Chelsea youngster Jamie Gittens thrilled fans with an unusual and extremely controlled piece of skill during the Blues’ 5-1 Champions League rout of visiting Ajax.
The west London club will have been keen to boost their top-eight credentials in the league phase of the tournament after losing their opener against Bayern Munich in September.
After beating Benfica on home soil ahead of the international break, Chelsea wasted no time opening the scoring at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of talented teenage striker Marc Guiu.
With the visitors a man down following an early red card for Kenneth Taylor, goals from Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Estevao, and Tyrique George followed.
But as well as the eye-catching teen trio of George, Estevao and Guiu breaking a Champions League record, 21-year-old Gittens also enjoyed a moment in the spotlight.
Chasing down a long ball to the side of the Ajax box, Gittens appeared to pull the ball down using his back, with it curving around his body before he could collect it with his feet.
Jamie Gittens pulled down a ball like he was putting on a jacket as it rolled across his back and down to his boot
The former Borussia Dortmund player was named Player of the Match on his first Champions League start
The slithering bit of skill impressed at first glance, and those following the game quickly took to social media to compare him to footballing greats like Ronaldinho and Neymar Jnr.
‘That was magnificent’, one social media user marvelled, while another shared: ‘Gittens moving like prime Ronaldinho’.
A third noted: ‘That first touch is top’ – but some suggested that he might have benefitted from some good fortune, with one calling out the move as ‘lucky’.
Gittens was later handed the Player of the Match award despite not getting onto the scoresheet for his creative and clinical peformance that saw him create five chances and an assist in Chelsea blue.
The former Borussia Dortmund star arrived at Chelsea this summer as part of a raft of summer recruits, and as some, such as Joao Pedro and Estevao, have garnered more attention, Gittens made just his first Champions League start against the Dutch club.
But the player enjoyed a profitable international break with England’s under-21s, with manager Lee Carsley highlighting how important Gittens can be with regular minutes.
‘You always want to be a little bit of a spark for players just to get those regular minutes and build the confidence within themselves that they’ve got the durability to bang out the minutes,’ England boss Lee Carsley told Daily Mail Sport earlier this month.
‘As you see Jamie is very exciting, as is Josh King, and we are very lucky with Ethan (Nwaneri) on the other side to have attacking threats all over the pitch. I’d expect this team to do some really great things.’
