MX23RW : Monday, February 3 13:19:34| >> :120:76405:76405:
[monks data]
Attendance: 50,390
Ajax
Champions League | Quarter-Finals
Apr 10, 2019 at 8pm UK
 
Juventus logo

1-1

Neres (46')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Ronaldo (45')

Ronaldo nets 125th Champions League goal as Juve draw at Ajax

Ronaldo nets 125th Champions League goal as Juve draw at Ajax
© Reuters
David Neres cancelled out Ronaldo's opener.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned from injury to score his 125th Champions League goal but Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by impressive Ajax in the first leg of their quarter-final in Amsterdam.

After beating holders Real Madrid in the previous round, Ajax again took the game to one of Europe's giants and more than deserved the superb equaliser scored by David Neres less than a minute after half-time.

Having missed four games with a thigh injury, Ronaldo was back in the starting line-up and back among the goals, heading in the opener in the 45th minute for his eighth goal in his last five Champions League matches against Ajax.

That goal gives the Italians a slight advantage heading to Turin but, after Ajax's 4-1 victory in the Bernabeu last month, Juve will know they still have a lot of work to do.

The visitors had the first attempt on goal when Federico Bernardeschi sent a strong effort over the bar in the second minute, but Ajax had most of the better chances for the rest of the first half.

Hakim Ziyech was a thorn in Juventus' side and he produced two good shots from range before forcing Wojciech Szczesny into a fine save when he finished off a spell of pressure by curling a 20-yard effort towards the top corner.

Donny van de Beek had an even better opening in the 25th minute when he was found by Dusan Tadic 15 yards out but his first touch was heavy and he could only drill a shot wide.

Juve had threatening moments, with Bernardeschi sending another shot wide in the 37th minute, and when a clear opportunity finally arrived inevitably it was Ronaldo who took it.

He had been largely anonymous but played the ball out to Joao Cancelo on the right and then burst all alone into the centre of the penalty area, where he directed a flying header into the net. Andre Onana got a hand to the ball but had little chance of keeping it out.

The scoreline was harsh on Ajax, but they were level straight from the restart. Neres dispossessed Cancelo on the left-hand touchline and drove into the box before curling a superb effort into the far corner.

Ajax immediately went in search of a second and Nicolas Tagliafico fired into the side netting while Neres had the ball in the net again but was clearly offside.

Ronaldo appealed for a penalty in the 53rd minute after feeling he had been pulled back as he tried to get on the end of Bernardeschi's free-kick but, after a quick VAR check, the officials were in agreement that it was not a foul.

The vast majority of the pressure was coming from Ajax, though, as they continued to demonstrate that their upset of Real was just as much about their excellence as the difficulties of their opponents.

Substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp came closest to finding a winner in the 83rd minute but could not get enough power on the effort to beat Szczesny.

Ajax then had to ride their luck as Juve substitute Douglas Costa, returning from two months out with a thigh injury, raced into the area and crashed a shot against the far post.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'd0aab5cb-0bcb-496a-8584-542b75e8770d');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Ronaldo nets 125th Champions League goal as Juve draw at Ajax'});

ID:355871: cacheID:355871:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7862:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ajax boss Erik ten Hag pictured in March 2019
Read Next:
Ten Hag relishing Ajax's underdog status
>
Read more about Cristiano Ronaldo Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
QLiverpool870121
QInter Milan861119
QBarcelona861119
QArsenal861119
QAtletico860218
QB. Leverkusen851216
QAston Villa851216
QLille851216
9Real Madrid850315
10AC Milan850315
11Atalanta843115
12Dortmund850315
13Bayern850315
14PSV842214
15Benfica841313
16Feyenoord841313
17PSG841313
18Monaco841313
19Brest841313
20Juventus833212
21Celtic833212
22Man City832311
23Sporting Lisbon832311
24Brugge832311
25Dinamo Zagreb832311
26Stuttgart831410
27Shakhtar82157
28Bologna81346
29Red Star82066
30Sturm Graz82066
31Sparta Prague81164
32RB Leipzig81073
33Girona81073
34Salzburg81073
35Slovan Bratislava80080
36Young Boys80080


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!