Marco Asensio scored an 87th-minute winner as Real Madrid recorded a 2-1 victory over Ajax in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie in Amsterdam on Wednesday night.
Ajax controversially had a goal disallowed in the first half following a VAR review, but Hakim Ziyech was on the scoresheet in the 75th minute, levelling the scores after Karim Benzema had made the breakthrough on the hour.
Los Blancos were not finished, however, and scored a second through Asensio late on to ensure that they would take an advantage into the second leg of the round of 16 tie at the Bernabeu on March 5.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's minute-by-minute live commentary of the action below.
Evening all and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the Champions League last-16 first leg between Ajax and Real Madrid from Amsterdam. Ajax are present in the round of 16 for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign but have never won at this stage of the Champions League. Madrid, however, have won the last three editions of the Champions League and have been victorious in their last nine two-legged knockout ties in the competition. This should be a cracker... game on!
TEAMS
AJAX: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico; Schone, Van de Beek, De Jong; Neres, Tadic, Ziyech
REAL MADRID: Courtois: Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Reguilon; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Bale, Benzema, Vinicius
Dusan Tadic, who arrived at Ajax from Southampton last summer, has scored 22 times in all competitions for his Dutch club this season and leads the home side's line tonight. Tadic's role in the middle sees both Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Kasper Dolberg left on the bench, with Hakim Ziyech and David Neres providing the support in the wide positions. Matthijs de Ligt - believed to be a target for a host of the world's biggest clubs – starts in central defence, while there will also be a spot for Frenkie de Jong, who is heading for Barcelona this summer. Former Manchester United player Daley Blind also makes the Ajax XI tonight.
As for Real Madrid, the big team news sees Gareth Bale given the nod over Lucas Vazquez in a wide position. Vinicius Junior keeps his spot alongside Karim Benzema in attack, while Sergio Reguilon is again preferred to Marcelo at left-back. No surprises in midfield as Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric start, but there is no Isco, with a back problem ruling the Spaniard out.
The two teams have met on 12 occasions in the European Cup. Madrid lead the head-to-head seven wins to four, with only one draw taking place. Los Blancos have won each of the last six meetings between the two teams, but Ajax won four straight matches against the Spanish giants between April 1973 and November 1995. Right, kickoff in Amsterdam is next!
A period of reflection for the late Emiliano Sala has just been wonderfully observed here.
KICKOFF: Real Madrid get things underway in Amsterdam...
... good start from Ajax as Carvajal is forced to defend his far post under pressure from Neres. Erik ten Hag looks pretty mean on the touchline tonight, very much like he means business.
Ajax have been very impressive in the first four minutes of this match and it must be said that there is a sensational noise inside the stadium. Neres is causing all sorts of problems down the left, but his latest cross into the Real Madrid box is headed clear by the towering Ramos.
SHOT! Ziyech misses the Real Madrid crossbar with a strike from distance.
Southampton 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.
SHOT! Another strike from Ziyech ends up wide of the away side's post.
On 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.
CLOSE! Mazraoui sends a low strike just wide of the Real Madrid post!
Not 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!
Ziyech is standing over a free kick just outside the Real Madrid box...
... Schone strikes straight into the away side's defensive wall.
Erik 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.
SAVE! Excellent save from the Ajax stopper to tip a curling Vinicius effort over!
SAVE! Comfortable save for Onama to keep out Bale's header from the resulting corner kick.
This 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.
Real 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.
Solari'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.
Real 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.
Los 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.
At 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.
OFF THE POST! Huge 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.
Ajax 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.
SAVE! Onana is on hand to keep out a long-range attempt from Bale.
Not 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.
SAVE! Wonderful 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!
GOAL! AJAX 1-0 REAL MADRID (TAGLIAFICO)
Huge 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!
Or is it a goal?! VAR...
DISALLOWED GOAL! No goal! Oh my word! The referee has seen a foul on Courtois!
Not 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!
CLOSE! Tadic pokes just wide of the Real Madrid post!
Ajax 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.
We are into the first of two additional minutes at the end of the first period.
Ajax have a free kick in a dangerous area as Tagliafico is felled by Carvajal...
... Schone's free kick is punched clear by Courtois.
HALF TIME: AJAX 0-0 REAL MADRID
So 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.
STATISTICS! 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.
BENCH 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.
KICKOFF: Ajax resume the action on home soil...
... 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.
Not 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.
Bale 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.
SAVE! Smart save from Courtois to keep out a powerful strike from Neres!
YELLOW CARD! Ziyech (Ajax) is booked for a poor challenge on Bale.
Would 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.
Asensio 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.
This 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.
GOAL! AJAX 0-1 REAL MADRID (BENZEMA)
Breakthrough! 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!
REAL MADRID SUB! Lucas Vazquez replaces Bale.
Ajax need to be very, very careful that they do not concede another during this spell.
Little 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.
Vinicius is fortunate to escape a booking for bringing Ziyech to the deck.
Dolberg 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.
YELLOW CARD! Reguilon (Real Madrid) is booked for a late challenge on Ziyech.
Ajax have a free kick in a dangerous position outside the Real Madrid box...
SAVE! ... Schone's effort is easily saved by Courtois.
AJAX SUB! Dolberg replaces Schone for the home side.
REAL MADRID SUB! Asensio replaces Benzema for the away side.
SHOT! Dolberg breaks into the Real Madrid box with his first touch, but then fires over!
GOAL! GOAL! AJAX 1-1 REAL MADRID (ZIYECH)
All 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!
SHOT! Lucas bends an effort wide of the Ajax post from distance.
CLOSE! Asensio's effort from the edge of the Ajax box just misses the target!
REAL MADRID SUB! Mariano replaces Vinicius for the away side.
SAVE! Comfortable save for Onana this time to keep out an effort from Asensio.
YELLOW CARD! Vazquez (Real Madrid) is booked for a poor challenge on Neres.
Little 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.
Stunning noise inside the stadium tonight. The home fans are driving their team forward.
GOAL! AJAX 1-2 REAL MADRID (ASENSIO)
Asensio 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!
YELLOW CARD! Ramos (Real Madrid) is booked for bringing Dolberg to the deck.
We are into the first of three additional minutes of stoppage time here.
Time is running out for Ajax as another deep ball is headed clear by Ramos.
SAVE! Big 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.
FULL TIME: AJAX 1-2 REAL MADRID
So there we have it. The referee brings the second period to a close with Real Madrid recording a 2-1 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie with Ajax. It was a terrific match, but Ajax have it all to do in the second leg next month. Thanks for joining our live coverage once again!
Written by
Matt Law
Matt Law
