Enzo Fernandez's gesture shows his true colours in Chelsea chaos as Ajax lose their heads

Enzo Fernandez showed his true colours during Chelsea's clash against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League.

Towards the end of the first half at Stamford Bridge, the 24-year-old midfielder passed up on the opportunity to double his tally for the evening when the Blues won a second spot-kick.

Youri Baas brought down Estevao Willian inside the box late into stoppage time. Skipper Fernandez, who had beaten Remko Pasveer from 12 yards a few minutes earlier, handed the responsibility to the 18-year-old Brazilian winger.

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The Argentina international handed Estevao the ball and gave him a kiss. As the teenager prepared to take the penalty, Wout Weghorst intervened, and he was quickly shown a yellow card by Felix Zwayer.

Estevao, who arrived from Palmeiras in the summer, picked out the top left-hand corner, netting his first goal on the European stage.

In doing so, the Brazil international became the youngest player to score in the Champions League for Chelsea since Marc Guiu, who had opened his account about half an hour earlier.

Ajax lost any hold on the game before half time, having had a man sent off and conceded two penalties, as they headed into the break 4-1 down. Chelsea only managed one more in the second period, although they didn't have to work hard with the game won.

Estevao has enjoyed a brilliant start to life at Stamford Bridge, and Fernandez was always confident that he would do well.

Speaking to the FIFA website in the summer, after going head-to-head at the Club World Cup, the Chelsea midfielder said: "We’re delighted with the team’s development and every player that’s come in under Enzo [Maresca].

"We’ve been on an upward trajectory since we started to work with him. Enzo has brought structure and order to our team. We’ve been improving day in, day out, and I think today proved how far we’ve come.

"We could see his potential out there. He showcased that in the match, but he’s been doing so for Palmeiras for a long time now.

"The new players who come in are always willing to knuckle down and I think Enzo has put those foundations in place with his clarity."

Maresca recently paid Estevao the ultimate compliment, comparing him to Cole Palmer.

Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this month, the Chelsea boss said: "Yes, he’s a very young player, born in 2007, and he’s just turned 18.

"He arrived with his family, and we did everything we could to make him feel at ease. The club was good, but the truth is that he’s a strong player.”

"He reminds me a lot of Cole Palmer, even physically. He has the same footballing maturity despite his age."