Ajax add compound to type vs Juventus to increase hopes of UCL upset
Johan Cruyff famously when remarked: “Italians cannot beat us, but we can absolutely shed against them.” It summed up the clash of footballing cultures at the time. His Ajax and Barcelona teams could outplay their Serie A counterparts but give up a single probability, allow a single counter, make 1 oversight and expect to be punished.
Cruyff’s terms rang as legitimate Wednesday evening as they did back then. Ajax dominated the 1st leg of their Champions League quarterfinal versus Juventus. They deserved to acquire but nevertheless, their streetwise and vastly expert Italian opponents fly back again household with a attract and an absent target from their only shot on target. The edge is now with the Previous Girl and history stands by her facet. On the 7 situations Juventus have drawn the initial leg away from residence one-one, they have progressed six times which include in opposition to Ajax in 1978.
That claimed, Ajax should draw toughness from this encounter. A group that has scored one hundred plans in the Eredivisie, 44 on the street, will back again on their own to score at the Allianz Stadium even with Juventus’ captain and greatest defender Giorgio Chiellini expected to return for Hakim Ziyech Jersey the 7-time defending Italian champions.
The Barcelona-certain midfielder had practically double the touches of his Juventus counterpart Miralem Pjanic, who typically found himself surrounded or rushed by Donny van de Beek. The simplicity with which Ajax and De Jong in distinct circulated the ball highlighted the limitations of Juventus’ midfield and the absence of Emre Can. The German worldwide, whose role in the comeback against Atleti — dropping deep to facilitate the Bianconeri’s establish-up, which in flip permitted the entire-backs to thrust up and stretch Diego Simeone’s side — was arguably much more keenly felt than that the Chiellini-formed hole in this team.
Juventus did not set out to participate in a defensive recreation with Allegri’s intention to keep away from a repeat of the 2- defeat in Madrid. Escaping defeat was 1 thing but guaranteeing Juventus were being not as passive and arrived away with a treasured absent objective was yet another. From that position of check out, the evening was a results. Juventus will not require one more epic night to e-book a position in the previous 4, but Klaas Huntelaar Ajax Jersey caused them a large amount of complications.