Unbelievable results ended the 4th round of the UEFA Champions League groups E-H on Tuesday evening.
One of the most impressive matches in recent years took place at Stamford Bridge stadium. London's Chelsea club extended its unbeaten record to 4:4 against Amsterdam's Ajax after canceling a three-goal deficit, despite two red cards for Ajax during one attack.
The very beginning promised not to be boring in these matches - in the 2nd minute, Tammy Abraham led the opponents from Amsterdam by scoring an own goal. However, Chelsea found an answer just a few minutes later - an 11m penalty was awarded against Ajax, which was coldly converted by Jorginho.
After the equalizing goal, a rollercoaster ensued for Ajax, which continued until the start of the second half - Quincy Promes restored the lead to the guests in the 20th minute, and 15 minutes later Kepa accidentally scored an own goal after the ball rebounded off the crossbar from Hakim Ziyech's fantastic shot and then hit Kepa's face before ending up in the net.
Chelsea made a strong start to the second half, but Donny van de Beek made it 3-1 with a great shot for Ajax in the 55th minute.
It seemed that with this goal, Ajax secured the victory, but later events took an unexpected turn. In the 63rd minute, Chelsea brought Cesar Azpilicueta back into the game, but the turning point of these matches occurred in the 67th minute when Ajax lost two players during one attack and conceded an 11m penalty.
Daley Blind was removed for a handling offense, and Joel Veltman was removed for handball. In the 71st minute, Jorginho stepped up to the penalty spot and narrowed the gap to one goal with a precise shot.
Ajax was left to play with nine men, so it was only a matter of time before Chelsea equalized the score. In the 74th minute, Reece James scored his debut goal for the Blues to make it 4-4. Despite creating a real siege in Ajax's penalty area for the rest of the time, Chelsea could not break through and Ajax miraculously held on in a dramatic end to the match.
Another drama was recorded in Dortmund, where local Borussia eliminated a two-goal deficit in the second half and defeated Inter Milan club 3-2.
The visit of Milan clubs to the famous Dortmund team stadium started fantastically - in the first half, Inter built a two-goal lead after goals from Lautaro Martinez and Matias Vecino.
BVB began to regroup in the second half, and the main hero was Achraf Hakimi. He reduced the hosts' deficit in the 51st minute. Thirteen minutes later, Borussia rejoiced at an equal score - Julian Brandt scored the second goal by taking advantage of the visitors' uncertain defense.
In the 77th minute, Dortmund's victory was sealed by the same A. Hakimi, who scored after a superb pass from Jadon Sancho. For the Moroccan full-back, this was his fourth goal in this Champions League season.
The remaining matches ended with victories for Liverpool, Valencia, Lyon, and Salzburg clubs and a draw between Napoli and Salzburg.
Tournament Group Table
Results:
Group E
Liverpool 2-1 Genk
14' [1-0] G. Wijnaldum
41' [1-1] M. Samata
53' [2-1] A. Oxlade-Chamberlain
Napoli 1-1 Salzburg
11' [0-1] E. B. Haaland
44' [1-1] H. Lozano
Group F
Borussia 3-2 Inter
5' [0-1] L. Martinez
40' [0-2] M. Vecino
51' [1-2] A. Hakimi
64' [2-2] J. Brandt
77' [3-2] A. Hakimi
Group G
Lyon 3-1 Benfica
4' [1-0] J. Andersen
33' [2-0] M. Depay
76' [2-1] H. Seferovič
89' [3-1] B. Traore
Group H
Chelsea 4-4 Ajax
2' [0-1] T. Abraham (own goal)
5' [1-1] Jorginho (penalty)
20' [1-2] Q. Promes
35' [1-3] Kepa (own goal)
55' [1-4] D. van de Beek
63' [2-4] C. Azpilicueta
71' [3-4] Jorginho (penalty)
74' [4-4] R. James
68' D. Bling (Ajax) sent off
69' J. Veltman (Ajax) sent off
Valencia 4-1 Lille
25' [0-1] V. Osimhen
66' [1-1] D. Parejo (penalty)
82' [2-1] A. Soumaoro (own goal)
84' [3-1] G. Kondogbia
90' [4-1] F. Torres
