In my preview of the game I highlighted the amount of goal scoring opportunities that Ajax created against Real Madrid during their first leg meeting in Amsterdam, and last night it was a case of 'more of the same' from the Dutch outfit. Always threatening when coming forward, Ajax ended the 90 minutes with 19 efforts on goal, yet could only hit the target on 6 occasions. Juventus on the other hand ended the 90 minutes with 7 shots on goal (6 coming during the first half alone) with 2 hitting the target, so guess what the result was? That's right. . .
AJAX 1-1 JUVENTUS
Ajax made their intentions clear very early on, attack & press the life out of their opponents. However Ajax never really took full advantage of the chances that they were creating, a strike from Ziyech forcing Szczesny into action to prevent the opening goal, with Donny van de Beek also going close from 13 yards. Despite playing the better football of the two sides Ajax would be the one's that found themselves going into the half time break a goal down. Ronaldo marking his return from injury in trademark fashion with an all important goal in the champions league, it was a goal created in Portugal, Cancelo darting towards the Ajax penalty box before delicately chipping the ball towards a sprinting Ronaldo who dived to head the ball beyond Onana and into the Ajax goal for 1-0.
As soon as the second half kicked off all the feel good factor from Ronaldo's goal quickly vanished in the space of 30 seconds, as David Neres capitalised on a mistake by Joao Cancelo & racing towards a waiting Szczesny who could do little to prevent Neres from scoring. Joao Cancelo, from hero to zero. From then on wards it was pretty much one way traffic for Ajax who went on to register 13 attempts on goal in the second half alone. However there was one bright spot for Juventus, Douglas Costa replaced Mandzukic as a second half substitute and it was a move that almost paid off, As the Brazilian left Joel Veltman for dead with a brilliant piece of skill before rattling the post with a powerful strike. So what did we learn from this result? More importantly, what did Juventus learn?
WASTEFUL AJAX :
For large periods of the game Ajax were the better side, pressing & harassing Juventus with their attacking play, however, Ajax's attacks were largely ineffective. Despite enjoying the luxury of 19 efforts on goal over the 90 minutes, only 6 managed to hit the target. Why did Ajax find it so difficult to hit the target? Simple, 11 of Ajax's efforts on goal came from outside the box, Ziyech alone contributing 6 of those long range efforts (one that required a fine save from Szczesny to prevent the goal). Donny van de Beek however did not have the excuse of miss firing from long range, his effort narrowly missing the target despite being inside of Juventus penalty box. In writing the amount of chances Ajax created looks incredibly scary, but when seen in action? Wasteful. Will it cost Ajax in the long run? Time will tell.
JUVE APPREHENSION :
It was clear from the offset that Allegri was taking little chances with his tactics. Knowing full well what type of team Juve were up against, Allegri's side sat back & absorbed pressure from Ajax throughout the night, perhaps due to fear? At times Juventus players wanted more time on the ball but really should have known better, as Ajax were having none of it & snatched possession away from their opponents with a ferocious press. What Juventus could have, and perhaps should have done, was attack their opponents on the counter more often than they did. Juventus did have success on the counter attack when put into action, case in point when Bentancur sprung on a loose pass to begin the counter and find Bernardeschi in space, despite being inside of the Ajax penalty box and in a promising position to score, the Italian failed to pull the trigger & ultimately lost possession. Juventus must do better in the second leg, allowing Ajax to dictate the tempo & flow of the game once again could prove a costly mistake.
RUGANI :
Special praise for Rugani is necessary, called into action once Chiellini was ruled out due to injury. The spotlight was on Rugani to put in a solid performance, and he did just that, registering the most amount of clearances for his side and dealing with Ajax pressure very competently. Put in more performances like this and not only will it build up his own confidence, but the fans confidence in his abilities also.
RONALDO FACTOR :
Well, what can you say that hasn't already been said to describe Ronaldo? He is simply a difference maker, and once again he was the difference between Juventus going into the half time break with either their heads down or with a 1-0 lead. There is a feeling that with Ronaldo in your team that all you need is to create one clear cut chance, and the number 7 will hit the back of the net. Team mates have spoken about it over the season, from Giorgio Chiellini "Before, the Champions League was a dream. Now it is a target because Cristiano is the best player in the world and we need him to make the last step.", to Allegri in his post match comments after the Ajax game, "Ronaldo proved once again he is a player of a different level. His timing and movement is different to everyone else." Contrasting the volume of shots on goal that Ajax created throughout the night, Ronaldo could only muster 2, with one resulting in a Juventus goal. Many times Ronaldo has been the difference between victory & elimination for his teams in this competition (as Juventus fans know all too well), when Ronaldo is at his clinical best all that he needs is one clear cut opportunity to score, last night was no different. In the return leg Ronaldo will be hoping that he is presented with more chances to get his name on the score sheet, judging by the way that Ajax approached the game last night, Juventus are going to need their star signing to once again be the lethal finisher that he is known for.
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