Tottenham 0-1 Ajax: Talking points as visitor's liquid football hands them advantage

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  • Donny van de Beek puts Ajax in front.

    Ajax will take a 1-0 lead back to Amsterdam next Wednesday after a coolly-struck Donny van de Beek goal was enough to beat hosts Tottenham in their Champions League semi-final first-leg tie.

    The 22-year-old finished an incisive Ajax move as Hakim Ziyech orchestrated the goal, stretching the play with a wonderful pass out to David Neres on the left before receiving the ball again through Lasse Schone to thread through to Van de Beek.

    Just onside, the young Dutchman faked to finish before stroking home one v one against Hugo Lloris to open the scoring 15 minutes in.

    Tottenham did work their way back into the tie but it was the visitors who came closest to scoring again as David Neres struck the post with 12 minutes left.

    AJAX RISE TO OCCASION

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    The age of a team can work two ways. With experience comes the detraction of athleticism, but a refined mentality to remain settled and calm on the biggest stage.

    By contrast, youth naturally gives a team physical advantages, with the obvious loss of maturity.

    Yet Ajax – with their XI on Tuesday possessing an average age of 25 years and 216 days, the lowest in such context since Borussia Dortmund in 2013 – care not about inexperience because it is for this reason they are so good.

    A seasoned mentality can work to jail instinct and Ajax rely on this quality to not only thrill but also function.

    But it is truly a great joy to watch a team in such flow. Indeed, their refreshing liquid football should be bottled up and absorbed directly into the veins of football fans across the world.

    And there was one passage of play in the first half, shortly after their superbly-worked opener which embodied this perfectly.

    Van de Beek counter-pressed perfectly to rob the ball on the edge of box, he fired the ball out to the left, the pass back inside the box was then dummied by the goalscorer with the first-touch reverse pass freeing him to strike at goal.

    Lloris saved well, although in truth the Dutchman should have squared to David Neres for a tap-in.

    It was poised and smooth, a genuinely beautiful example of what this Ajax team can produce.

    TOTTENHAM HAVE HOPE

    Fernando Llorente and Dele Alli

    Fernando Llorente and Dele Alli

    This tie is far from over. After a chaotic opening, once Spurs settled – albeit thanks to a change in shape from 3-5-2 to 4-3-1-2 with Moussa Sissoko absolutely brilliant off the bench – they looked the better side.

    The game was being lost in midfield but the switch quickly fixed the issue. Their main problem was Fernando Llorente, though.

    The 34-year-old is just nowhere near dynamic enough to link-up effectively with Dele Alli and Lucas Moura. Frequently transitions would break down through his broken touches, yet with Son Heung-min – suspended on Tuesday – returning for the second leg in Amsterdam, they can hurt Ajax.

    Speed, not just in tempo but of thought as well, is one way Spurs can progress.

    Playing the livewire Son as a false nine will change the complexion entirely. With Sissoko fully fit as well, all is not lost for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

    And it’s not just through Son’s return there is reason for optimism. Ajax looked very susceptible from set-pieces and with better quality on their delivery, Spurs can prosper.

    These are just two avenues to scoring away from home, there are sure to be more, but the issue will be holding off a team which has scored 161 goals in all competitions this season.

    FOOTBALL NEEDS IMPROVED CONCUSSION PROTOCOL

    Jan Vertonghen as he exits the pitch

    Jan Vertonghen as he exits the pitch

    The contest was full of charm but one ugly scene cannot be ignored.

    Jan Vertonghen exited midway through the first half after he violently headed the back of his team-mate Toby Alderweireld’s dome when attacking a Spurs free-kick.

    There was the obvious warning sign of blood cascading down his face from a grim cut on the nose, but the less pronounced vacant stare as he attempted to return having changed his crimson-stained kit following a lengthy break in play.

    But of great concern was the fact referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz appeared the most responsible in ensuring Vertonghen was safe to come back on.

    He did do so, but then moments later the Belgian needed to be helped off the pitch after signalling to be substituted with signs of concussion.

    This incident is not in isolation. Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina collapsed during a Serie A match in March some time after a head collision with Udinese’s Ignacio Pussetto.

    He should not have been allowed back onto the pitch. David Luiz was also knocked out cold against Bournemouth in January, cleared to play on when he should have been brought off.

    Club doctors simply must take concussion far more seriously and perhaps the game’s rulemakers should consider a more stringent protocol.

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