Ajax did the unthinkable on Tuesday night, eliminating former champions Real Madrid from UCL play 4-1 at the Bernabeu in the second leg and 5-3 on aggregate.
It’s hard to believe Real Madrid won’t be advancing to the final eight, but their poor form continued on Tuesday as a young and hungry Ajax side absolutely outclassed them for 90 minutes on their home turf.
The Dutch powerhouse is advancing to their first quarterfinal since 2003 and could definitely be a team to watch as we progress in this year’s Champions League competition.
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One of the stars of this squad has been Frenkie De Jong, who is heading to Barcelona in the summer for 75 million euros. He proved in this match exactly why Barca is so ecstatic to have him coming to Camp Nou on July 1st.
Brilliant display
De Jong played as one of the holding midfielders in Ajax’s 4-2-3-1 formation against Madrid, and everything that was created in the middle of the pitch ran through De Jong in this match. He was shifting all across the middle to both the left and right channels, while also bringing the ball out from the back to create opportunities on the attack for Ajax.
In the play below, De Jong really showed his pure talent and composure as Vinicius Jr goes sliding as the Dutchman leaves both him and Luka Modric in the dust with a crafty fake and precise turn:
Among being the engine of Ajax’s midfield against Madrid, De Jong also made several key tackles to prevent Real from taking decisive shots on net that could have ended up goals. He outmuscled Karim Benzema in one situation outside the 18-yard box, and also made two different sliding tackles to redirect shots from Modric.
In another scenario where he stripped Vinicius Jr of the ball, he then executed a nifty two touch move to fake out Luka Modric once again.
Frenkie De Jong just putting the best player in the world on the floor... 👀#REAAJA #UCL pic.twitter.com/Wx2dOwYSuZ
— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) March 5, 2019
He put his talents on full display in this match and proved why he’s considered one of the most technical midfielders in all of Europe. De Jong showed the ability numerous times throughout 90 minutes to find his way out of tight spaces with the ball thanks to his world-class skill and a very high football IQ.
He’s not a big offensive force, but the 21-year old is very good at getting the ball over half with pace.
Frenkie De Jong proved on Tuesday to all of Europe that he is the real deal, outplaying 2018’s best player in the world, Luka Modric. He was just simply better than the Croatian all match.
De Jong is a complete midfielder who has defensive abilities that you don’t often find. His performance at the Bernabeu just proved how special he really is.
Barcelona has a world-class talent that is going to absolutely flourish in the La Liga.
Meanwhile, De Jong will look to lead this young and exciting Ajax side into Champions League glory this year.
Based on their impressive form against the defending champions, anything is possible for the Dutch giants.