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.
Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires Spurs team's second goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Everton at the Etihad Stadium in
Jesus Shines As City Regain Top Spot, Eriksen Fires Spurs
Man City appeal possible Champions League ban getty, Michael Regan Manchester City have launched a legal bid to stop UEFA banning them from the 2020-2021 Champions League, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday.
Man City appeal against possible Champions League ban
Pochettino conceded he had blundered with his game-plan, but the Tottenham manager was also angry with the lethargic way his players started the club's first European Cup semi-final for 57 years. "Watching now of course I can accept it was a mistake the shape we used. But there were not too many options," Pochettino told BT Sport. "I am not happy.
'I made a mistake': Pochettino takes blame but slams 'sloppy
Following the victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final, Liverpool will compete in the Club World Cup towards the end of the year. with the Reds also set to play in the Community
'World Cup remaining' for Reds - Latest News
And unlike England camps of old where club rivalries have left to factions forming on international duty, Kane believes Gareth Southgate's squad will not be distracted ahead of Euro 2020
Kane: Club rivalries will not split England camp, Latest
SAO PAULO (REUTERS) - Brazilian soccer great Pele had a successful operation to remove a kidney stone on Saturday (April 13), doctors in Sao Paulo said. Football: Pele recovering well after
Pele recovering well after kidney stone operation - Football
Football: Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires Spurs Manchester City's Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus (second right) celebrates scoring with team mates. PHOTO: AFP
Football Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires
Gareth Southgate hailed 'electric' Raheem Sterling after the England star terrorised Czech Republic at Wembley. The Manchester City attacker scored a hat-trick as England produced a breathtaking
Raheem Sterling And Leroy Sane Are Purring At Manchester City
Kepa Arrizabalaga should be "sacked" for his extraordinary show of dissent towards coach Maurizio Sarri during Chelsea's EFL Cup Final defeat to Manchester City, according to Chris Sutton. Kepa
Kepa Arrizabalaga deserves to be sacked by Chelsea after
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
(Reuters) - Manchester City's England forward Raheem Sterling has been awarded The Integrity and Impact Award at this year's BT Sport Industry Awards for speaking out on a range of social issues, including racism. Sterling was recognised for his fight against racism in the sport and for using his platform to call for more action to be taken.
Hello Web Admin, I noticed that your On-Page SEO is is missing a few factors, for one you do not use all three H tags in your post, also I notice that you are not using bold or italics properly in your SEO optimization.
Corpus of articles from the English newspaper 'The Financial
Patrice Evra claims accusations of homophobia have been invented by French media after he used an anti-homosexual slur in a social media spat with Paris Saint-Germain More Earlier, PSG condemned "Patrice Evra's homophobic insults aimed at us on social media" after a bizarre spat in which Evra used the French word "pede", a derogatory term
In France, there will arguably be no bigger star on show than Marta. The Brazilian is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, and she still knows how to strike fear into the hearts of
The Standard - Kenya: CS Amina Mohamed surprises Harambee
0 comments:
Post a Comment