Dailysports News Football news Chelsea rewrite UEFA Champions League history among English clubs – what milestone did the Blues achieve?

Chelsea rewrite UEFA Champions League history among English clubs – what milestone did the Blues achieve?

Once again, youth leads the way.

Football news 05 nov 2025, 12:13

Miguel Solomons Dailysports's expert

Chelsea rewrite UEFA Champions League history among English clubs – what milestone did the Blues achieve?

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Chelsea travelled to face Qarabag in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League and managed to make history in the competition.

Details: According to Opta, Chelsea’s head coach fielded the second-youngest starting lineup ever used by an English club in an away Champions League match. The team’s average age was 23 years and 97 days.

The only younger lineup came from Arsenal, who faced Olympiacos in 2009 with an average age of 21 years and 215 days.

23 - Chelsea (23y 97d) have named the second-youngest ever starting XI by average age for an English club in an away UEFA Champions League match, only behind Arsenal's v Olympiakos in December 2009 (21y 215d). Trip. pic.twitter.com/E2VXXX7KCQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 5, 2025

In yesterday’s Arsenal match, 15-year-old Max Dowman came off the bench in the 73rd minute, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in the Champions League.

Reminder: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed that Portuguese winger Pedro Neto missed training and would not feature against Qarabag.

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