Chelsea became the first team in Champions League history to have three teenagers on the scoresheet as they put Ajax to the sword at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca is doing an excellent job.
19-year-old Marc Guiu briefly became the Blues’ youngest Champions League goalscorer, breaking the deadlock just over a minute after Ajax captain Kenneth Taylor was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Facundo Buonanotte.
That record was broken by Estevao in first-half stoppage time as the Brazilian sensation smashed in a penalty after Enzo Fernandez and Wout Weghorst had already scored from the spot and Moises Caicedo saw his deflected shot leave Remko Pasveer flat-footed in goal.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta only third in Premier League manager rankings for 25/26
Tyrique George came on at the break and became the third teenager to score just three minutes after coming on. “All young, having fun,” was the academy graduate’s poetic assessment after the game.
Maresca flexed the muscles of his talented young squad by making ten changes from their victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, including “Uncle” Tosin Adarabioyo, who said ahead of the game that it was “an honour” to be among the senior players.
Incredibly, at 28, he’s the oldest player to ever feature under Maresca, and asked about his unlikely status Tosin told TNT Sports: “It’s an honour to be one of the senior players in the squad – 28 is not old at all.”
He also opened up on his nickname at Chelsea, adding: “I think it was Noni [Madueke] last season, he commented on one of my Instagram posts saying ‘Uncle Tose’ and from there the fans got onto it and it’s stuck from there.
“Every day [people call me by the nickname], even some of the staff call me it. Marcos [fitness coach Alvaraz] calls me it every day.”
Reggie Walsh became the youngest player to make an appearance for Chelsea in the Champions League and the second youngest Englishman after Jack Wilshere for Arsenal as he came off the bench for the last half hour, as Maresca hammered home his trust in/reliance on youth.
And the Italian is doing an excellent job in guiding these young players through a challenging period without Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Liam Delap and other key players who have been dropping in and out of the squad through injuries, and the suspensions which have acted as a clear indication of the squad’s inexperience.
READ MORE: Champions League prize money table calculated as Arsenal leapfrog Chelsea
It’s hard to imagine Chelsea winning one of the two major trophies this season, but the way in which Maresca is now using the depth of his squad, giving all of these young stars sufficient top level football in two competitions, offers a great boost for his “domination” prediction. And it looks increasingly likely it will arrive under his management.
Maresca said in December 2024: “What I said to the owners and the sporting directors the first time I met them, because of the age, and because of how good the squad is, for me Chelsea in the next five to 10 years will be one of the teams, or the team, that is going to dominate English football.
“This is what I said this to the club the first time I met them. No matter who will be the manager, for the next five or 10 years, because of the age, the squad, you can dominate English football, and I still think exactly the same.”
