Ajax vs Chelsea LIVE result: Score, goals and reaction from the Champions League
Frank Lampard’s side travelled to Amsterdam and earned a big three points
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea travelled to Amsterdam where they beat Ajax in the Champions League to claim a major scalp.
Frank Lampard’s side were defeated by Valencia in their opening Group H fixture but recovered with a gritty away win at Lille to restore the club’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages.
And they added a huge three points to their haul with an impressive and mature display from Frank Lampard's young side.
Match preview:
When is it?
Kick-off is at 5:55pm BST on Wednesday 23rd October.
How can I watch it?
The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 3, with coverage beginning at 5:15pm.
Subscribers to BT Sport can watch the game online or on mobile via the BT Sport player and BT Sport app.
Team news
N’golo Kante and Ross Barkley have been ruled out of the fixture, however, Callum Hudson-Odoi is in line to make his first Champions League start. Starlet Billy Gilmour has also travelled to Amsterdam.
Ajax have no fresh concerns, however, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar may drop out of the starting eleven that defeated RKC Waalwijk on the weekend. Nico Tagliafico returns from suspension.
Early team news
Ross Barkley and N'Golo Kante have not travelled to Amsterdam for the match.
Barkley has an ankle injury, picked up in Satruday's Premier League win over Newcastle, and Kante hurt his groin on international duty.
Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are also out.
Rudiger featured in the squad's last training session before they left London but hasn't fully recovered from a groin injury.
Christensen is expected to be out for around two weeks with a hamstring injury.
Chelsea's Champions League campaign has been up and down this season. In the opening group game they lost 1-0 at home to Valencia.
But then they went to Lille and won to head in to this evening's game just three points behind last season's semi-finalist Ajax.
A win tonight will put Chelsea in a decent position to get out of the knockout stages ahead of the return leg in a couple of weeks time.
With a few injuries to Chelsea's defenders, Fikayo Tomori looks set to start against Ajax and he's determined to repay Frank Lampard's faith in him:
Ajax, the Eredivise champions and Champions League semi-finalists last season, present a severe test to Chelsea's strong European away form.
They've won eight matches away from home in a row, a club record, scoring 12 goals and conceding just five.
In 17 UEFA games, home and away, they have lost just once. To Valencia at home this season
Erik ten Hag’s men meanwhile have yet to lose in the Champions League this season and currently sit top of the Eredivise with four wins and a draw from their last five games.
A little known fact that both Ajax and Chelsea share is they are two of only five teams who have lifted each of UEFA's major trophies in their various guises.
The Champions League/European Cup, Europa League/UEFA Cup and Cup Winners' Cup.
The other teams are Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United.
Chelsea have never faced Ajax in European competition so we don't really know how the game is going to go, but we've had a go anyway:
Ajax sold two of their biggest players over the summer in big money sales in Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt but they brought in Quincy Promes who has impressed this season for the Dutch giants.
Frank Lampard says he is aware of Ajax's 'new threats' as he prepares his Chelsea side to take on the Group H leaders.
"We have confidence in ourselves, but it's a tough match," said Lampard.
"I watched them play last year and I know their team has changed slightly. I'm very aware of the new threats they have.
"They've won their two Champions League games convincingly."
Cesar Azpilicueta looks set to make his 350th appearance for Chelsea this evening.
Remarkably he has featured in 349 of the last 415 possible matches which is 84%. He'll become only the fifth overseas player to reach the milestone.
Since Azpilicueta arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2012 he has missed just two games through injury or illness, the last being in 2014/15.
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