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Madrid out of Champions League

Spurs beat Dortmund to reach quarterfinals


March 07, 2019 00:00:00


Real Madrid players looking dejected as Ajax players celebrating during their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg match at Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday — Internet

MADRID, Mar 06 (Reuters): Holders Real Madrid were sensationally knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday after being thrashed 4-1 at home by an outstanding Ajax Amsterdam who overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals 5-3 on aggregate.

The humiliating defeat completed a miserable week for Real, who have monopolised the competition since 2016 and are now left with nothing to fight for this season after back-to-back defeats to Barcelona had knocked them out of the Copa del Rey and effectively ended their La Liga title hopes.

Coach Santiago Solari may yet cling to his job until the end of the season but surely stands no chance of remaining for the next campaign after overseeing an almighty collapse to an exciting yet largely inexperienced Ajax side.

Moroccan midfielder Hakim Ziyech fired the Dutch side into a shock seventh-minute lead after a lay off from the outstanding Dusan Tadic, who also provided the pass for David Neres to double the Dutch side's advantage in the 18th.

Madrid, who were missing inspirational captain Sergio Ramos through suspension and hit the woodwork twice in the first half, came out stronger after the interval but were dealt a fatal blow when Serbia international Tadic crowned his sensational display by hammering into the top corner in the 62nd minute.

Substitute Marco Asensio gave Madrid a glimmer of hope by striking back but it was quickly extinguished by a breathtaking free kick from Lasse Schone, condemning Real to a fourth consecutive home defeat in all competitions. Ajax, who have won the trophy four times, most recently in 1995, reached the last eight of Europe's top competition for the first time since 2003.

Thirteen-times winners Madrid, who have lifted the trophy in four of the last five years, and had reached at least the semi-finals for the last eight seasons, suffered their earliest elimination since 2010.

It was their joint heaviest ever home defeat in Europe, having also lost by three goals to CSKA Moscow in the group stage in December.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur beat hosts Borussia Dortmund 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a clinical Harry Kane finish, to stroll into the Champions League quarter-finals for only the second time in their history with a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Kane, who missed the first leg through injury, fired in the winner shortly after the restart and against the run of play to silence a fiery home crowd and leave Dortmund needing five goals after having lost 3-0 in London last month.

The England striker became Spurs' all-time leading scorer in Europe with 24 goals. The Germans, who have seen their seven-point lead in the league evaporate in recent weeks and are also out of the German Cup, have never overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit in the competition.

They dominated in the first half and despite a valiant effort, they were simply unable to score with Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris in stellar form.

For Tottenham, whose only other quarter-final appearance came in the 2010/11 season, it turned out to be an easier task than expected, with the Germans deep in a rut and far from their explosive early-season form.


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