Lasse Schone bagged an 84th-minute equaliser as Ajax drew 2-2 with 10-man Celtic in their Europa League opener at the Amsterdam ArenA tonight.
Goals from Nir Biton and Mikael Lustig, either side of Viktor Fischer's equaliser, helped the Bhoys into a 2-1 half-time lead.
However, Emilio Izaguirre picked up a second yellow card with 15 minutes to play as Ajax piled on the pressure, and it paid off when Schone's free kick flew past Craig Gordon.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how the event unfolded this evening.
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Match statistics
AJAX
Shots: 18
On target: 3
Possession: 63%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 9
CELTIC
Shots: 10
On target: 4
Possession: 37%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
Undoubtedly. At 11 versus 11, Celtic were good value for their 2-1 lead, and Ronny Deila's men were arguably the better side in the second half, but Ajax did more than enough after Izaguirre's dismissal to warrant a point at the bare minimum.
Ajax's performance
Frank de Boer will have conflicting emotions after watching that. On one hand, the Ajax coach will be relieved to have earned a point when at one stage it seemed like zero were on offer. That being said, the hosts did have enough chances in the first half, at 1-1, to move ahead and those opportunities may be replaying in the Dutchman's mind right about now.
At times in the first half, Ajax played some excellent ball and their goal was a superb team move befitting of the club's rich history. Left-winger Amin Younes drove in field before squaring to Davy Klaassen, whose exquisite first-time flick found Fischer, and the midfielder found the bottom right-hand corner from outside the box.
They failed to build on it, however, and Celtic re-established the lead shortly before the break with a goal that will have Ajax's defensive coaches pulling their hair out. After the break, the hosts struggled and were fortunate not find themselves further behind after their visitors spurned a few promising chances.
In truth, Ajax needed Izaguirre's red card. They needed something to give them hope because, at the time, it was criminally simple for Celtic, who were closing the game out with ease. They slowly but surely grew on top, though, with Arkadiusz Milik's looping header dropping against the post, before Schone's free kick - which was meant as a cross - deceived everybody en route to finding the corner.
Celtic's performance
Knocked out of the Champions League and trailing Aberdeen by five points in the Scottish Premiership, Deila earmarked victory here to galvanise his troops following a rough couple of weeks. He did not get the result that he would have wanted, but he certainly got the performance.
After just eight minutes, the Scottish champions moved ahead when Kris Commons showed excellent fleet of foot before squaring to the unmarked Biton, who drilled his effort past Jasper Cillessen from the right-hand side. From there, Celtic reverted to a defensive, hit-on-the-break strategy and they looked rather comfortable. Although it was deserved, after the Dutch side began to seriously threaten, even the equaliser was more about Ajax's quality than anything else.
Unperturbed, Celtic finished the half well on top, with the quiet striker Leigh Griffiths suddenly springing to life to force an excellent save from Cillessen, before Lustig headed home a Commons corner to reclaim the lead in timely fashion. It was completely against the run of play, but that goal floored Ajax somewhat and Deila's side were in complete control for large spells after the break, with Lustig and Griffiths squandering good chances to extend the advantage.
However, the complexion of the game was altered dramatically when the over-zealous Izaguirre went off after picking up a stupid second booking. Celtic survived one or two scares, before Schone's free kick put the hosts back on level terms as Izaguirre proved the villain of the piece. Still, Deila will have seen enough to feel proud of his troops for their effort. Well, most of them.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Nir Biton: The Celtic man was superb throughout. He opened the scoring with a fine angled effort inside 10 minutes, and was a reliable sentry in the middle of midfield as he broke up Ajax attacks time and time again.
Biggest gaffe
The already-booked Izaguirre was stupid for the way in which he lunged into Anwar El Ghazi on 75 minutes - and that is putting it mildly. The left-back committed a needless sliding tackle on the Ajax winger and was deservedly sent off. Celtic seemed in complete control at the time and, whether or not Deila admits it, Izaguirre cost his side all three points.
Referee performance
Luca Banti was perhaps a touch lenient on Ajax as he overlooked a number of fouls committed by the hosts, but overall the Italian official did nothing that either manager can complain about in their post-match interviews.
What next?
Ajax: The Eredivisie leaders are back in action on Sunday as they face Excelsior away.
Celtic: Also returning on Sunday, Deila's troops host Dundee at Celtic Park.
Shane Callaghan
