Tottenham Hotspur make an incredible comeback to beat Ajax and enter the UCL final
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The UEFA Champions League is well-known for producing surprise results but even in such a competition, one can’t expect witness miracles happen consecutively within the span of 24 hours. After Liverpool stunned Barcelona 4-0 to reach the final, one could be forgiven for thinking that was the best comeback in the Champions League this season but Tottenham arguably bettered it a day later.
Ajax built on their first leg 1-0 victory by scoring first in the second leg at the Johann Crijff Arena. It took the 19 year old AFC Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt only five minutes to find the back of the net from a corner with a towering header. It was a game contested in proper fashion and Spurs came close to equalizing when Son hit the post.
Hakim Ziyech doubled the lead for Ajax with a wonderful strike in the 35th minute. Dusan Tadic pulled the ball back to the centre from the left wing giving Ziyech the opportunity to go for a first time shot and Lloris had no chance of saving it! Tottenham went into the half-time break knowing they needed three goals in the second half without reply from Ajax to qualify.
Lucas Moura and Dele Alli combined to break on the counter and the Brazlian finished the move with a composed shot to beat the Ajax keeper. Four minutes later, Onana made a fantastic save to deny Llorente who replaced Wanyama in the second half but the Ajax players failed to clear the ball despite having the numerical advantage in the box and Lucas Moura scored his second.
Ajax had opportunities to kill the game with Ziyech almost scoring after Tadic found him in the box with a low cross. The Moroccan’s shot missed the right post by a couple of inches. Ajax came agonizingly close yet again as the post denied Ziyech his second with Lloris well-beaten.
Vertonghen almost got the winner on the night with a thumping header that hit the cross-bar. When Llorente’s header was over the bar in injury time, every football pundit would have expected Ajax to hold on to their 3-2 aggregate lead with just 1 minute on the clock! However, Lucas Moura and Spurs refused to give up and the Brazilian scored a dramatic last minute winner for Tottenham in injury time and completed his hattrick that shattered the dreams of the Ajax players and fans!
Ten Hag’s young AFC Ajax Lions were seconds away from a Champions League final but paid the price for not taking their chances over the course of two legs. Miracles keep happening in football and most often, those miracles are achievements backed by the hard-work and determination of players and the coaching staff. The journey of this Ajax side to the semi-finals of the Champions League one such miracle and achievement which Amsterdam should be proud of despite their elimination.
Tottenham, who didn’t sign a single player in the summer last year, have eliminated Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and now Ajax. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino deserves a lot of credit for this huge achievement especially given the fact that he hasn’t played mind games with fellow managers, operated on a shoe-string budget and has lead his side to the Champions League final.
When Liverpool miraculously beat Barcelona yesterday, no one would have thought we would witness another miracle 24 hours later but here we are. Tottenham Hotspur have probably bettered what Liverpool did yesterday with the dramatic second-half comeback in Amsterdam to make sure it will be an all-English Champions League final in Madrid on the 1st of June.
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.
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