After an intriguing first leg, where both teams had their opportunities, Juventus brought the advantage home thanks to their defensive versatility and a little help from Cristiano Ronaldo. The clash between the young, fast Ajax and Juventus’ experienced squad was an interesting one, but it wasn’t decisive as both team’s extreme motivation led to a 1-1 draw.
Ajax performed in an organised manner, managing to force Juventus into seeking different options during the build-up. Applying a high press was one of Erik ten Hag’s strategies for forcing the Italian champions into the wide areas. This was in order to block the passing lanes to Miralem Pjanić and stop them from playing through the central areas.
Initially, the Bianconeri had some struggles breaking the press but eventually managed to fit a different approach and get what they needed the most: an away goal. But the aspiring semi-finalists needed to be creative in order to catch their opponents off guard.
This tactical analysis preview will dive into how both teams could expose their opponents’ weaknesses and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Read the full article here.
