Ajax has performed again in the Champions League. The team of coach Suzanne Bakker won 1-0 against German champion Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening thanks to a goal by Romée Leuchter. Ajax thus takes over the top position in the group from Bayern, which suffers its first defeat since April.
Ajax started well in the Johan Cruijff Arena, which was closed due to the rain. After a few minutes, the team from Amsterdam could have already received a penalty, but the referee saw no violation in the way Leuchter was stopped. Shortly afterwards, the Dutch international again played well, but from a promising position she shot over.
The second big chance was also for Ajax. A long shot from left back Ashleigh Weerden hit the crossbar. An attempt by 16-year-old Lily Yohannes then went over. In the 35th minute, Serbian Jovana Damnjanovic had the biggest Bayern opportunity of the first half, but her shot lacked power.
Just before half time, Leuchter had the crowd cheering. After a through ball from Nadine Noordam, the 22-year-old club top scorer calmly finished for her first goal in the group stage of the Champions League.
Exciting second half
In the hunt for the equalizer, Bayern started the second half better, but Ajax could have quickly made it 2-0 through Milicia Keijzer. However, her attempt from close range was turned away. Moments later, Sarah Zadrazil's long-range shot narrowly missed the Amsterdam goal. On the other hand, another chance to make it 2-0 was not for Rosa van Gool.
With several substitutions – including international Jill Baijings and star Pernille Harder – Bayern tried to force something. This resulted in exciting minutes in front of the Amsterdam goal until the last minute, but the national champion of the Netherlands held on.
After the new surprise, Ajax is on 7 points, with two games to go. Paris Saint-Germain, which was defeated 2-0 by the Amsterdam women last month, follows with 6 points. Bayern has 5 points, AS Roma 4. The best two teams qualify for the quarter-finals.
(AP)
Reading list
#Ajax #leads #group #surprising #victory #Bayern #Munich