ResumeAjax has not yet been able to distance itself from Benfica in the eighth final of the Champions League in a blistering football fight in Estádio Da Luz. Due to a dramatic second half, the team of the once negligent trainer Erik ten Hag still has to beat the raging Portuguese in three weeks: 2-2.
Sports editor
Latest update:
23-02-22, 23:59
By Johan Inan
More than a thousand days after the painful defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals, Ajax returned to the knockout phase of the European premier class. Lisbon and Benfica soon discovered that the Amsterdammers have naughty plans again. In the afternoon, more than three thousand fans flew over the famous Praça de Comercio square, slaloming on a scooter and singing club songs.
Overpowering the brooding Benfica turned out to be much more difficult than expected in the evening and was actually only successful in the first half, as the massively overflown fans saw in a magnificent battle between two illustrious clubs. In the swirling, red and white football temple, Benfica immediately added action to Ten Hag’s words. The counters? Dangerous. But make the game? Not their thing. Antony proved this several times, whereby the sea of space was wasted the first time. When the Brazilian Alex Grimaldo stole the ball again after just under twenty minutes, Ajax struck deadly. Noussair Mazraoui was already on the flank on his way. His cross was cleverly placed in the far top corner with the right by Dusan Tadic.
In November 2018, the Serbian captain was still the one who helped Ajax to a vital point in Estádio da Luz. A win over AEK Athens and a stunning knockout stage followed. When Ajax returned to the Portuguese capital in September, Sébastien Haller gave the start of a historic group stage with no fewer than four goals. Against rival Benfica, the CL top scorer went from hell to heaven in four minutes.
First Haller ran into a hard cross from former Ajax player Jan Vertonghen, who took advantage of a slip by Mazraoui. Moments later, Haller proved that he had more to look for in the other goal mouth. His tip-in after a tight pass from Steven Berghuis was already good. The speed with which he got up after the rescue of Odisseas Vlachodimos and gave Ajax a new lead via the inside of the post with his eleventh CL goal, even better: 1-2.
The game kept going up and down. Ajax had their hands full with Benfica countering in sixth gear. On the stroke of half-time, the visitors failed to deliver the final blow. After a nice attack, Edson Álvarez shot diagonally at the post, after which Haller did not get the ball between the posts in a reflex. Antony also has a chance of a third Amsterdam goal.
As a result, Benfica continued to smell blood and hunt for the second equalizer. And it eventually came. Because Ajax was sloppy with the space and opportunities in the front. Berghuis, Blind, the hapless Ryan Gravenberch and Tadic, all gave the raging Portuguese the chance to practice their specialty. The midfield was always open when the ball was lost. And Ten Hag? The coach, who let Ajax shine so often on foreign soil in the billion-dollar ball, just waited to change and was presented the bill for this. After Everton and Roman Yaremchuk were already close to 2-2, the substitute from Ukraine struck. Remko Pasveer made a nice save on a long shot, but came too late when Yaremchuk nodded in the long-awaited equalizer.
As a result, Benfica called Ajax to a halt after six consecutive victories in the premier class and a clear series after the winter break and ambitious Ajax will have to pull out all the stops in Amsterdam in three weeks to be able to make it another wonderful campaign, just like in 2019.
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