Darwin Nunez scored a late goal as Benfica secured qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory at Ajax, sealing a 3-2 aggregate triumph in the round of 16. Final.
A 2-2 first-leg draw in Lisbon left the match tied, and Erik ten Hag’s home side reigned supreme from the start at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Tuesday.
However, it was Benfica who scored decisively in the 77th minute, when Nunez fired in the Portuguese visitors’ first attempt and got past Nelson Verissimo’s side.
Benfica will now wait to learn the identities of their opponents in Friday’s round of 16 draw, with home and away clashes scheduled for early April.
Ajax dominated the first rally and Sebastien Haller took the lead after seven minutes, but a late offside against Dusan Tadic interrupted the celebrations.
Antony tested Odisseas Vlachodimos from distance, and Ryan Gravenberch saw a brilliant shot, as Ten Hag’s players continued with authority but without reward before the break.
Tadic deflected the target as Ajax picked up where they left off after the break, before an unmarked Jan Vertonghen scared the hosts by deflecting a good chance.
Antony nearly opened the scoring but his header narrowly missed the top left corner and Ajax’s failed conversion cost him 13 minutes from time.
Nunez passed goalkeeper Andre Onana to hit an Alex Grimaldo free-kick down the right wing and headed clinically into the left corner, snatching the ball in spectacular fashion for Benfica.
What does that mean? Benfica win in unlikely circumstances
Benfica lost twice in the first leg and were back against the wall again in Amsterdam, managing just 31.4% possession.
But a witty defensive performance, coupled with Ajax’s lack of clinical finishing, saw the Verissimo side qualify for the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since the 2015 season- 16 and only the fourth occasion in the 21st century.
Veteran Vertonghen shines
Vertonghen was part of the Tottenham side that reached the 2018-19 Champions League final, beating Ten Hag’s Ajax in the semi-finals through the heroism of the late Lucas Moura.
The centre-back once again frustrated the Dutch side by netting a record 10 shots and winning five of his eight matches.
Tadic’s enormous efforts prove in vain
The perennial Tadic has been a threat to any opposition defense during his outings for Ajax this season and this game was no different as he created five prime chances.
In fact, only Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior has created as many Champions League chances (24) this season as the Ajax player, but Tadic’s efforts proved in vain.
Facts about Opta
– Benfica qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals for the fifth time, also achieving this feat in 1994-95, 2005-06, 2011-12 and 2015-16, being eliminated at this stage on each occasion .
- Since reaching the quarter-finals in the 2002-03 season, Ajax have failed to reach that stage in 11 of their 12 appearances in the competition, only succeeding in 2018-19 when he reached the semi-finals.
- Since the start of the current Champions League format in 2003-04, Ajax are only the second team to score up to 22 goals without reaching the quarter-finals of the competition, after Paris Saint-Germain in 2017-18 (27 goals), eliminated in the round of 16).
- Benfica have won just their second victory in their last 15 Champions League away games (D4 D9), their first since winning 3-2 at AEK Athens in October 2018.
- Nunez scored his fourth Champions League goal of the season for Benfica, with only Nuno Gomes scoring more in a single season for the club (five in 1998-99).
- Haller has scored 11 Champions League goals for Ajax this season but won’t play more than the last 16 – he is the first player to score 11 or more goals in a Champions League season and not play at least in the quarter-finals.
- Daley Blind made his 44th appearance for Ajax in the Champions League, the most by an Ajax player in the European Cup or Champions League, beating three players in 43 games (Sjaak Swart, Piet Keizer and Wim Suurbier).
- Gravenberch, 19, made his 14th Champions League start for Ajax, the most appearances by a Dutch teenager in Champions League history with Nigel de Jong (14 between 2002 and 2004). Only three outfield players have started more games as a teenager: Cesc Fabregas (22), Kylian Mbappe (20) and Tomas Rosicky (15).
What’s next?
Ajax return to Eredivisie action in a crunch clash at home to Feyenoord on Sunday, while Benfica host Estoril on the same day.