Cristiano Ronaldo produced yet another quality goal and helped Juventus to a 1-1 draw at Ajax Amsterdam in the first leg of its Champions League quarter-final tie.
Juve’s Ronaldo netted his 125th Champions League goal
Amsterdam:
The result leaves the Serie A topper in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals in next week’s return leg in Turin. However, it will be mindful of Ajax’s 4-1 away win over Real Madrid in the last round, that eliminated the holder 3-5 on aggregate. Hakim Ziyech had several efforts on goal in a lively start for the youthful Dutch team.
Donny van de Beek scraped the outside of the upright with a 25th minute effort from close range after opening up space for himself in the penalty area. But Juventus, with the 34-year-old Ronaldo central to its attacks, worked its way into the contest and came close when the talisman set up Federico Bernardeschi in the 37th minute. But his strike was just off target.
Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in the previous round against Atletico Madrid, then netted his 125th Champions League goal with the last move of the first half. After equalising, Ajax dominated possession but was guilty of over-elaborate passing. It was also fortunate not to give away a penalty when defender Nicolas Tagliafico tugged on the jersey of Juventus captain Mario Mandzukic.
Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande paused briefly in the 53rd minute to presumably hear from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but resumed play before TV replays showed that Juve had been denied a decent claim. Tagliafico will miss the second leg next Tuesday after being booked late in the first half. Juve hit the upright in the closing stages through substitute Douglas Costa.
Ajax could have had the last say, but Dusan Tadic missed a good chance in stoppage time.
The away side took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Portuguese forward Ronaldo began an attacking move inside his own half before sprinting down field and diving to head in a clever chip from Joao Cancelo. Ajax equalised 30 seconds into the second half after Cancelo lost control of the ball and allowed David Neres to run down the left wing. The latter cut inside and curled the ball past Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The result leaves the Serie A topper in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals in next week’s return leg in Turin. However, it will be mindful of Ajax’s 4-1 away win over Real Madrid in the last round, that eliminated the holder 3-5 on aggregate. Hakim Ziyech had several efforts on goal in a lively start for the youthful Dutch team.
Donny van de Beek scraped the outside of the upright with a 25th minute effort from close range after opening up space for himself in the penalty area. But Juventus, with the 34-year-old Ronaldo central to its attacks, worked its way into the contest and came close when the talisman set up Federico Bernardeschi in the 37th minute. But his strike was just off target.
Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in the previous round against Atletico Madrid, then netted his 125th Champions League goal with the last move of the first half. After equalising, Ajax dominated possession but was guilty of over-elaborate passing. It was also fortunate not to give away a penalty when defender Nicolas Tagliafico tugged on the jersey of Juventus captain Mario Mandzukic.
Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande paused briefly in the 53rd minute to presumably hear from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but resumed play before TV replays showed that Juve had been denied a decent claim. Tagliafico will miss the second leg next Tuesday after being booked late in the first half. Juve hit the upright in the closing stages through substitute Douglas Costa.
Ajax could have had the last say, but Dusan Tadic missed a good chance in stoppage time.