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Thank you for joining VAVEL.com's coverage of this Champions League Group H match between Ajax and Chelsea which ended in a massive 1-0 win to Frank Lampard's Blues!
Man of the Match!
MAN OF THE MATCH- CESAR AZPILICUETA
The captain was instrumental in the heart of the Chelsea defence.
Definitely his best performance so far this season!
Chelsea now level on points...
With that win, the Blues have now got the same amount of points as last years semi-finalists.
Both teams are now on six points!
FULL TIME MASSIVE WIN FOR THE BLUES
FT- AJAX 0-1 CHELSEA
Michy Batshuayi's late strike from the bench after good work from Christian Pulisic earns Chelsea a vital three points in Group H in the Champions League.
#AJACHE
Injury time
90' four minutes added on here!
Can Chelsea hold on? #AJACHE
Final Chelsea sub!
90' Reece James on for Callum Hudson-Odoi
(0-1) #AJACHE
Two Ajax subs
89' Siem de Jong comes on for Edson Alvarez.
And Klass Jan Huntelaar comes on for Joel Veltman (0-1) #AJACHE
GOALLLLL BATSHUAYI!!!!!
86' GOOOALLLLL 1-0 CHELSEA BATSHUAYI!!!!
Pulisic drags the ball across the box to Batshuayi who smashes his effort off the bar and in!
The American was instrumental in the build up to that goal!!
Can Chelsea hold on now? #AJACHE
Yellow card
84' Zouma receives a yellow card for trying to stop the Ajax counter-attack!
(0-0) #AJACHE
PULISIC SHOT!
81' CHANCE!
Pulisic now is the next to try and test Onana, but his effort sails just wide of Onana's goal!
(0-0) #AJACHE
Final ten minutes
80' We enter the final stages of this match.
Both teams are creating chances, but if a winning goal is scored- it could have massive implications on Group H!
(0-0) #AJACHE
1st Ajax substitution
74' David Neres comes on for Quincy Promes. (0-0) #AJACHE
BIG CHANCE FOR BATSHUAYI!
73' OVER THE BAR!
Pulisic's deflected effort inadvertently finds Batshuayi unmarked in the Ajax box, however the Belgian fires his shot over the Ajax goal!
Big chance for Chelsea! They may not create anything better than what they just created! (0-0) #AJACHE
Pulisic and Batshuayi link up creates half chance!
71' Half-Chance!
Good link up from Pulisic and Batshuayi sees the Belgian rolling a tame effort into the gloves of Onana!
(0-0) #AJACHE
2nd Chelsea sub
70' Tammy Abraham makes way for Michy Batshuayi with 20 minutes remaining in this match!
(0-0) #AJACHE
Final third letting both sides down
Both sides are doing well in the build up to creating chances, but when it comes to the final shot or final pass, both sides have struggled in that aspect!
(0-0) #AJACHE
Chelsea substitution
65' Pulisic comes on for Willian. (0-0) #AJACHE
Yellow card for Martinez
64' The Ajax midfielder picks up a booking for a foul on Jorginho!
Tammy Abraham is also down for Chelsea! #AJACHE (0-0)
Ajax starting to pick holes in Chelsea's defence
62' The Dutch champions are starting to find and expose more holes in the Chelsea back four.
If things continue the same way, then you can only see Ajax going on and winning this game! (0-0) #AJACHE
Ajax hit the post from a corner!
58' ALVAREZ HITS THE POST!
From a corner on the right hand side, Alvarez makes a darting run to the near post and flicks his header onto the far post of Kepa's goal!
What a let off for Chelsea! (0-0) #AJACHE
📸
Two corners for Chelsea now!
51' Good link up play between Alonso and Mount earns the Blues a corner.
Ajax manage to clear the first corner but only to concede one.
However the Blues fail to create anything substantial from the two corners. (0-0) #AJACHE
Two Ajax corners early on here in the second half
48' Ajax have started the second half the way they ended the first half... the better side...
Nothing comes of the two corners to Chelsea's relief.
In the meantime, Tadic has been booked for a cynical foul on Willian who is currently down receiving treatment. (0-0) #AJACHE
Second half begins!
46' Tammy Abraham gets the ball rolling for Chelsea here in the second half! (0-0) #AJACHE
Changes imminent in the second half for Chelsea?
Pulisic, Gilmour and James all warming up at half-time #CFC #UCL — Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) October 23, 2019
Chelsea fans thoughts on the first half!
Started to grow into that abut there. Poor decision making in the attacking third, Callum and Willian not on it. Losing our individual duals too much as well.
Good game for the neutrals, but I’m watching with one eye closed! Will be a long half if we can’t gain control. — Simon Phillips (@SiPhillipsSport) October 23, 2019
HT Thoughts...
— James (@FtblJames_) October 23, 2019
• Azpi been very good defensively
• Can see we’re lacking a leader at the back
• Jorginho and Kovacic have been ok, but need to try and take over that midfield
• Really poor decision making from Hudson-Odoi
• This game is crying out for Pulisic and James
HT: 0-0
— CFC-Blues (@CFCBlues_com) October 23, 2019
• We have stopped Ajax from having any shots on target 👏
• Zouma has been solid
• Mount & CHO excellent relationship down the left
• CHO worst half of football in a Chelsea shirt, wasting many opportunities
• Pulisic deserves his chance#CFC #AJACHE pic.twitter.com/GWEEmCcNA3
HT: Ajax 0-0 Chelsea. Overall a good half. We've had sloppy moments but we're imposing ourselves well. Little individual errors holding us back. Willian must step up. Hudson-Odoi needs to manage his choices better. Simple 1-2's into the box and we're through! Lets take advantage!
— Younes H-Hamou (@youneshh) October 23, 2019
Fractions...
Promes arm offside pic.twitter.com/I7Vp4yKsZI — Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) October 23, 2019
HT 0-0
Half-Time Ajax 0-0 Chelsea
After a good start from the Blues, the Dutch champions took over and they thought they had the lead when Promes tapped in from Ziyech's deflected shot, however VAR adjudged his arm to be offside so the goal didn't stand.
It was such a fractional and contentious decision!
#AJACHE
Azpilicueta's long range shot wide!!
42' CHANCE ON THE COUNTER ATTACK!
Chelsea break down the other end and Mount switches the play to Azpilicueta who is in acres of spaces.
The captain drives towards the Ajax goal and fires his effort wide of Onana's near post.
He could have passed it to one of his teammates there! (0-0) #AJACHE
Azpilicueta saves the Blues from going 1-0 down here!
40' CHANCE! A sweeping Ajax move lands at the feet of Promes who looks certain to score from a tight angle, however Azpilicueta makes a goal saving block to prevent the Dutch champions from going 1-0 up here!
Still 0-0 here somehow! #AJACHE
That was a warning for Chelsea!
36' The Blues defence were asleep there. They need to wake up otherwise Ajax will take the lead very soon... (0-0) #AJACHE
GOAL for Promes... maybe not
35' Against the run of play the Dutch champions take the lead.
Ziyech's shot from the left side of the box was deflected by Tomori into the path of Promes who taps it in!
However VAR rules the goal off for offside. It was fractional... (0-0) #AJACHE
Another Hudson-Odoi chance!
27' CHANCE!
Moments later Alonso's cross inadvertently finds Hudson-Odoi's who flashes his first time effort wide of the Ajax goal!
These are good signs here for Chelsea! (0-0) #AJACHE
Hudson-Odoi skews effort wide!
25' Hudson-Odoi finds himself in the Ajax box and he skews his effort wide of Onana's goal.
The 18-year-old could have done alot more with that! (0-0) #AJACHE
Yellow card for Morris!
22' The assistant manager has been given a yellow card by the ref after Chelsea were awarded a free kick!
Looks like it was for dissent! (0-0) #AJACHE
Very scrappy!
18' Both teams are battling hard in Chelsea's half for possession! (0-0) #AJACHE
First chance for Chelsea comes to Mount!
14' GOOD SAVE!!
Good link up play between Mount and Hudson-Odoi means the English midfielder has a chance to shoot at Onana.
His effort though was well saved by the Ajax keeper. (0-0) #AJACHE
Zouma makes vital block!
9' From a well worked Ajax corner, Van de Beek fires his effort straight at Zouma on the volley.
That block by the Frenchman may have saved his side from going 1-0 down here! It looked like it was heading on target. (0-0) #AJACHE
Veltman's striker fizzles wide of the post!
8' Ajax have another chance, with Veltman firing an effort fizzling wide of Kepa's goal!
Despite Chelsea's good start, it's Ajax who have had the first two chances of the game! (0-0) #AJACHE
Two corners for Chelsea early on here!
5' Chelsea have made a bright start here.
The second corner was mistimed by Tomori who had a free header!
But these are good signs for the Blues as the look to press Ajax here early on. (0-0) #AJACHE
Ajax chance but offside comes to Chelsea's rescue
2' The Blues have started well here earning an early corner.
However Ajax are the side that have the first chance of the game, as Van de Beek shot was blocked by Marcos Alonso. It looked like it was handball, but offside came to Chelsea's rescue.
Tomori lost the ball in the build up to that chance for Ajax (0-0) #AJACHE
Kick-Off!
1' Van de Beek gets the game underway for the Dutch champions. #AJACHE
Teams walking out on the pitch #AJACHE
Here comes the famous UCL song...
Congratulations Azpi👏
Tonight's game will be @CesarAzpi's 3️⃣5️⃣0️⃣th as a Blue! 👏
Go well, Azpi! #AJACHE pic.twitter.com/nO7dnnQY2O — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 23, 2019
Ajax starting XI! (4-2-3-1)
Onana; Dest, Veltman, Blind, Tagliafico; Alvarez, Martinez; Ziyech, Van de Beek, Promes; Tadic.
Chelsea starting XI! (4-2-3-1)
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Tomori, Zouma, Alonso; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham.
five minutes till starting line-ups are confirmed
Whilst we wait for the line-ups to be confirmed, I am going to give you my score prediction.
I am going for a 2-2 draw!
Remember!
Follow VAVEL.com's coverage of the UEFA Champions League Group H game between Ajax 🔴 and Chelsea 🔵 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA with kick-off at 5:55pm GMT.
The next posts will come out at 4:55pm GMT with the starting line-ups for both sides 👍
Here is my preview to the game. Check it out below
For predicted line-ups and team news, give my preview a read before the game! 👇
Fikayo Tomori on the Ajax game
'A very tight one. Both teams are in good form. It is a big game in the group. Ajax is a great club with big history. A big stadium. Good players, we are expecting a tough game.'
'You learn a lot from games like this. As a team we are learning. Tomorrow will be different challenges. So far we have handled different challenges.'
Frank Lampard on trying to follow and replicate Ajax's run in the Champions League last season
'What Ajax did last year was incredible, to do what they did with such a young team.
'You see my belief in them. People say I have no options in my squad so I have to play them, that's not true. I chose to play them.'
Daley Blind on facing Tammy Abraham
'He is doing very well, I think he is a good striker, he has done so well.'
'I have to prepare to play the whole team. We attack as a team and defend as a team.'
Erik Ten Hag on Chelsea style of play and whether he was a candidate to take over the role in London before Lampard was given the job.
'When I see Chelsea, they want to play football, play in the opponents half, press in their half.'
On whether he was a candidate- 'no, I'm only focused on Ajax.'
Matchday
Matchday! 💪#AJACHE — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 23, 2019
Lampard on Ajax test after Newcastle game!
'They've got six points on the board and they will give us a problem in terms of atmosphere inside the stadium being strong.
'The movement of the tram and the way they play football will be a big test for us. I think we are going there relatively confident and ready to take on the challenge'
Mateo Kovacic on Chelsea being in a 'good moment' ahead of Ajax clash
'Every game is important, we need the three points in every competition we play and hopefully we can take the result from Newcastle into Ajax in midweek.
'It will be a difficult game but we are confident and we need to keep pushing, because I think we are a very difficult team to play against in this form and in this moment.'
Abraham on Ajax test ahead
‘We know it’s not going to be easy, but I believe in myself and my team that we can hopefully get a result there.
‘We got ourselves back on track in Lille. It’s not an easy place to go to, we dug deep and got that win. Who says we can’t do the same at Ajax?’
Key players to watch for Chelsea
1. Tammy Abraham- The English striker has been the biggest success story so far this season for Chelsea.
Many Chelsea fans didn't think much of Abraham before the season started, with some even calling him a 'Championship striker'!
He has proved alot of his doubters wrong so far this season.
The 22-year-old striker has scored eight Premier League goals so far in nine league matches, meaning that he is currently joint top scorer with Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.
In the Champions League so far, Tammy scored the first goal in Chelsea's 2-1 away win against Lille.
2. Callum Hudson-Odoi- The young English winger has only returned from a long term injury in which he suffered at the end of last season.
However, in such a short space of time- he has made such a big impact to Chelsea's front three.
The 18-year-old hasn't scored any goals so far this season, but in his five appearances he has got four assists!
The Chelsea attacker was named man of the match in the Blues 1-0 win at the weekend against Newcastle, so Ajax beware!
Key players to watch for Ajax
1. The front three of Ajax! It's hard to say which of the front three specifically to look out for as all of them have been brilliant so far this season. The front three consists of Quincy Promes, Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech. All three are scoring lots of goals in the Dutch Eredivisie. In terms of Champions League Group H games so far- Promes has scored two goals, Ziyech has scored one goal and Tadic has assisted one goal.
And we can't forget David Neres! He can't make it into the first team due to the quality in the front three, but he still is a world class attacker for the Dutch side.
2. Donny Van De Beek- The Dutch midfielder has started this season in excellent fashion.
The Dutch midfielder made his name well known after how instrumental he was in Ajax's UCL run last season.
English fans will remember him for the goal he scored against Tottenham in Ajax's 1-0 1st leg semi-final win that the Dutch side picked up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As a result of how brilliantly the 22 -year-old has been performing, he has been recently named in the 30 man shortlist for the Ballon Dor award this year!
Ballon d'Or : Kylian Mbappé, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Donny van de Beek, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang et Marc-André Ter Stegen nommés https://t.co/3NFLgg4KuF
— #BallondOr (@francefootball) October 21, 2019
Among the nominees for the 2019 : @Donny_beek6 @AFCAjax
— #BallondOr (@francefootball) October 21, 2019
#ballondor pic.twitter.com/9isFKSE2B0
Team news and more will be coming out in my preview
Team News and more will be in my preview.
I will copy the preview into the Live Blog once it has been published.
Referee for this match...
The referee for this match is Romanian Ovidiu Hategan.
Polish official Szymon Marciniak is in charge of the VAR.
Betting Odds: No clear favourites?
Sky Bet have priced an Ajax home win at 13/10. A draw between these two sides is being priced at 13/5. And a Chelsea win is being priced at 19/10.
Nonexistent Head to Head record between these two sides!
According to the reliable head to head website Soccerbase, these two sides have never met before in a competitive match.
But it is to my understanding that these two sides have met before in one pre-season game when Carlo Ancelotti was Chelsea manager, and the game finished in an Ajax win!
1st vs 3rd in Group H
Ajax (last years Champions League semi finalists) come into this game the favourites after their 100 percent winning record so far in Group H.
The Dutch champions so far have beaten Lille 3-0 at home, and more recently demolished Valencia by the same scoreline at the Mestalla.
However Chelsea have had mixed fortunes so far. The Blues suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat at home to managerless Valencia at the time. The West London side did bounce back, as in their last Champions League game- they picked up a vital 2-1 win away against Lille.
What time is kick off? And how can we keep up with the game?
This game kick's off at 5:55pm GMT on Wednesday October 23rd.
This game is being televised on BT Sport 3 and BT Sport 3 HD.
The best way to keep up with this game is by following VAVEL's live blog coverage of the game.
Where is this game being played?
This matchday three UEFA Champions League Group H game is being played at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam.
Welcome to VAVEL.com's coverage of the 2019 UEFA Champions League Group H game between Erik Ten Hag's Ajax side and Frank Lampard's Chelsea side.
My name is Danyal Khan and we will provide you with pre-game analysis, live match updates and much more...