MX23RW : Thursday, February 13 01:47:53| >> :600:8510775:8510775:
Nov 5, 2019 at 8pm UK at ​Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 39,132
Chelsea
4-4
Ajax
Jorginho (5' pen., 71' pen.), Azpilicueta (63'), James (74')
FT(HT: 1-3)
Abraham (2' og.), Promes (20'), Arrizabalaga (35' og.), van de Beek (55')
Blind (68'), Veltman (69')

Reece James: 'Chelsea felt we could have won Ajax thriller'

Reece James: 'Chelsea felt we could have won Ajax thriller'
© Reuters
James came off the bench to become Chelsea's youngest Champions League goalscorer.

Reece James lashed in the goal that earned Chelsea a point against Ajax, but the 19-year-old was convinced he had played his part in a famous victory.

James came off the bench to become Chelsea's youngest Champions League goalscorer, driving home from a corner as the Blues overturned a 4-1 deficit to draw 4-4.

But Chelsea thought they had won it when Cesar Azpilicueta found the net, only for VAR to cut short the celebrations after spotting the ball hit Tammy Abraham's hand.

On a chaotic night they scored two own-goals and two penalties while Ajax had two players, Daley Blind and Joel Veltman, sent off at once.

"I've never really been involved in anything like that," said James.

"It was great coming on at half-time, we had a lot to do in the game and obviously their sending-offs helped us get a few more goals and in the second half we played a lot better.

"As soon as that happened we built momentum, the game changed and from then on we knew we could get back into it.

"It was a crazy game. Scoring a goal is a bonus. The manager told me to come on and liven the boys up.

Chelsea v Ajax – UEFA Champions League – Group H – Stamford Bridge
Cesar Azpilicueta thought he had grabbed the winner (John Walton/PA)

"I thought we'd gone 5-4 up but it wasn't meant to be, so we'll take the point and move on to the next game.

"At half-time we were 3-1 down and not everyone was happy so coming away with what we did is a lot better, but we felt we could get the three points."

Ajax took the lead inside the opening two minutes when Abraham diverted a Quincy Promes free-kick into his own net, but moments later Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot after a foul on Christian Pulisic.

Promes headed the second before Hakim Ziyech's free-kick beat Kepa Arrizabalaga, came back off the post and hit the keeper full in the face before bouncing in.

Donny Van de Beek's low drive put Ajax in total control, but the comeback began when Azpilicueta tapped in at the far post.

Then, in a crazy 60 seconds, Blind was shown a second yellow card for fouling Abraham and Veltman followed him down the tunnel after handling Callum Hudson-Odoi's subsequent shot.

Chelsea v Ajax – UEFA Champions League – Group H – Stamford Bridge
Daley Blind saw red as the wheels came off for Ajax (John Walton/PA)

Stamford Bridge was rocking as Jorginho rolled in his second penalty, and it was pandemonium when James equalised.

Chelsea are now locked on seven points alongside Ajax and Valencia, with a tough trip to Spain up next before a visit from Lille.

"There's no easy games in this group and we are going to have to give it our all in the next two games," added James.

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2Manchester CityMan City25163665293651
3Leicester CityLeicester25154654262849
4Chelsea2512584334941
5Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2610972824439
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs2510784032837
7Everton26106103438-436
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd259883629735
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2581163532335
10Arsenal2561363234-231
11Burnley2594122838-1031
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2587102436-1231
13Southampton2594123146-1531
14Crystal Palace2679102332-930
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2669113138-727
16Bournemouth2675142640-1426
17Aston Villa2574143247-1525
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham2566133043-1324
19Watford2659122440-1624
20Norwich CityNorwich2546152447-2318

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