AMSTERDAM (AFP) - Lucas Moura's last-gasp strike took Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League final for the first time in their history on Wednesday (May 8), completing his hat-trick and sealing an incredible 3-2 win over Ajax to leave the Dutch side heartbroken.
Ajax's improbable European run seemed set to go on all the way to the final, as they led 3-2 on aggregate deep in stoppage time in the second leg of the semi-final at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
That was when the ball broke to Moura in the box and the Brazilian sent a low shot beyond the despairing dive of Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana to seal their comeback, making it 3-2 to them on the night, 3-3 on aggregate, and taking Mauricio Pochettino's men through on away goals.
The Ajax players slumped to the turf, their fans stunned, as they go out and Spurs advance to face fellow comeback kings Liverpool in an all-English final in Madrid on June 1.
Leading 1-0 after the first leg, the thrilling young Dutch side appeared to have killed the tie after captain Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech both scored in the first half here.
That left Tottenham needing a comeback to match that of Liverpool against Barcelona the previous night, but in an even shorter amount of time.
A quickfire brace by Moura early in the second half gave them something to cling to, before he struck the decisive blow, denying Ajax a first final since 1996.
Erik ten Hag's team, who had already eliminated the holders, Real Madrid, and Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus this season, were applauded by their devastated fans at full-time and must now somehow lift themselves to try to win the Dutch title.
Â
Â
Â
They had been dealt a blow just minutes before kick-off when Brazilian winger David Neres pulled out of their starting line-up after the warm-up, his place taken by the young Dane, Kasper Dolberg.
Whirlwind start
That last-minute switch did not perturb the Dutch club, though. Far from it. Dusan Tadic moved to the left wing, and Ajax set about tearing into their opponents right from the off, just as they had done in the first leg.
They won a corner after Hugo Lloris stretched to his left to beat away a Tadic shot, and from the delivery that followed from Lasse Schoene, De Ligt rose to head home a fifth-minute opener.
Spurs - without Harry Kane but with Son Heung-min back after missing the first leg due to suspension - threatened an immediate reply as a Son cross hit the near post, but Ajax escaped and came again, a Tadic shot that fizzed just past the far post acting as a prelude for what was to follow in the 35th minute.
This time Tadic, the former Southampton player, cut the ball back for Ziyech, whose first-time shot on his left foot flew into the far corner from a difficult angle.
It was a wonderful goal, and it had surely killed the tie.
Spurs fans were understandably subdued, and they would not have harboured too much hope in Fernando Llorente as the big striker replaced Victor Wanyama for the second half.
Yet, the way Pochettino's side came back out after half-time echoed what Liverpool had done at Anfield 24 hours earlier.
They scored their first in the 55th minute, Moura combining with Alli and slotting low past Onana.
Â
Â
Four minutes after that, Onana made an improbable save from Llorente's effort inside the six-yard box, but the ball came back to Moura and the Brazilian turned and managed to find a corner.
He wheeled away in celebration, all too aware that Tottenham were now just one goal away from completing the turnaround.
With such tension, Ajax no longer appeared so liberated, but Ziyech twice nearly scored again, grazing the post with a first-time shot and then hitting the same upright in the 79th minute.
Jan Vertonghen hit the bar at the other end, but just when it looked like Ajax would hang on, Moura delivered the killer blow.
Ryan Fraser wants to come hear, we need a winger, so buy him. No brainer. As for Mustafi he is the very weak link in our very poor defence and has been for some time. There must be a half decent centre back in the Premier League who would jump at the chance for playing for us. Mustafi could always be sold back to Spain where he seemed to do ok.
Five centre-backs who could solve Arsenal's Mustafi problem
Croatia fixtures tab is showing last 100 handball matches with statistics and win/lose icons. There are also all Croatia scheduled matches that they are going to play in the future. Croatia performance & form graph is SofaScore Handball livescore unique algorithm that we are generating from last 10 matches, statistics, detailed analysis and our
Shootout Sunday: Croatia Follows Russia's Lead and Wins on
Sergio Ramos set Spain on course for a comfortable victory over Sweden in qualifying for Euro 2020. The Real Madrid defender, 33, broke the deadlock at his club's home ground, scoring a second-half penalty for his 20th goal from 165 caps.
Football: Spain in charge of Group F after beating Sweden
Jurgen Klopp has vowed that Liverpool will remain positive as they battle for the Premier League title despite a wobble that has enabled Manchester City to seize the initiative. Liverpool's destiny is no longer in their own hands after a goalless draw in Sunday's Merseyside derby allowed Pep Guardiola's City to regain top spot with a one
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp
Refreshed Croatia win with attack-focused play ZAGREB • Like Germany's Joachim Low, Zlatko Dalic has also opted to rebuild his squad following last year's World Cup and the Croatia coach was delighted with his new-look team on Thursday.
The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News
Manchester City took a huge step towards retaining the Premier League title as a 2-0 win at Manchester United on Wednesday took them a point clear of Liverpool at the top of the table with three games to go.
Chelsea Boss Sarri Demands More From Hazard. he's more an individual player than a leader," said Sarri on Wednesday. In an interview with France Football, this week Hazard again raised
Black Ops 4 Zombies BLIND - Insane Pack-a-Punch & Thors Hammer! (IX Gladiator Arena Zombies Map)
Mauls and Back Out Punches | The Hammer Source
Football: London-born Yennaris makes China debut in Philippine win Former Arsenal reserve Nico Yennaris (L, pictured during a Chinese Super League match) is known as Li Ke in China, where there
London-born Yennaris makes China debut in Philippine win
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's instant impact as Manchester United interim manager continued in his first home game in charge as two goals from Paul Pogba helped his team secure a 3-1 win over Huddersfield. After a resounding 5-1 victory at Cardiff, in his first game since replacing Jose Mourinho at the weekend, Solskjaer saw his team […]
Premier League: Pogba strikes twice as Man Utd win on
Yankees avoid sweep in Cleveland despite brutal bullpen, win 7-6 in 10 who has been out since early in spring training with first a shoulder issue and now a strained lat. hit with runners
How the Raptors Won Game 3 of the N.B.A. Finals - The New
0 comments:
Post a Comment