Tottenham 0 Ajax 1/ Bold Amsterdam
● Ajax youngsters take vital away goal back to Amsterdam for semi-final second leg but Pochettino’s men grateful to still have a chance
Young Ajax striker Donny van de Beek shows his delight after scoring what turned out to be the only goal of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Tottenham in London. The 22-year-old netted after 15 minutes when he accepted a pass from Moroccan midfielder Hakim Ziyech and slotted the ball past Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.
The youthful Ajax side controlled much of the game and Spurs must now score at the Amsterdam Arena next Wednesday to have any chance of reaching the final.
Ajax play football like football would look like in your wildest dreams about football. The decisive passes, the runs, the overlaps, the feints, the gives and goes; they attacked Tottenham like an 11-tentacled nightmare, all limbs ebbing and flowing in unison.
In the first 15 minutes they delivered 113 passes to Tottenham’s 55, 71 per cent of the possession and the opening goal, which was a marvel of intricacy. A series of passes swept across the edge of Tottenham’s penalty area from the left flank, involving four players, then Hakim Ziyech threaded a spider’s silk ball between Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen.
Where the hell had Donny van de Beek appeared from? The Spurs back five clearly had no clue, but he was not there and then he was there – onside, the VAR confirmed – in a masterful illusion. The 22-year-old put Hugo Lloris on his backside with yet more trickery, to make the finish even easier.
Another move, soon after, as good as the goal apart from the finish. Lasse Schone passed into Van de Beek, who ran toward the ball but left it for Dusan Tadic, who slipped in Van De Beek who had literally made a u-turn. This time, Lloris blocked at his near post.
Keeping the score down to one away goal as they travel to Holland for the second leg next week will have to be taken as a positive by Tottenham. With injuries and a slog of a season with their struggling squad, that they are in with a chance to squeeze into the Champions League final is some feat.
But how do you play against a side who always have an extra man over, always one in space, always one a few steps ahead, as though they have 12, 13, 14 men on the field, instead of 11? Real Madrid and Juventus, two of Europe’s finest sides, were unexpectedly unable to work that out in the previous rounds and so, trailing by a goal in the tie, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, pictured, has his work cut out in the next seven days. It will be like trying to work out how to beat Time, or how to leave the European Union without shattering the foundations of British society. Nigh on impossible. Certainly not to be attempted with Fernando Llorente up front, as they were forced to try last night. Even before facing the Champions League’s most complete side this season, Spurs had plenty of problems. Harry Kane still injured, Heung-min Son suspended, Moussa Sissoko struggling and on the bench. Is Llorente really the player you want leading your line in a Champions League semi-final? Still the threadbare bench had no forwards to replace him.
Then they lost Vertonghen midway through the first half. The defender and team-mate Toby Alderweireld jumped into each other and Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana, and the two Spurs players crumpled on the pitch. Alderweireld was OK after a few seconds, but Vertonghen was clearly in trouble; his face covered in blood from a hard blow to Spurs actually looked better with him on the pitch. A simpler back four, more of a grip on midfield. Perhaps the best way to deal with near perfection is to hurl in an element of chaos and unpredictability, two of Sissoko’s greatest attributes. He almost scored with a drive from 25 yards before half-time. But with 20 minutes remaining, Sissoko was knackered: taking great lungfuls of breath and appearing to direct centre-back Davinson Sanchez to play the ball over him to the forwards.
Where were the options for Tottenham? Where was the player to change the game? Currently at another club, waiting to be signed. So, despite a few Tottenham efforts, the best chance of the second half fell to Ajax again. Another move across Tottenham’s penalty area, right to left, ending at the feet of David Neres. In a game of such high speed and intensity, how do Ajax’s players seem to have so much time in their opponent’s box? Neres seemed to have an age to pick his spot and went across Lloris. Only the right post kept out the shot.