Ajax vs Tottenham: Matthijs de Ligt living a ‘nightmare’ after watching Champions League dream die against Spurs
Lucas Moura’s 96th-minute winner left Ajax stunned after Tottenham’s fought back from 3-0 down to reach the Champions League final on away goals
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ajax’s teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt described their semi-final exit from the Champions League as a "nightmare" after the Dutch side were undone by Lucas Moura's 96th minute strike for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
After securing an impressive 1-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, Ajax looked to be cruising into the final thanks to first-half goals from De Light and Hakim Ziyech, leaving Mauricio Pochettino’s side a mountain to climb if they wanted to reach a first ever European Cup final.
But an inspiring fightback in the second half saw Lucas score a hat-trick that was completed deep into injury time, setting up an all-English final next month and ending Ajax’s hopes of emulating their 1996 Champions League final success.
“It’s a nightmare, like a dream that went bad,” the 19-year-old told Dutch television shortly after the 3-2 home loss saw Spurs go through to the final against Liverpool in Madrid on 1 June on the away goals rule.
“We played well in the first half, we had it all our way,” he added.
“We didn’t keep up the same pressure in the second half.
“We gave silly goals away. We were so close to the final – and then the ball goes in. Unbelievable.”
Lucas squeezed in a shot six minutes into stoppage time past Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana to complete his hat-trick and a stunning comeback for the Premier League side, just 24 hours after Liverpool had done exactly the same in defeating Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate after losing the first leg 3-0.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments