AJAX INSIST: WE WON’T MAN-MARK RONALDO

AJAX say they will not worry about man-marking Cristiano ronaldo in tonight’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg in Turin, despite a warning from juventus boss Max allegri that his star player was only half fit when he scored in amsterdam last week.

The Italian champions are favourites to progress thanks to ronaldo’s away goal in the 1-1 draw six days ago, when the Portugal forward (below) played for the first time since injuring his thigh in last month’s international break.

His diving header in the first leg was, incredibly, his 24th goal at the last-eight stage and his 125th in the Champions League overall, including a hat-trick at juventus’s allianz Stadium in the previous round to reverse a 2- 0 deficit against atletico Madrid.

allegri said: ‘ Cristiano has this extraordinary quality: when the game comes, he changes. In certain moments he becomes unstoppable and you can see it on his face. also, he is in better shape physically than he was last week.’ ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt will be one of those defenders up against ronaldo, although coach Erik ten Hag confirmed there is no plan to afford him special attention. But De Ligt, the 19-year-old tipped for a move to Barcelona this summer, said: ‘ronaldo is a predator in the box. He sees an opportunity, just a tiny gap, and he is on it incredibly quickly.’ Should De Ligt move to the nou Camp he will be joining 21-year-old team-mate Frenkie de jong, who has already agreed a move to Barcelona and remains a doubt for tonight’s game after injuring his hamstring at the weekend. But Ten Hag said: ‘We are positive he can play. Frenkie himself will have to decide if he is ready, and eventually I decide. ‘at the start of the season, nobody expected us to be in the final eight of the Champions League. But the team has developed to such an extent that we can compete with these giants.’