Ajax stunned Juventus to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 comeback win in Turin.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Juventus the lead after 28 minutes with a record 126th goal in the competition, his ninth in seven meetings against Ajax.
But goals from Donny Van De Beek and Matthijs De Ligt gave Ajax a thoroughly deserved 3-2 aggregate success.
Ajax will meet Manchester City or Tottenham in their first Champions League semi-final for 22 years and many will consider them underdogs again.
But after eliminating Real Madrid, champions for the previous three seasons, and now Juventus, Erik Ten Hag's exciting young side should not be underestimated.
⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo: 599 club goals
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) April 16, 2019
⚽️ Lionel Messi: 597 club goals
We are not worthy 🙌
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- Ajax have qualified for the semi-finals of the European Cup/Champions League for the ninth time in their history, and the first since the 1996-97 season.
- Ajax are the first team from outside the traditional top five European leagues to reach the Champions League semi-final since 2004-05, when fellow Dutch side PSV Eindhoven did so.
- Juventus have lost two home games in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign for the first time in their history (1-2 v both Manchester United and Ajax).
- Ajax have scored 155 goals this season across all competitions, their joint-most in a single season in club history (also 155 in 2009-10).
- This was Ajax’s third consecutive away win in the Champions League; their longest such streak since between November 1995 and March 1997 (seven wins).
- Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 126 goals in the Champions League, with 65 of those coming in the knockout stages; both the most of any player in competition history.
- Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo has netted nine goals against Ajax in the Champions League – only against his current club Juventus (10) has he scored more against a single opponent in the competition.
- This season will be the first Champions League season not to feature Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo at the semi-final stage since 2009-10, when he was eliminated at the Last 16 stage with Real Madrid.
- Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt is the youngest Dutch player to score in a Champions League knockout match (19y 246d) since Nordin Wooter in April 1996 for Ajax versus Panathinaikos (19y 237d).
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