & Mbappé
There were several other standout displays for Chelsea last night, from Jamie Gittens to Moises Caicedo, but only one player who is now emulating Haaland and Mbappé: Marc Guiu.
Yes, as incredible as it might sound, it is the exciting young Spaniard who managed to do something that only the two international superstars have managed before: score for two different teams in the Champions League as a teenager.
It was the 19-year-old who opened the scoring with a close-range tap-in for Maresca’s side, but his first goal in the competition came for former side Barcelona, in a game against Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp in December 2023.
Now, it has to be said that while he has emulated the Manchester City and Real Madrid stars, nobody is really claiming that the youngster is going to be quite as good as them.
However, the Spanish gem is undeniably talented, and showed on Tuesday night and in the game against Forest that he is every bit the “nightmare” talent scout Jacek Kulig said he would be to come up against.
The Granollers-born forward is technically sound, agile, physical, has an impressive jump on him and knows how to finish, so while he might not match Haaland’s goal tallies, there is a world in which he could end up being an incredibly useful player for Maresca this season.
Ultimately, there is a long way to go before Guiu reaches his full potential, but his goal and performance against Ajax show he’s a real talent.
