AJAX STROLL TO CUP IN SPURS WARM-UP

AJAX prepared for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Tottenham with an emphatic 4-0 victory in the Dutch Cup final yesterday. Former Manchester United defender Daley Blind (below) opened the scoring against Willem II before veteran striker Klaas- Jan huntelaar struck twice. Danish defender Rasmus Kristensen added a fourth as Ajax eased to the first part of a potential treble. They go into Wednesday’s home leg with Spurs leading 1-0. Liverpool’s opponents in their european semifinal suffered a blow as forward Ousmane Dembele picked up a hamstring injury in action for Barcelona. The £135million star was one of the only first-team players to feature in Barca’s 2-0 defeat by Celta Vigo, but was forced off after only four minutes. The Catalans made 11 changes from the line-up who beat Liverpool 3-0 last week. Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane cast further doubt on Gareth Bale’s future by leaving him out of the squad as Real beat Villarreal 3-2 yesterday. Zidane said: ‘I’m the coach, I have to pick the team and that’s all there is to it. ‘You can interpret it as

you wish.’