Tottenham toil as Ajax gain vital advantage in Champions League semi-final

Posted Wednesday, May 01, 2019 by PA

Tottenham will have it all to do in Amsterdam next week if they are to keep their Champions League dream alive as Ajax claimed a 1-0 win in the semi-final first leg.

But bigger questions will be asked of Spurs’ medical team after they allowed Jan Vertonghen to return to the field after a nasty head injury.

The Belgium defender was given the all-clear by the doctors but was barely able to walk moments later and was escorted off.

Tottenham toil as Ajax gain vital advantage in Champions League semi-final — Mauricio Pochettino, second right, assists Jan Vertonghen (Mike Egerton/PA)

That soured Spurs’ night even further as they went down to Donny Van De Beek’s first-half goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This was just their second ever European Cup semi-final, and 57 years since their last one, but they are not out of it as they showed that this excellent Ajax side can be got at, even if they did not force goalkeeper Andre Onana into a meaningful save.

They will have Son Heung-min, and maybe Harry Kane, back for the second leg and they will have no option but to go for it in the Dutch capital.

That moment when…😍#UCL #totaja pic.twitter.com/vg7Kfin0k2
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) April 30, 2019

Erik Ten Hag’s side showed glimpses of exactly why they have beaten Real Madrid and Juventus en route to the last four as they cut Spurs open in the opening 20 minutes.

They could have put one foot in the final, but David Neres’ second-half shot hit the post.