Ajax Tame Haaland

Key to victory for Ajax was always going to be how they dealt with superstar Erling Haaland, and dealt with him they did reducing Dortmund Norwegian star striker to just a handful of half chances while cruising to a comfortable victory in front of their home fans at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Dominant Ajax

Ajax dominated the opening 11 minutes of the game and took a deserved lead at the hands of a surprising own goal by captain Marco Reus. It didn’t take long for Ajax to double their lead when, in the 25th minute, Daley Blind received the ball from the on-fire Sébastien Haller on the edge of the box and found the bottom left corner with a clinical finish.

It wasn’t until the stroke of half time that Dortmund managed to register their first real threat of the game with Erling Haaland’s left footed shot from the centre of the box directed straight at keeper Pasveer.

The German outfit started the second half far better than the first, forcing an early save from Pasveer, once again from Haaland, before Marco Reus had an attempt go high and wide.

Just as it appeared Dortmund were finding their way back into the game, Ajax struck in the 57th minute as Sébastien Haller’s header found Antony on the edge of the box and he beautifully struck the bottom left corner all but finishing off BVB’s attempted comeback.

After a couple of half chances for Haaland that came to nothing, Haller- who had been provider for most of the night- rose to meet Daley Blind’s cross and headed into the top of the net making it an emphatic 4-0 for Ajax.

The Amsterdam based club will have left the Johan Cruyff Arena ecstatic, spanking the group’s toughest competition, and essentially guaranteeing their progression into the Round of 16.

Team Line Up

Ajax

Remko Pasveer; Daley Blind, Lisandro Martínez, Jurriën Timber, Noussair Mazraoui; Ryan Gravenberch, Steven Berghuis, Edson Álvarez; Dušan Tadić (C), Sébastien Haller, Antony dos Santos.

*Goalscorer in bold

Borussia Dortmund

Gregor Kobel; Nico Schulz, Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji, Thomas Meunier; Julian Brandt, Axel Witsel, Jude Bellingham; Donyell Malen, Erling Haaland, Marco Reus (C)

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Main image credit: Embed from Getty Images