Sensational Ajax stun Real
Ajax's teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt plans to build on Tuesday's amazing 4-1 victory in Madrid that knocked Real out of the Champions League.
Real Madrid had been fortunate to win the first leg in Amsterdam 2-1 but Santiago Solari's side had still been expected to ease into the quarter-finals of a competition they had won in each of the last three campaigns.
Real had reached the Champions League quarter-finals for eight seasons in a row, while Ajax had not been in the round of 16 since 2005/06.
Ajax also had to come through three rounds of qualifying just to reach the group stage of this season's competition but they completed a sensational 5-3 aggregate victory to send the Spanish giants crashing out.
"We will see how far we go but we are certainly not finished yet," de Ligt said afterwards. "We made it difficult for Bayern Munich [in the group stage] and now we've knocked Real Madrid out.
"It was no surprise to us. Real give a lot of room away and, if you are prepared to play football you know you can make it very difficult for them.
"We knew it would be difficult but that there would also be opportunities."
Meanwhile, delighted Ajax coach Erik ten Hag said the performance had been "as close to perfection as you can get".
Ajax, 25/1 to win the Champions League, are 11/8 to win the Eredivisie title this season.
View all Soccer betting
Ajax's teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt plans to build on Tuesday's amazing 4-1 victory in Madrid that knocked Real out of the Champions League.
Real Madrid had been fortunate to win the first leg in Amsterdam 2-1 but Santiago Solari's side had still been expected to ease into the quarter-finals of a competition they had won in each of the last three campaigns.
Real had reached the Champions League quarter-finals for eight seasons in a row, while Ajax had not been in the round of 16 since 2005/06.
Ajax also had to come through three rounds of qualifying just to reach the group stage of this season's competition but they completed a sensational 5-3 aggregate victory to send the Spanish giants crashing out.
"We will see how far we go but we are certainly not finished yet," de Ligt said afterwards. "We made it difficult for Bayern Munich [in the group stage] and now we've knocked Real Madrid out.
"It was no surprise to us. Real give a lot of room away and, if you are prepared to play football you know you can make it very difficult for them.
"We knew it would be difficult but that there would also be opportunities."
Meanwhile, delighted Ajax coach Erik ten Hag said the performance had been "as close to perfection as you can get".
Ajax, 25/1 to win the Champions League, are 11/8 to win the Eredivisie title this season.
Source: bet365.com
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s) , give your comment