Football writer Ninad Barbadikar reports on the third UEFA Champions League matches of the season for Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
Historic night for Blues' teen stars
Chelsea 5-1 Ajax
Chelsea set the ball rolling on a night when both they and Liverpool won 5-1, to complete a record tally of goals for one nation in a single Champions League matchweek.
Premier League clubs scored 19 goals in total across the two nights with four for Arsenal, three for Newcastle United and two for Manchester City on Tuesday evening. Only Spurs failed to score but they still earned a point (0-0).
As for Chelsea, they dispatched Dutch giants Ajax in a comfortable showing at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca made wholesale changes to his starting XI with this one, naming 10 different players from the team that started the win against Nottingham Forest, including a start for Marc Guiu up front.
The Spaniard opened the scoring with a well-taken goal after just 18 minutes. Before that though, Ajax’s downturn had already begun with a red card for Kenneth Taylor, who was sent off just a minute before Guiu’s opener.
By scoring for Chelsea, Guiu joined an exclusive list of teenagers to have scored for two different sides in the Champions League - a list including big names like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
It would soon get bad to worse for the visitors, with Moises Caicedo doubling the Blues' lead from range, a deflected shot that deceived Remko Pasveer in goal. A chaotic start to the game which was only a sign of things to come.
A penalty for Ajax would soon follow, confidently dispatched by former Manchester United and Burnley forward Wout Weghorst. But it wouldn’t be enough to spark a comeback from the visitors.
The Ajax goalscorer would go on to commit the foul that gave Chelsea the first of two penalties on the night. The first was confidently converted by captain Enzo Fernandez, marking his return from a knee injury.
The second spot-kick was won by the exciting Brazilian winger Estevao, who was given the chance by his captain to step up and deliver, and so he did. At the age of 18 years and 181 days old, he became Chelsea’s youngest ever scorer in the Champions League. The record had been held by Guiu earlier in the game, for only 15 minutes.
Going into half-time with a comfortable 4-1 lead, the Blues came out in the second half wanting more and got just that.
Another teenager rising to the occasion, Tyrique George, scored a deflected fifth goal to then become Chelsea’s second-youngest scorer in the Champions League at the age of 19 years and 260 days, with Guiu now ranking third on that list.
It was the first time in Champions League history that a team had three teenagers on the scoresheet. With all of the changes he made for this game, Maresca will feel vindicated for placing his trust in the talented youth at his disposal.
"I'm very proud. It's a special night for the club, for the young players," Maresca said on Chelsea's official website.
"It's the strategy of the club. We have so many young players. I think already last season we were the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, so this season we continue in the same way."
Ten-man Ajax were powerless on the night, managing just one effort from open play, as Chelsea ended with a tally of 22 shots in an impressive display on home turf.
Away from the spotlight stolen by the teenagers, Jamie Gittens was a bright spark on the left for Chelsea throughout, becoming the youngest player since the 2003/04 season to create more than five chances in a Champions League match, eclipsing a record last held by Eden Hazard.
See: Chelsea's line-up and report
Liverpool paint Frankfurt red
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5 Liverpool
Liverpool ended a run of four defeats in all competitions in style with a 5-1 comeback demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt.
The start of the game was anything but easy for Arne Slot’s men, however. The Germans took the lead just before the half-hour mark through Rasmus Kristensen, who finished off a superb counter-attack move which started with the dispossession of Florian Wirtz high up the pitch.
Hugo Ekitike scored the all-important equaliser within 10 minutes of Frankfurt’s opener as Liverpool gave the home side, his former club, a taste of their own medicine on the break.
"The biggest exception for me today compared to the other games we've played was the playing style of our opponent," Slot said on Liverpool's official website.
"We got some energy out of the moments we could press them, which in the last four or five games we played, we were not able to press the opponent because the ball wasn't on the ground, it was in the air."
Starting alongside fellow summer signing Alexander Isak for the first time in attack, both players looked to occupy central areas, acting like a front two of sorts. However, Ekitike of the two, had more license to drop off and link play.
"The first goal we scored was special," said Slot. "You could see [Ekitike's] pace in a moment like that. These were moments we were hoping for. We were able in the last few weeks to create many, many, many chances but unfortunately we were not always able to score them. Today with Alex and Hugo, I brought two players on the pitch who are usually able to score goals."
For the second successive Champions League game, Mohamed Salah was not named in Liverpool's starting XI — it's the first time he has been on the bench for back-to-back games in the competition since joining the club in 2017.
Jeremie Frimpong, who was named from the start, was given license to park himself high and wide up the pitch, with Wirtz playing inside on the right and Cody Gakpo holding the width on the left. Frimpong had to exit the action after 19 minutes though, with Slot later reporting he had a hamstring injury. Conor Bradley replaced him.
Even without Salah in the side, Liverpool’s attackers showed promise in their link play and movements, upping the pressure on the Frankfurt defence as the half went on. That pressure paid off from corners, with goals from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk putting them in a comfortable position before the break. Konate has now scored four of his six goals for the club in the Champions League.
Set-piece goals seem to be in fashion in the Premier League at the moment and Slot will take great pleasure from his side scoring twice from corners on the night, having only netted once from set-pieces in the top flight so far this season.
Gakpo was the first of two Liverpool players to get a goal and assist in the game, complementing his first-half delivery for Van Dijk with a strike of his own after 66 minutes, connecting with a well-placed cutback from Wirtz to further extend the Reds' advantage.
Dominik Szoboszlai was next in line to get a goal and assist, firing home past Michael Zetterer unopposed after getting a layoff from Wirtz just outside the Frankfurt penalty area.
Within the space of four minutes, Wirtz managed to provide two assists, after going 10 matches for the Reds without goal contributions.
The German playmaker looked a lot more comfortable on the ball and kept things ticking along nicely with his movement between the lines. No doubt that was another welcome sight for Slot.
Despite being 5-1 up with almost 20 minutes to go, Liverpool looked hungry for more, giving Frankfurt little space to breathe until the end.
The injuries to Frimpong and then Isak, replaced at half-time by Federico Chiesa, took some shine off the result for Liverpool. Slot said of Isak's groin issue: "Let’s hope it’s not too bad."
See: Liverpool's line-up and report
Vicario the hero for Spurs
Monaco 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Thomas Frank’s side came away from Monaco with a share of the spoils, drawing 0-0 against the Ligue 1 side.
Their second successive draw means that Spurs remain unbeaten in the UEFA Champions League league phase; they won 1-0 against Villarreal in the opening matchweek.
A midfield trio of Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha struggled to help Spurs prosper against Sebastien Pocognoli’s Monaco side, who enjoyed greater control of possession and looked the more threatening team.
Spurs’ well-known ball progression came to the fore again, with Bergvall seeing very little of the ball before being substituted at the hour mark.
Wilson Odobert on the left was the only bright attacking spark for the Londoners, with Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus being unable to create an impact in the final third.
Spurs' hero on the night was at the other end of the pitch, in Guglielmo Vicario, who made the first of a string of incredible saves after 29 minutes, denying Maghnes Akliouche the opener inside the six-yard area, after he was put through by former Arsenal man Folarin Balogun.
Balogun was next to test Vicario’s reflexes and the goalkeeper stood tall to the task yet again.
Going into half-time, Spurs made it six Champions League games out of seven without a goal at the break. The alarm bells in attack were ringing throughout the first half and it didn’t get any better in the second.
Vicario was reserving his best work for rush hour in the second half though. Aleksandr Golovin, Takumi Minamino and Jordan Teze each forced the Italian into incredible saves, leaving Monaco players utterly frustrated by the final whistle.
Frank told Spurs' official website after the game: "It’s a contrast to the last game against Aston Villa where we played with good intensity, had a very competitive performance and basically gave nothing away and Vic [Vicario] didn’t have a save.
"Then in this game, we didn’t play with enough intensity - especially in the second half - and needed Vic nine times. We’d like to defend better as that’s too much. But sometimes you need your 'keeper and Vic was fantastic tonight."
For all the chances that they did concede, Spurs almost had a lifeline of their own late on, suddenly springing to life in added time after the 90 minutes were played.
With the talents of Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani and Brennan Johnson on the pitch, the visitors fashioned a chance late on for the latter in added time, only for Wales international Johnson to strike right at the Monaco 'keeper Philipp Kohn.
Spurs will gladly take a share of the spoils on the night but will look for an improved display when they visit Everton on Sunday.
See: Spurs' line-up and report