Ajax FC keep their UCL dream alive by beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 away

Editorial Team 6 years ago

Ajax Training - Van Der Beek and De Ligt

The Eredevise league leaders were victorious in the semi final – first leg of the UEFA Champions League. After already having ousted holders Real Madrid and Italian heavyweights Juventus FC, Ajax have one step in the final now following their 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in London.

The scoreline doesn’t reflect what actually happened in the match. The Dutch club were superior in the first leg until Vertonghen had to be replaced with Moussa Sissoko. Tottenham played better after the change of formation to 4-4-2 but were inferior on the day to a young Ajax side despite enjoying a massive home support in their new stadium.

Make no mistake, Tottenham are no ordinary team to beat at home and have been impressive this season in the Champions League. They have eliminated German giants Borussia Dortmund as well as tournament favourites Manchester City.

Frankie De Jong was the star of the show with his impressive passes and Dusan Tadic was a handful for the home team. Ajax went ahead in the 15th minute when Spurs had not registered a shot on target. Ziyech brilliantly passed to Van de Beek who had the time and space to launch his shot past Hugo Lloris. The goal was given after VAR confirmed Van de Beek wasn’t offside and Ajax bagged a crucial away goal.

Ajax had the glorious opportunity to extend the lead to two but Van de Beek went for a shot from a tight angle when David Neres was unmarked in the middle. Jan Vertonghen suffered from concussion after a collison with his team mate Alderweireld and had to be replaced by Sissoko.

Tottenham looked better with the change of formation after the substitution and piled the pressure on Ajax but weren’t able to create a clear chance. In the second half, the Ajax defenders had a hard time marking Fernando Llorente in the middle. The tall Spaniard was winning the aerial battles and Lucas’ pace was starting to worry the Ajax backline but 19 year old club captain De Ligt marshalled his troops brilliantly. Tagliafico’s return helped Ajax to a great deal in keeping a clean-sheet.

Tottenham came close to scoring just twice in the entire game with Alderweireld’s header missing the target in the first half and Dele Alli’s shot taking an awkward bounce in front of Ajax keeper Onana. Despite registering 12 shots, only of them was on target for the North London side.

Ajax had the opportunity to kill the tie twice with Nicolas Tagliafico’s shot missing the far post by a couple of inches and then the post cruelly denied David Neres a goal. Ajax held on to take a slender advantage back home. Ajax manager Ten Hag hailed the victory as a “fantastic achievement” but acknowledged that it’s only halfway mark and the tie is still alive.

Son who was suspended for this clash will return in the second leg to be held at Amsterdam, which will serve as a boost to the London side who will miss Harry Kane for the reminder of this season.

Editorial Team

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LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.