Chelsea recorded an incredible comeback in the most bizarre of circumstances against Ajax, as Reece James salvaged a point for the hosts after they found themselves 4-1 behind.
Match Report
Chelsea conceded three first-half goals in a Champions League game for the first time but battled back against nine-man Ajax to draw 4-4.
Chelsea battled back from three goals down to earn a 4-4 draw in Tuesday's thrilling Champions League clash with Ajax, who were made to pay for two red cards at Stamford Bridge as the hosts were denied a dramatic winner by VAR.
Frank Lampard's side conceded three first-half goals in the competition for the first time as Tammy Abraham and Kepa Arrizabalaga both put into their own net, either side of Jorginho and Quincy Promes netting.
Ajax opened up a 4-1 lead through Donny van de Beek early in the second half and were still 4-2 in front - Cesar Azpilicueta pulling one back - when Daley Blind and Joel Veltman were dismissed in the space of a minute.
Jorginho scored his second penalty of the match to reduce the arrears and substitute Reece James struck 16 minutes from time to leave Chelsea, who had a late Azpilicueta goal ruled out by VAR, above Ajax at the top of Group H.
Group Standings
Match Events
2' OWN GOAL! Chelsea 0-1Ajax (Abraham)
GOAL! Ajax get the early lead! Azpilicueta's foul near the touchline brought about a free-kick, which was whipped by Promes and in the chaos inside the Chelsea penalty area, Abraham gets the unfortunate last touch past Arrizabalaga!
4' Penalty Goal! Chelsea 1-1 Ajax (Jorginho)
GOAL! Chelsea equalise! Calm as you like, Jorginho wrongfoots Onana and slots his third penalty of the season to level things and raise the volume at the Bridge once more. Immediately after conceding, Pulisic goes on a mazy run towards the visitors' goal before being hauled down by Veltman in the penalty area!
13' Disallowed! Abraham scores but the goal is offside
Abraham makes it 2-1 but it's not to be, as the flag goes up as soon as the striker is put through on goal by Kovacic with only Onana to beat! Still 1-1 at the Bridge.
20' GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Ajax (Promes)
GOAL! Ajax make it 2-1! Ziyech plays a lovely cross towards the hosts' six-yard area after more keep-ball from the visitors near the touchline and Promes reacts quickest to head it past Arrizabalaga in no man's land!
35' OWN GOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Ajax (Kepa)
GOAL! It's now 3-1 to Ajax! Alonso pays the price for his carelessness as Ziyech's free-kick is whipped towards Arrizabalaga's far post with such precision that it hits the bar before going into the back of the net by bouncing off of the Chelsea stopper;s face! A farcical way to concede a goal, and Stamford Bridge falls into silence!
46' Zouma's shot over the bar
WHAT A RUN BY ZOUMA! The centre-back embarks on an unchallenged run through the centre of the pitch and tries a shot from distance only for the chance to go well wide! The home crowd applaud his efforts though, and Lampard even can’t help but raise a smile!
51' CHANCE! Abraham's shot stopped by Onana
WHAT A SAVE BY ONANA! More scintillating football by Chelsea as Kovacic releases Abraham down the middle, and the forward wins the battle of pace against Veltman only for his effort to get thwarted by the Ajax stopper! Replays show that the England striker was offside though.
55' GOAL! Chelsea 1-4 Ajax (Van de Beek)
GOAL! Van de Beek makes it 4-1! Not long after another Chelsea breakaway, Ajax counter at will down the wing and after Neres is tackled by Zouma, Ziyech collects the loose ball and calmly plays in Van De Beek who slots it past Arrizabalaga!
63' GOAL! Chelsea 2-4 Ajax (Azpilicueta)
GOAL! Azpilicueta gets one back for Chelsea! The skipper cajoles his teammates back to the centre circle following more Chelsea pressure inside the Ajax penalty area, with James' cross directed towards Abraham and the latter's touch helping it on to the onrushing right-back at the far post to poke it home!
68' Second Yellow Card! Blind sent off
BLIND IS DISMISSED! The Ajax players surround Rocchi after the ex-Manchester United defender’s trip on Abraham is played on, and once Hudson-Odoi’s shot appeared to have hit Veltman’s hand in the penalty area, Rocchi stops play to hand Blind his second yellow!
69' Second Yellow Card! Veltman sent off
VELTMAN IS SENT OFF TOO! The Ajax defender is penalised for handball following Hudson-Odoi’s shot and his defensive partner’s dismissal, and Ajax have not only conceded another penalty but are also shorn of their two centre-backs! Unbelievable scenes at the Bridge!
71' Penalty Goal! Chelsea 3-4 Ajax (Jorginho)
GOAL! 4-3 now! Jorginho makes no mistake from the spot once more as he scores his second penalty of the game after wrongfooting Omana once again! This has the makings of a Champions League classic right here!
74' GOAL! Chelsea 4-4 Ajax (Reece James)
GOAL! Reece James makes it 4-4! Zouma's header following Willian's corner his the bar and bounces clear only as far as the substitute, who rifles it home through a crowded Ajax penalty area! What a comeback from 4-1 down!
78' Handball! Azpilicueta's goal disallowed
Incredibly harsh for Chelsea there, as referee Rocchi reviews the VAR footage and chalks off Azpilicueta’s strike after replays showed that Jorginho's shot hit Abraham's hand! The scoreline remains 4-4, and the home crowd are just as incensed as their team!
XÞÝĻ́HBÒÝ
4696
"No.9 not scoring curse ended" "Scoring own goals curse started"
Rocketkidt
4330
Ajax best player: Own goal. Ajax second best player: Ziyech. Chelsea best player: Penalties. Chelsea second best player: red cards. Yet man of the match: referee.
redkiller_10
1734
apart from azpilicueta scoring what else are the 7 wonders of the world
iradukundaeric
1113
a minute of silence for those who missed this game
BOzilCrushAGunner
1027
A match by 2 teams from 2 countries with a goal in 2 minutes, another goal in 2*² minutes and yet another in 2*²*5 minutes, 2 owns goals, 2 penalties, 2 by 2 yellow cards that gave 2 red cards, produced total of 2*²*² goals. A thriller!!
Akechandy
1010
2 penalties, 2 OGs, 4 direct goals and 2 red cards... how did Ramos miss in this game.
youngsony
849
To say the truth this Ajax team is a joy to watch, after they were down to 9 men they were still having shots on target, I mean a red shirted team from Manchester failed to register a shot on target against DjfkfidnFC on a Thursday night. Kudos to Ajax. #CHEAJA
Yewbkmny
788
If Lampard starts Alonso in any Game ahead of James again I won’t hear it...his careless concessions of fouls cost us in the Carabao by giving away a stupid panalty....and cost us to to concede the third goal last night.Apart from Abraham’s own goal,All the goals we conceded came from the left side of our defense you could clearly see that Ajax planned to use Alonso’s lack of pace,strength,and inability to close players down quickly to our disadvantage...and this worked perfectly his inability to close ziyech down allowed him to put in the cross that cost us the second goal....He is too fragile and error prone he should only be used as a sub to rest players going foward...He was phenomenal in the past but this Alonso is doing us more harm than good
Dubbcnoru
735
WHAT AN EPIC COMEBACK FROM CHELSEA😂😂😂😂😂 CHELSEA COME FROM BEHIND TO ELIMINATE NAPOLI IN 2012 AND LIFT THE TROUPHY I THINK CHELSEA COMEBACK AGAINST AJAX IS REPLICA OF 2012 WHICH MEANS THIS YEAR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE IS FOR CHELSEA FC.
DonkorEdward
636
even Kepa score a goal and the whole man u and Barcelona can't even score one mmmmm
Nesaiknruy_Legend
546
A result is a fair result given everything that happened. Even though it is quite unfair to have them see 2 cards, it's part of the game. I mean have the people moaning actually seen how many decisions go against Chelsea every season? My sympathy with Ajax cos they were an amazing opponent, the best we faced this year but in football nothing is set in stone and something crazy and unpredictable happened today even though THEY DESERVED TO WIN. I'll admit they were the better side tonight but it takes spirit and courage for a team to come back even if its against 9 men, in fact more pressure is on then than ever since everyone expects more out of you and mentally players become fragile at times. I admire the spirit Ajax shown and they'll go far in the tournament and were the better team 11 vs 11 but it is what it is. If there was a 2nd team I'd want to succeed in this tournament after Chelsea, its Ajax. Hakim Ziyech is absolutely world class and if we get a window, he should be top priority on our list. He truly is the best CAM in the world after Messi just like I thought he was.
JazzyJeff123
516
Chelsea did not deserve to win this game or even a draw. The referee made a grave error by allowing the game to continue after the foul on blind.
Bendiga
392
As a United fans, I must respect this team!! It’s just breath taking how this Chelsea team is playing already under Frank, this is a coach with a clear philosophy, man knows what he want and that is to have the team playing just like when he use to play for Chelsea.. GoodLuck fighting on Chelsea 👍🏾👍🏾
Bibitayo
366
Even after red card in 69 min. Chelsea can't still beat them. Ajax won our heart😍😍😍😍
fuhcklnort
357
I think I'm lucky to watch this game as it happened... the Zouma drama will remain in my memory..🔥🔥
pita_ariyo
351
I’m a Chelsea fan but I have to say that Ajax with 9 men are more dangerous than a Manchester United Team with 11 men. #CHEAJA
WOMB__raider
268
If it isn't the VAR ruining football games, then it's the referees. It hurts when you know the referees can show total bias in favour of one team and VAR can take the joy and celebrations away from fans in the blink of an eye. Ajax totally had this game and the referee gives Blind a second yellow which is understandable, then he comes from nowhere to issue a second red card to a player who came to contest the red card given to his player. In practically every match, players contest red cards given to their players and it isn't anything worth punishing over. This isn't the football I fell in love with, so so so disappointed.
Tonbilprt
232
let's stop making excuses about the red cards!and yet some are claiming that we can't win 9 against 11 ,the red cards happened in 71 minutes we managed to score 3 goals to make it 4-4 that's not bad ...remember Chelsea against Barcelona thesame think happens Chelsea got 2 red cards while Barcelona was leading 2-0 but Chelsea fought hard to draw the game 2-2 with two men down ... so this is the beauty of football let's stop making unnecessary excuses
lord_series
225
ole Gunnar solskjaer gives Chelsea's password to Ajax... but i just found out that the Wi-Fi can't connect outside England