Here’s what happened on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, in case you missed it…
READ ALL ABOUT IT
• Manchester United 0, FC Barcelona 1: Game story || Game stats
• Ajax 1, Juventus 1: Game story || Game stats
THE MAIN STORY
Ajax push Juve to the limit: A 1-1 draw in Amsterdam on Wednesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals saw both Juventus and Ajax claim a moral victory, with the Italians netting a valuable road goal ahead of next week’s return match in Turin.
But the Dutch, fresh off eliminating three-time defending champion Real Madrid in the previous round, showed why it’s no fluke that they are in the final eight, and that they can more than hang with the very best in European club soccer.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s lone contribution on the night was his diving header just before halftime against the run of play, giving Juve a surprise lead going into the break. Before that, though, the Italian champions were outplayed by their Dutch hosts through the opening 45 minutes. Ajax’s high press caused Juventus all sorts of problems, forcing turnovers deep inside their half. When Ajax recovered the ball, their retention of it was masterful, as the attacking front three of Hakim Ziyech, David Neres and Dusan Tadic intricately combined with one another to force the visitors to chase shadows.
It took Ajax all of 34 seconds into the second half to level the score, as Neres feasted on a poor touch by Juve fullback Joao Cancelo before finishing off a flowing attacking team move with a fabulous finish inside the far post. With Frenkie de Jong putting in a command performance in central midfield, Ajax tightened the vice on Juve, pinning them deep inside their half for long stretches and looked poised to add more goals. But poor finishing inside the box by Ajax allowed Juventus to escape with a draw.
BEST GOAL
Just before halftime, Juventus forged ahead in attack with Cristiano Ronaldo beginning the play inside Ajax’s half by shifting the ball out to Joao Cancelo. As Cancelo moved forward, Ronaldo made a lung-busting run into the penalty area, splitting two defenders, and scored on a powerful diving header off a perfect cross played into the box from his fellow Portuguese.
@Cristiano #UCL @juventusfc pic.twitter.com/2XlpzXzSpG
— La UEFA (@UEFAcom_it) April 10, 2019
BEST MOMENT
After conceding just before halftime, Ajax responded within the first minute following the re-start, levelling through David Neres who scored after Juventus managed just one touch on the ball to bring the Dutch fans to their feet.
BEST TWEET
BURNING QUESTION
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THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME
With no shots on target, it’s little wonder that Manchester United looked tepid in attack on Wednesday at Old Trafford, and now must go to the Camp Nou next week in search of at least two goals. Ashley Young delivered 11 crosses into the box, but none of them were successful.
SIX PACK OF STATS
• No team has scored more own goals in Champions League history than Manchester United, with Luke Shaw’s on Wednesday their eighth in the competition.
• Cristiano Ronaldo is the joint-top goalscorer of Champions League goals at the Johan Cruijff Arena with six goals (tied with Zlatan Ibrahimovic).
• Luis Suarez is the fifth Uruguayan player to reach 50 or more appearances in the Champions League, after Diego Godin and Edinson Cavani (59), and Maxi Pereira and Paolo Montero (57).
• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight goals in his last five Champions League matches against Ajax.
• Wednesday marked the first time that Manchester United failed to record a shot on target in a Champions League game since a 1-0 loss away to AC Milan in March 2005.
• David Neres has scored seven goals in his last eight games across all competitions for Ajax.
Stats courtesy of Opta.
THREE STARS
1) Frenkie de Jong, Ajax: A midfield dynamo for the Dutch, he completed 91 per cent of his passes, created two chances, made six tackles and three interceptions, and recovered the ball 11 times
2) VAR: The video assistant referee system came in for some criticism during Tuesday’s Spurs-Man City title. But the VAR team got it right at Old Trafford when it awarded Barcelona a goal after the play was initially flagged for offside.
3) Hakim Ziyech and David Neres, Ajax: The two wingers put constant pressure on Juve’s back line, and linked up effectively with front man Dusan Tadic.
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