Live Commentary:&nbsp;Ajax 1-2 Real Madrid - as it happened

90+3 minBig save from Courtois late on to keep out a strike from Dolberg! The forward slipped as he had the shot and the Real Madrid stopper made the save. A big one at that.

90+3 minTime is running out for Ajax as another deep ball is headed clear by Ramos.

90+1 minWe are into the first of three additional minutes of stoppage time here.

90 minRamos (Real Madrid) is booked for bringing Dolberg to the deck.

88 minAsensio has done it! Real Madrid score a second as the Spaniard turns a deep cross from Carvajal into the back of the net. Huge moment in this last-16 tie!

87 minAJAX 1-2 REAL MADRID (ASENSIO)

87 minStunning noise inside the stadium tonight. The home fans are driving their team forward.

86 minLittle under five minutes of the second period remaining and Real Madrid have been on the front foot for some time. That said, Ajax are still a huge threat on the counter-attack.

84 minVazquez (Real Madrid) is booked for a poor challenge on Neres.

82 minComfortable save for Onana this time to keep out an effort from Asensio.

81 minREAL MADRID SUB! Mariano replaces Vinicius for the away side.

CLOSE!

80 minAsensio's effort from the edge of the Ajax box just misses the target!

78 minLucas bends an effort wide of the Ajax post from distance.

76 minAll square! And they deserve it! Ajax level the scores in the 75th minute as Ziyech smashes a low cross from Neres into the bottom corner of the net. Level in Amsterdam!

75 minGOAL! AJAX 1-1 REAL MADRID (ZIYECH)

74 minDolberg breaks into the Real Madrid box with his first touch, but then fires over!

73 minREAL MADRID SUB! Asensio replaces Benzema for the away side.

72 minAJAX SUB! Dolberg replaces Schone for the home side.

71 min... Schone's effort is easily saved by Courtois.

71 minAjax have a free kick in a dangerous position outside the Real Madrid box...

70 minReguilon (Real Madrid) is booked for a late challenge on Ziyech.

69 minDolberg will be the first Ajax player off the bench, with that change due to happen shortly. Still more than 20 minutes for the home side to find a leveller in this first leg.

67 minVinicius is fortunate to escape a booking for bringing Ziyech to the deck.

65 minLittle over 25 minutes of this first leg remaining and Benzema's goal is the difference. Will Ajax introduce Dolberg and Huntelaar? The home side really need to score tonight.

63 minAjax need to be very, very careful that they do not concede another during this spell.

61 minREAL MADRID SUB! Lucas Vazquez replaces Bale.

61 minBreakthrough! Real Madrid take the lead on the hour as Vinicius drives into the Ajax box before feeding Benzema, who finds the top corner of the net with a wonderful strike!

60 minAJAX 0-1 REAL MADRID (BENZEMA)

59 minThis is the type of match where Cristiano Ronaldo would have popped up with a double to help Real Madrid to win it 2-0. Ronaldo is no longer available for the European champions, but they still have enough talent on the field to score an away goal in Amsterdam.

57 minAsensio and Lucas would be in Solari's thinking when it comes to potential changes, while Huntelaar and Dolberg are both on the Ajax bench. So much talent in reserve tonight.

55 minWould Ajax take a 0-0? You'd have to say that they probably would. Away goals are so often vital in these fixtures and it would be some effort to keep a clean sheet in this match.

53 minZiyech (Ajax) is booked for a poor challenge on Bale.

52 minSmart save from Courtois to keep out a powerful strike from Neres!

51 minBale has the chance to charge clear down the right, but there are no takers on the Welshman's low cross into the box. Not quite happened for Bale thus far tonight.

49 minNot too much to report in the early stages of the second half, but Ajax have again been ambitious. A mistake from Reguilon has just almost allowed Neres in, but no harm done.

47 min... no changes from either side at the break, which is not much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second half develops here.

KICKOFF:

46 minAjax resume the action on home soil...

9.01pmBENCH WATCH! Real Madrid have a lot of attacking talent on their bench tonight, with Asensio, Ceballos, Mariano and Lucas Vazquez all available. Ajax, meanwhile, have plenty of goals in the shape of Dolberg and Huntelaar, while Sinkgraven is a midfield option for the hosts.

8.56pmSTATISTICS! Ajax had 52% of the possession in the first period, hitting the target with three of their 10 attempts. Real Madrid, meanwhile, hit the target with all four of their attempts. No yellow cards to report in the first 45 minutes. In truth, it has not been that type of match.

8.51pmSo there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with the two teams level at 0-0. That does not begin to tell the story, however, with Ajax having a goal ruled out while also having a number of chances to make the breakthrough. Real Madrid have had their moments in the final third, but the home side deserve to lead at this stage of the contest.

HALF TIME:

45+2 minAJAX 0-0 REAL MADRID

45+2 min... Schone's free kick is punched clear by Courtois.

45+2 minAjax have a free kick in a dangerous area as Tagliafico is felled by Carvajal...

45+1 minWe are into the first of two additional minutes at the end of the first period.

45 minAjax are very much on the front foot at the moment as they look to take the lead before the interval. Ajax have been a soft touch in recent years, but they look really good tonight.

CLOSE!

43 minTadic pokes just wide of the Real Madrid post!

41 minNot sure that there was too much in it, but the score is still goalless. Tadic stepped into Courtois, which was the reason for the call. VAR? Not for me, still a matter of opinion!

DISALLOWED GOAL!

40 minNo goal! Oh my word! The referee has seen a foul on Courtois!

39 minOr is it a goal?! VAR...

38 minHuge moment! Courtois makes a mess of a header from De Ligt and Tagliafico rises highest inside the box to head into the back of the Real Madrid net for 1-0!

37 minAJAX 1-0 REAL MADRID (TAGLIAFICO)

36 minWonderful save from Courtois as the Real Madrid goalkeeper spreads himself to keep out a strike from Ziyech. Huge chance for Ajax and Courtois came to the rescue!

34 minNot since the 2002-03 campaign have Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but Ten Hag's side went unbeaten in the group stages of the competition, drawing both home and away with Bayern Munich. They have more than matched Real Madrid thus far here.

32 minOnana is on hand to keep out a long-range attempt from Bale.

31 minAjax have incredibly scored 72 times in 21 league matches this season, while they netted 11 times in the group stage of the Champions League. Both Huntelaar and Dolberg are on the bench for the home side tonight and we could see one or both of those in the second period.

OFF THE POST!

28 minHuge chance for Ajax as Tadic breaks into the Real Madrid box, but his effort bends away before hitting the post! That sparks another spell of pressure from the home side.

28 minAt this stage of last season, Madrid overcame Paris Saint-Germain. The Spanish outfit have won on five of their last six visits to the Netherlands and in their current form, they will be extremely confident of picking up an advantage ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu on March 5. Any away goal for the Spanish giants tonight would be huge, that is for sure.

26 minLos Blancos are not seen as the favourites to win the Champions League this season, but they have only lost six of their last 39 European matches, while they simply cannot be written off due to their incredible success in the competition. Still goalless with 26 minutes on the clock.

24 minReal Madrid's 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Saturday was particularly impressive and quite probably the result, along with the draw at Barcelona, that showed that they mean business at this stage of the season. Solari's team continue to dominate the ball in this match.

22 minSolari's team are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, which has seen them move to within six points of La Liga leaders Barcelona, in addition to making the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. The capital giants are the favourites to reach the final of the cup, meanwhile, having picked up a 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the first leg of their last-four clash at Camp Nou. It would be fair to say that Madrid are now enjoying good possession in Amsterdam.

20 minReal Madrid lost home and away to CSKA Moscow in the group stages, but still managed to top the section with 12 points. It would be fair to say that Los Blancos have had their problems this season, but it does appear that a corner has been turned in recent weeks.

18 minThis is Real Madrid's 23rd Champions League campaign and indeed the 23rd time that they have reached the knockout stage. The 13-time champions have been semi-finalists or better in each of the last eight seasons and are rightly the favourites to progress past Ajax to make the final eight once again.

16 minComfortable save for Onama to keep out Bale's header from the resulting corner kick.

15 minExcellent save from the Ajax stopper to tip a curling Vinicius effort over!

15 minErik ten Hag's side entered this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Heracles in the league on February 9. A total of 50 points has left them in second position in the Eredivisie, but they have lost two of their last three league fixtures and are six points off division leaders PSV Eindhoven.

13 min... Schone strikes straight into the away side's defensive wall.

12 minZiyech is standing over a free kick just outside the Real Madrid box...

12 minNot since the 2002-03 campaign have Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while the Dutch outfit have only been victorious in two of their last 14 European matches against Spanish opposition. That said, Ajax are impressively unbeaten in Europe this season. Indeed, they have won seven of their 12 matches and only finished two points behind Bayern Munich in Group E. The Dutch outfit drew home and away against Bayern, demonstrating that this team is certainly capable of causing Madrid problems. That has been the case thus far!

CLOSE!

10 minMazraoui sends a low strike just wide of the Real Madrid post!

10 minOn Real Madrid's last visit to Amsterdam in October 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win. I would be very, very surprised if we had a score like that tonight.

8 minAnother strike from Ziyech ends up wide of the away side's post.

7 minSouthampton fans will be intrigued to see Tadic in the centre-forward role for Ajax tonight. It never quite happened for him at St Mary's, but he is Ajax's leading scorer this season. Casemiro has just had to make an excellent challenge outside his box following another break.