Juve nab away goal but Ajax given hope after Neres leveller

Ajax 1-1 Juventus: match report

Ajax and Juventus played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Amsterdam in a game that Ajax will feel unlucky not to have won while Juventus had their chances too.

The game swung back and forth with Ajax piling pressure on Juventus' defence with their delightful combinations often catching defenders unaware. Juventus looked dangerous, as usual, with Ronaldo lurking and Bernardeschi's left foot locked, loaded and ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Juventus looked dangerous when they broke and had spells of possession where they controlled affairs themselves.

After a wobbly start, Ajax came to life thanks to their tricky right winger, Hakim Ziyech. A couple of efforts in quick succession from him off his left foot had Ajax fans crying out for more.

Juventus contained them during that spell and came back to life themselves. Just as the same baying fans in the Johan Cruyff Arena were all set to relieve themselves and hit the bar at half-time, Ronaldo zipped up the middle and met a Joao Cancelo cross with Onana left exposed. His limp left-hand could not stop the header and Juventus were ahead.

Stunned, the fans trudged to the concession stands and waited in line. And before they were back from their bathroom breaks and topping up on their Heinekens, David Neres had Ajax level.

Within the opening minute of the half, he curled past Szczesny and Ajax were back. They were relentless for the following 20 minutes with Ziyech, Neres and Tadic all causing harm in the penalty area.

It was, however, Douglas Costa who had the best chance to break the tie open again. He shrugged of a couple of challenges before driving low as his shot crashed off the base of the post.

There were flickers of attacking football for the remainder but it felt like both teams were content to settle for a draw, regroup and approach the second leg with fresh legs and full hearts in a week's time.

Ajax, who have good memories of second legs after their demolition of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu as they travel to Turin where Juve pulverised Atlético after losing the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The only thing we truly learned on Wednesday in Amsterdam is that these two sides are harder to seperate than we might have initially thought and both managers will be both relieved and a little disappointed not to have landed a more substantial blow to their opponents' hopes in the first 90.

Ajax vs Juventus live online: Champions League build-up

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Two of the most unlikely quarter-finalists in the competition after their first leg last 16 games meet in Amsterdam on Wednesday night. Ajax knocked Real Madrid out at the Santiago Bernabéu after losing the first leg 2-1 at home. They not only hammered Real Madrid but knocked them out of the competition they were aiming to win for the fourth time in a row. Juventus lost 2-0 to Atlético Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano before a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick saw them advance at the expense of their Spanish opponents. They are also two of European football’s iconic football teams with both hoping to clinch an advantage in the first leg of this Champions League quarter final tie.

Ajax are without Carel Eiting and Noussair Mazraoui but other than that, Ten Hag has a full team to pick from. He has Barcelona-bound De Job in the middle to try and control things but Blind, De Ligt, Tagliafico and Van de Beek will all have to be careful because a yellow will see them miss the second leg.