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Attendance: 39,132
Chelsea logo
Champions League | Group Stage
Nov 5, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Ajax

4-4

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')

Frank Lampard expecting dangerous Ajax side at Stamford Bridge

Frank Lampard expecting dangerous Ajax side at Stamford Bridge
© Reuters
Lampard's Chelsea beat the Dutch champions in Amsterdam.

Frank Lampard has warned Chelsea he expects an even tougher encounter with Ajax than they faced in Amsterdam.

The Blues registered arguably their finest result under Lampard when they beat last season's Champions League semi-finalists 1-0 last month.

Michy Batshuayi's late strike drew Chelsea level with the Dutch champions at the top of Group H, and another win on Tuesday night would leave them with one foot in the next round.

However, Lampard said: "I wouldn't like to say that until that foot is officially in the next round.

"I said at the start that this group would be tight because all the teams could take points off each other. That has been proved to be correct.

"We've had two good results and another one would be great for us with two games left, but we must understand that even though we are at home now, the quality and the danger from Ajax is as much, if not more, than the game we played away because they are such a good, technical team.

"After losing the opening game against Valencia, which was disappointing, we have shown a great reaction from that.

Chelsea have recorded impressive away wins against Lille and Ajax
Chelsea have recorded impressive away wins against Lille and Ajax (Joe Giddens/PA)

"I have to accept it's expected of Chelsea to go through and that is no disrespect to any other teams. I have said already how hard the group is but it is more about our own expectations.

"That is maybe why we had that reaction. We wanted to prove ourselves, we wanted to go to Ajax and Lille and get results, and we did.

"But we won't get carried away with ourselves in this group."

Chelsea's appeal against a two-window transfer ban imposed by FIFA is due to come before the Court of Arbitration for Sport on November 20.

Chelsea's young squad have impressed so far this season
Chelsea's young squad have impressed so far this season (Tess Derry/PA)

The club were unsuccessful in overturning the decision when they presented their case to FIFA's appeals committee in April and now CAS will rule on the issue.

Yet the feeling among some Chelsea fans is that they do not need the ban overturning, given the success currently being enjoyed by Lampard's young side.

The Stamford Bridge boss added: "We're on a good run, though, aren't we? You never know.

"That's a nice feeling. Of course some players have come in and shown with their opportunities they've been given that they can have roles and play well. We are getting results at the moment.

"Chelsea will always look to improve in the windows if we can, if we're allowed to and if the players we might look at are better or we feel are adding to the squad.

"But at the minute I'm very happy with what I've got, so I suppose that's why the fans are as well."

One of those youngsters, Mason Mount, is relishing the pressure that comes with mixing it with Europe's elite.

"We know how important it is to get results in the Champions League," said the 20-year-old midfielder.

"After the first game we were a bit down but we took positives from it. We knew that going away to France and Holland we needed to get results, to be professional, and we did that.

"So hopefully now we can bring that form back to Stamford Bridge."

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League Phase

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1Liverpool660018
2Barcelona650115
3B. Leverkusen641113
4Inter Milan641113
5Brest641113
6Arsenal641113
7Aston Villa641113
8Lille641113
9Bayern640212
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11Atletico640212
12AC Milan640212
13Atalanta632111
14Juventus632111
15Benfica631210
16Feyenoord631210
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18Monaco631210
19Sporting Lisbon631210
20Real Madrid63039
21Celtic62319
22Man City62228
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25PSG62137
26Stuttgart62137
27Shakhtar61144
28Sparta Prague61144
29Sturm Graz61053
30Girona61053
31Red Star61053
32Salzburg61053
33Bologna60242
34RB Leipzig60060
35Slovan Bratislava60060
36Young Boys60060


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