Giant Killer! Ajax Manages Dream of Champions League Champion ##
Playing at Juventus headquarters did not make Ajax Amsterdam tremble. On the contrary, the squad made by Erik ten Hag managed to win 2-1 in the Champions League quarter-final second leg match on Wednesday (17/4).
Juventus had the upper hand first thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo header in the 28th minute. But Ajax did not give up, and managed to reverse the position through the action of Van de Beek in the 34th minute also Matthijs De Ligt in the second round.
With this victory, then Ajax is certain to qualify for the semi-finals and make Juventus go home sluggishly. The opponent of the Dutch team itself was only known after a duel between Tottenham and Manchester City on Thursday (18/4) tomorrow.
First Half
The fifth minute, Andre Onana almost made a fatal mistake that could lead to Juventus goals. The Ajax keeper tried to throw the ball from the backpass, which was then cleared by Cristiano Ronaldo. Fortunately, the ball did not enter the goal.
In the 21st minute, Ajax almost scored. Starting from David Neress game, the ball ended at Van de Beek, not far from the Juventus goal. Unfortunately, his shot still soared above the goal.
The 28th minute, Juventus finally managed to change the position. It is Cristiano Ronaldo who is again a scourge of Ajax defense with a goal through a header. The Portuguese player aimed at the bottom corner of the Onana goal which was unable to reach the ball. 1-0.
Like De Javu, Ajax then managed to reply to the next six minutes. Judge Ziyech, from outside the penalty box, tried to open fire on speculation. The ball was about Van de Beek who then changed direction to cheat Wojciech Szczesny. 1-1.
Ahead of the end of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo spread the threat with his free-kick. But again, the effort is only about the posse and make the ball out of the field.
Second Half
In the second half, Massimiliano Allegri added to his power by including Moise Kean to replace Paulo Dybala. The contribution of the Argentine striker did look minimal in this match.
Ajax is more dominant and repeatedly launches attacks on Juventus goal. In the 57th minute, Van de Beeks curling shot from outside the penalty box managed to make Szczesny busy doing a brilliant save.
Goal! Ajax managed to take over the advantage! A corner kick from Lasse Schone led right to the head of Matthijs De Ligt. Two escorts from Alex Sandro and Daniele Rugani were unable to resist his high jump. As a result, the ball from his header nested into the Juventus goal. 2-1.
In a lagging situation, Juventus did not seem to attempt to score a reply. In fact, they are more often in their own territory while waiting for Ajax attacks. In the 79th minute, the Juventus goalkeeper collapsed again thanks to David Neress curling shot. Unfortunately it was annulled because Ajax players were in an offside position.
Until the referee blew the long whistle the end of the game, Juventus failed to score the equalizing position. Ajax was confirmed to qualify for the semifinals with a 3-2 aggregate advantage over the Bianconeri.
Arrangement of Players
Juventus (4-3-3): Wojciech Szczesny; Mattia De Sciglio (Joao Cancelo 64 ), Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele Rugani, Alex Sandro; Emre Can, Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi; Federico Bernardeschi (Rodrigo Bentancur 80 ), Paulo Dybala (Moise Kean 46), Cristiano Ronaldo
Ajax (4-2-3-1): Andre Onana; Joel Veltman, Matthijs de Ligt, Daley Blind, Noussair Mazraoui (Daley Sinkgraven 11 (Lisandro Magallan 82)); Lasse Schone, Frenkie de Jong; Judge Ziyech (Klaas-Jan Huntelarr 88 ), Donny van de Beek, David Neres; Dusan Tadic
Ajax will face City in the semis