Tonight Chelsea face Ajax in the Champions League. It’s an important game to get 3 points and double down on the win against Benfica last time out in this competition.
CFC Central was on the London is Blue podcast today talking about our opposition’s potential weaknesses.
Attacking Ajax exposed at the back
Enzo Maresca taking preseason training for Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca taking preseason training for Chelsea. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
“The defensive line is near the halfway line, then Aubameyang pulls off a beautiful flick in behind, then Igor Paixao gets a 1v1 and finishes if off there. There were multiple opportunities for Marseille to get into that position. The front three were regularly leaving their positions, and that was forcing their defenders to jump out of position.
“Exploit the high line as much as possible. If the centre forward is dropping deep to receive possession, make sure whoever is on the wing – if you’ve got Pedro Neto, if you’ve got Estevao, if you’ve got Alejandro Garnacho for example. Target those runs in behind, go long as often as possible.”
It’s a nice idea, and hopefully the Dutch side will be obliging enough to play in a very attacking way which leaves them that exposed.
Sadly we suspect it won’t be so easy – they’re likely to sit deep and wait for us to try and break them down. With no Cole Palmer in the team to unlock things, that could prove tricky. Joao Pedro is also suspended for this game, so it will be interesting to see the attacking solutions Enzo Maresca comes up with.
You can see their discussion in the clip embedded here:
⚡️ @CFCCentral3 on Ajax's poor defensive line, how Marseille tore it to shreds and why CFC wingers will be key in this fixture.
🎧👉 https://t.co/cxG108V1SJ pic.twitter.com/JTaUYW6Oum
— London Is Blue Podcast ⭐️⭐️ (@LondonBluePod) October 22, 2025
In other news…
In our predicted XI we’ve had a guess about how Maresca might set things up to try and win the game.
Meanwhile Joe Cole also spoke about another of Chelsea’s top stars right now – he thinks Moises Caicedo is the world’s best midfielder.
More Stories about featured
Steve Nicol on ESPN talking about Chelsea's struggles.
A generic interior view of Stamford Bridge.
Malo Gusto on the ball against Nottingham Forest.