Ajax vs Tottenham: Matthijs de Ligt living a ‘nightmare’ after watching Champions League dream die against Spurs
Lucas Moura’s 96th-minute winner left Ajax stunned after Tottenham’s fought back from 3-0 down to reach the Champions League final on away goals
Ajax’s teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt described their semi-final exit from the Champions League as a "nightmare" after the Dutch side were undone by Lucas Moura's 96th minute strike for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
After securing an impressive 1-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last week, Ajax looked to be cruising into the final thanks to first-half goals from De Light and Hakim Ziyech, leaving Mauricio Pochettino’s side a mountain to climb if they wanted to reach a first ever European Cup final.
But an inspiring fightback in the second half saw Lucas score a hat-trick that was completed deep into injury time, setting up an all-English final next month and ending Ajax’s hopes of emulating their 1996 Champions League final success.
“It’s a nightmare, like a dream that went bad,” the 19-year-old told Dutch television shortly after the 3-2 home loss saw Spurs go through to the final against Liverpool in Madrid on 1 June on the away goals rule.
“We played well in the first half, we had it all our way,” he added.
Player ratings: Ajax vs Tottenham
Show all 23“We didn’t keep up the same pressure in the second half.
“We gave silly goals away. We were so close to the final – and then the ball goes in. Unbelievable.”
Lucas squeezed in a shot six minutes into stoppage time past Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana to complete his hat-trick and a stunning comeback for the Premier League side, just 24 hours after Liverpool had done exactly the same in defeating Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate after losing the first leg 3-0.
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