Ajax have defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final first leg through Donny van de Beek’s strike 15 minutes in.
The Dutch side were well on top when opening the scoring and came closest to scoring the second goal of the night through David Neres’s shot in the second half, which came back off the post.
Tottenham did have spells on top after switching from a three-man defence to four at the back, but they managed just one shot on target across the 90 minutes and now have it all to do in next week’s return fixture in Amsterdam.
Mauricio Pochetinno made four changes from his side’s 1-0 loss to West Ham United here at the weekend, reverting to a three-man defence made up entirely of former Ajax players.
It was the current Ajax crop who started the match on top, soon finding their groove and deservedly edging in front through the first serious attacking move of the match.
Hakim Ziyech slipped the ball through for Donny van de Beek, who controlled the pass and converted past Hugo Lloris after taking some time to compose himself.
Tottenham’s supporters were starting to grow a little agitated as Ajax created another good opportunity five minutes later, but Van de Beek was this time denied by Lloris at his near post when he had the option to return the ball to Dusan Tadic in a better position.
Pochettino changed shape following his side’s slow start and that paid off as Fernando Llorente and Toby Alderweireld headed over the crossbar, either side of the home side losing Jan Vertonghen to a nasty facial injury.
