Ajax Amsterdam travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie to play Spanish giants and European champions Real Madrid. Real Madrid picked up a win in the first leg after dispatching the Dutch side 2-1 at their stadium with goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio. Los Blancos lost their captain to a suspension after the Spanish captain picked up a yellow card deliberately.
In preparation of the second leg, Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag says the absence of Real captain Ramos could benefit his side, as the Dutch giants look to reach the last eight for the first time since 2003. “I think he is the boss on the pitch and in the backline,” he said. “Him being absent is not only a tactical loss for them but also a mental one.
“Our goal is clear and is the same for every game – scoring goals. This is Ajax, and we don’t care about who we play, our intention will always be the same – dominate, score goals and win. We always have the intention to take the initiative. That’s our style of playing football. For Real Madrid, this is the last chance to win something. We are still active on three fronts and our players are so ambitious they will try to win the three competitions.”
Meanwhile, World Cup star and the ‘best player in the World,’ Luka Modric has alleged that Real Madrid’s failure to replace Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals has contributed to their struggles this season. Real, chasing a fourth European title in a row, host Ajax in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday having won 2-1 in Amsterdam. But they come into the game on the back of three consecutive home defeats – including two by Barcelona last week.
“Given what he did for us and this club, we miss Cristiano,” said Modric. Ronaldo was top scorer, or joint top scorer, in the past six Champions League seasons. He scored a club record 450 goals in nine years before his £99m summer move to Juventus.
But they failed to sign a big-money replacement and only three of their players have scored more than five goals this season – Karim Benzema (20), out-of-favour Gareth Bale (13) and centre-back Sergio Ramos (11). They have lost three of their last four games, 2-1 to Girona, 3-0 to Barcelona in the Spanish Cup semi-final second leg and 1-0 to Barca in La Liga to leave them 12 points off top.