Matthijs de Ligt strikes decisive header for Ajax to overcome Juventus
First Real Madrid, now Juventus. What a story this Champions League campaign is turning into for Ajax, who produced another remarkable performance to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 1997, courtesy of a goal scored by a player who was not even born when they met Juventus in that last-four tie 22 years ago.
Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax’s 19-year-old captain, ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of winning a fourth successive Champions League title and a first for Juventus with an imperious header that was no more than the visitors deserved. Ronaldo had earlier registered his 126th Champions League goal with a header of his own but little else went right for Juventus on a night that belonged to Ajax.