Amsterdam: Barely 24 hours after Liverpool staged a stunning comeback to defeat Barcelona, Tottenham enacted a similar script to brush past Ajax 3-2 to enter the final of this year’s UEFA Champions League for the first time. Tottenham will face Liverpool next month.
Tottenham, who was down 2-0, in the first half and trailing 3-0 overall, looked down and out before Lucas Moura’s heroics turned the team’s fortunes dramatically. The English club won the contest by 3-3 in terms of aggregate. Living up to its expectations, Ajax played an aggressive brand of football right from the beginning of the match at Johan Cruyff Arena and soon Matthijs de Ligt’s header ensured the team’s first goal.
In the 35th minute, Ajax doubled its lead after Hakim Ziyech netted a superb strike to give his team a strong advantage. Few believed that Tottenham could come back into the game by achieving similar feats what Liverpool had done at Anfield. The remarkable turnaround began after Moura gave Tottenham its first goal in the 55th minute. Four minutes later, the 26-year-old Brazilian struck another to level with Ajax.
Wilting under pressure after back-to-back goals, Ajax tried to adopt a defensive strategy to stop Tottenham, who were by then had discovered their red-hot form and looked menacing in the field. Both Ajax and Tottenham created chances to score in an effort to give their respective teams an advantage.
Moura then rose to the occasion once again when he scored his third goal in the 96th minute, igniting wild celebrations in the Tottenham camp. Its coach Mauricio Pochettino could not hide his tears of joy as his team relished the unlikely victory. Tottenham will now lock horns against Liverpool in the final in Madrid on June 1.