Ajax stun Juventus to reach Champions League semi-final with brilliant comeback win in Turin

It's unbelievable that you're a squad from the Netherlands and you show the world what you can do. There's so much potential in the team, so young.

It was a great corner kick and I know can jump high and head the ball well so that was the perfect moment to score. 

No preference, we will see who is coming to the semi-final. It's like a dream maybe but everyone can see what we can do. It could have been 1-3, 1-4, the only thing we lack is we need to score more.

That boy is 19. He's one of the best centre-backs in world football.

Luke Edwards has this superb interview with Ronald De Boer that you should absolutely read. It's Premium but that costs £1 a week for a Sport subscription and you get your first 30 days free too.

'An Ajax player is someone technically good, with game awareness and... balls'. Here's a bit:

Ronald de Boer is pondering the question 'what turns a promising young footballer into an Ajax player?' There is a pause, a slight hesitancy at the risk the language might offend, but he decides to deliver it anyway.

“For me, an Ajax player is someone good technically, with good game awareness and, most importantly, someone with, how do you say, balls… They have to be strong mentality, brave, not be scared of making mistakes. That is what makes an Ajax player.”

It is a description that sounds particularly delicious in De Boer’s deep Dutch accent, but it is not said with a smile. Ajax take the development of their young players extremely seriously, perhaps placing more emphasis on their Academy than any other big club in Europe.

It is more than a business model - it is the Ajax way. Yet, it is also born out of necessity. 

• Ajax have qualified for the semi-finals of the European Cup/Champions League for the ninth time in their history, and the first since the 1996-97 season.
• Ajax are the first team from outside the traditional top five European leagues to reach the Champions League semi-final since 2004-05, when fellow Dutch side PSV Eindhoven did so.
• Juventus have lost two home games in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign for the first time in their history (1-2 v both Manchester United and Ajax).
• Ajax have scored 155 goals this season across all competitions, their joint-most in a single season in club history (also 155 in 2009-10).
• This was Ajax’s third consecutive away win in the Champions League; their longest such streak since between November 1995 and March 1997 (seven wins).

 I agree with Luke. They prove so many rules of football to be true. Team is most important, identity is crucial, kids are absolutely old enough if good enough, goalkeeper plays with his feet, you need a big CB, fast wingers, a great CM, pass-move-pass-move, press high, 4-3-3 is king.

Over to you, Telegraph Audio Football Club podcast star Mina:

When you've got Juventus fans applauding Ajax for the win you know it's deserved! And here's a Juventus player:

Ajax players rush over to their mostly shirtless fans.

Wow. Ajax are really something special and fully deserve the win. They were the better team by a mile and outplayed the Old Lady. Brilliant game. 

The referee says... no penalty! Well I'd really like to see that again. I've seen it again and it's as much of a penalty as the Man Utd vs PSG one. Ah well. Ajax deserve to win this anyway.

PENALTY! It must be a penalty! The ball is crossed into the box, a hand is held out and comes off Blind in the area! VAR is checking and if the Man Utd goal vs PSG was a handball then there is no way this isn't. VAR is being consulted right now.

Rugani goes through Tadic and he makes sure it takes a long time to get up. I've seen Juventus employ these same time wasting tactics 1000 times over my time on earth. 

Ziyech is subbed off for Huntelaar. Veltman smashes the ball off Ronaldo as he's on the floor, after Schone had fouled him. Do Juventus have any ideas left?

Ajax taking their time over free-kicks, no need to rush. Juventus have found a bit of energy but take forever to take a throw-in because nobody's showing for it. Blind puts it in a great sliding block to deny another cross being put into the area.

Since you're asking, yes I do think Ajax are the real life embodiment of my wonderkid Champions League winning Aberdeen FM19 side

Sinkgraven off, Magallan on. That's the sub subbed, which is something I can confirm from experience really sucks. 

Tadic is in the area now and it's oddly quiet in the stadium... he turns, passes... a shot on goal and it's wide. Ajax are still all over this. Juventus look done... but Ronaldo's on the pitch so they can't be.

Ajax were offside, VAR has proven it and there you go. Justice shall prevail!

And Ronaldo's just hurled himself at another header. Saved.

Ziyech curls it round the goalkeeper! Ajax can't lose now! But wait... VAR is checking it for offside. It did look like there was an offside in the buildup.

Cancelo is right wing, Ronaldo taps on his head to show where he wants it and the cross is whipped in. De Ligt challenges and wins the battle.

Ajax seem faster, stronger and more energetic than Juve here. And Ziyech has a chance to shoot! He passes... another waste.

BUT IT'S BACK! ZIYECH SHOOTS!

Ronaldo manages to get a shot on goal from 20 yards and seems to have gone into Super Sonic mode, trying to do everything himself. He gets a corner for it. Ajax are man-marking now rather than zonal. And Ajax are away again! They have men over! NERES IN THE BOX! And he passes again. Just shoot! Shooooooooot!

De Light hoofs a volley 20 miles away from goal and his goalkeeper screams at him for not listening to the shout. Safety first, my friend. 

Ajax keep the ball and oh my god NERES IS IN! It's dreadful defending! And even worse finishing. Neres misses a huge chance at the near post. Rugani will be shaken by that one - the game should have been done.

Now the Hollywood ending is Ronaldo scoring twice to take Juventus through to the next round but he can barely get involved here. Ajax are controlling the game and Juve are panicking. It isn't supposed to end this way, they have Ronaldo now. 

Ajax are running at goal again! Can chases and brings down Tadic then shouts at the referee, the frustration coming out of his head like steam out a kettle and he wins a yellow card. Schone lines up his kick.

AJAX HAVE THE LEAD! It's the captain!

De Ligt does exactly what Ronaldo did and powers a header past the goalkeeper with a giant leap inside the box, beating two defenders and smashing his header into the ground.

I've just yelled out loud HE'S IN because Ziyech is completely free on the left of the box and just begging to be played in with a through pass. He HAS to shoot but instead goes for the cut back into the six yard box. He just had to hit that and see what happens! 

Why hasn't he shot? Confidence? It's the kind of finish Ronaldo would slam past the goalie and that's the difference between the best and the good.  

TADIC IS ALL ON HIS OWN ON THE RIGHT! The ball is switched by Neres but is curled behind him, he touches it on, spots Ziyech waiting for the tap in and plays a great pass across the box. Pjanic sprints back to slide in and stretches to touch it behind for a corner!

De Ligt heads that over. Great game.

Joao Cancelo is coming on for Juventus now, Allegri wants a change. De Sciglio is the man to make way.

Opta have just handily reminded me that Juventus' last shot on target in this game was in the 31st minute. 

That's changed though. Ronaldo takes control, brings the ball down and moves it to Kean, who strides forward and shoots from 20 yards but thumps wide.

Ajax are right at Juve now. A short passing move, really clever link play and Ajax have a shot on goal. They keep up the press and Van De Beek lines up a curling shot to the far corner.... and it's saved!

Brilliant save! Juve aren't enjoying this at all.

Juventus are defending nervously here. Ajax counter-attacking with confidence, moving the ball forward quickly to attack the back line. 

Juventus get up the other end, win a corner and Ronaldo turns up at the back post but has De Ligt tight to him to put off a header. 

Neres intercepts a loos ball, AJAX ARE IN! Ziyech comes in from the right, has space and time and shoots hard at goal but Szczesny is brilliant and grows like Mario on a mushroom to block that shot at the near post with his weaker left hand.

It looks like Juventus' substitution means they're playing a 4-3-1-2 rather than a 4-3-3 now. Kean is definitely through the middle, Ronaldo standing wide left and Bernardeschi right, but when they get forward the two wide players move inside and Bernardeschi drops between them.

Ajax get a move together though and Tadic's clever drag back flick sets up a shot! It's a corner.

Juventus on the front foot in the second half, moving the ball nicely around the Ajax half.

We're back!

On comes Moise Kean to replace Dybala, who must have picked up an injury. 

• four - the number of headed goals Ronaldo has scored in the Champions League this season, the most in a single campaign since Fernando Morientes in 2003-04 (5)
• seven - Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in each of his last seven UCL Quarter Finals games played (13 goals).
• 126 - Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 126 goals in the Champions League, with 65 of those coming in the knockout stages; both the most of any player in competition history.
• 19million - the amount of euros Ronaldo paid to avoid jail for tax fraud
• nine - the number of goals Ronaldo has scored vs Ajax

"It's a 50/50 header for most people but as soon as it lands at his head you know it's in."

Here's one for you:

• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored all five of Juventus' CL goals in the knockout stages this season.

Superb game - this could go either way.

De Jong catches Ronaldo with a slide tackle in roughly the same position as that Ronaldo free-kick vs Portsmouth. You know the one. He's doing his little run up. Onana has his wall set. The arms come down. Stance at shoulder width AND HE'S HIT IT STRAIGHT INTO THE WALL. To the surprise of very few, Ronaldo has shanked another free-kick into bodies stood in front of him.

Five minutes of added time in this half due to injury and our robot referee overlords. 

Ajax defend really well as Dybala runs at two defenders and another Juventus attack comes to nothing. This game is really even.

Dybala is hobbling a bit now, he might have picked up an injury somehow. I can't quite work out if it's a knock or a muscle injury though.

Ajax are enjoying the ball again, moving it round, Juventus with quite a high press but unable to win it back before halfway.

Szczesny is closed down by a chasing Ajax forward now but his kick comes off the forearm and wouldn't have counted anyway. Ronaldo goes down as Blind steps across him and the striker is angry about it. There's nothing in it. 

Emre Can goes on a run, keeps going, still going... he's at the box and Blind slides in! Can goes down inside or on the edge of the area! Could that be a penalty?! The referee is right next to it and says no! 

Ajax attack, Neres takes on his man and wins a corner. 

 Ajax are in their world famous 4-3-3 btw and not the 4-2-3-1 listed on all of Twitter. Van De Beek is playing a little further ahead but he's not in the 10 position, he's just the one who attacks. So maybe it sort of is a 4-2-3-1.

I think the thing to consider is the numbers really don't matter.

And rightly so. This is where the away goals system is great - it's made this game infinitely more exciting.

Offside isn't the issue but handball is. The referees are trying to get this one right. An attacking player may have handballed in the buildup to the goal.

AJAX HAVE EQUALISED! Van de Beek is played in and looks offside but the flag stays down! The replay shows he's miles on... it's a legit goal and Ajax need one more to take the lead in this tie.

Ronaldo has switched to the right wing now and manages to get a shot away from distance which flies over the bar.

Ten Hag shakes his head and can't believe it but the replay shows that the Ajax player on the floor was pushed by his own teammate. VAR's nailed that one.

Oh but there's controversy. The referee has to go and watch a video to see whether this goal should stand or not! Allegri is going absolutely nuts on the touchline. He's screaming at the fourth official and Ten Hag, I think.

Of course it is. Ronaldo powers a header past the goalkeeper from the corner.

Ronaldo keeps dropping back to get the ball, link a pass then orders his teammates to go forward rather than sideways or backwards. Bernardeschi obliges and helps win a corner. Pjanic comes across to take it.

Ajax win a corner, Schone crosses in... but it comes to nothing.

The corner comes out to the edge of the box and DYBALA HITS IT ON THE VOLLEY! Great save by Onana! 

AJAX CAN SCORE! Neres gets into the box, twists and shoots, the ball is blocked and De Beek shoots but puts it over from inside the area! Juventus don't like it when Ajax go at them.

Ronaldo responds by getting involved and winning a corner, demanding more from the crowd behind the goal.

Lionel Messi has already scored twice against Man Utd by the way, feel free to go check that liveblog out then come back here. I'll be waiting. 

Bernardeschi has a chance to run at the defence on the right but Ajax's defenders recover, which is helpful since Sinkgraven is on at left-back and happens to be more of an attacking midfielder, like every Ajax player ever.

Ole! Ronaldo pulls off a flip flap with one of his first touches of the game and helps his side win about five yards. All that kill... five yards. 

Ajax are growing into this one more, finally defending in Juventus' half rather than their own and able to keep the ball.

Schone wins a free-kick 35 yards from goal, it's crossed in from a central position but goes harmlessly through to the goalkeeper. Not very good at all. And now Schone has pulled out of a tackle on Sando but caught him anyway, sort of, and Juventus want a yellow card for him. Good refereeing I reckon.

Rugani goes through the back of Ziyech and gives away a foul... and Mazraoui has sat down. He knows he's done. If you've ever done that injury before...

 Then you know. 

Owwwwwwwwwwwww. Ajax have a problem. The left-back Mazraoui lands awkwardly and twists his ankle with a bit of weight put on it and he is in pain. It'll take ages for him to feel back to his best but he's trying to hobble on for now - Ajax don't really have a replacement on the bench. He surely can't play on with that ankle.

Ronaldo fires a ball to the right wing, De Sciglio strides forward and punts a low ball into the area... and a Juventus player goes down! He wants a penalty but is never, ever getting it.

Onana is so good with the ball that Ajax's full-backs push high up the pitch and control a chipped pass from him. 

AND CAN CLOSES ONANA DOWN in the box but his block puts the ball out for a goal kick. Juventus definitely having the better of the start of this game.

Juventus pressing high up the pitch from Ajax's goal kicks and Ajax end up giving the ball away at halfway. Juventus' strip is black and white, though mostly white, and Ajax are playing in black instead of their home colours, which are red. Sure, it's white too but wear the red top and black shorts or something. 

An early reducer on Ronaldo. He takes a forearm into the side of his face and is holding his eye. But he's fine. If that had been later in the game I suspect he might have rolled around a few times.

Ajax win the toss and swap ends like it's ISS 64 AND THEY'RE OFF! 

Juventus players staring dead ahead and I've just noticed that Dybala is captain. That's... not who I thought it would be.

We have to play proud, brave and with self belief. If we do that we have a chance to win.

We take the confidence from Madrid to Juventus, a different football culture but we will give everything... and then we will see.

We have to set new limits, also in a hostile atmosphere tonight. Mental is a big issue in this moments, we are prepared and we will do it.

I'm looking forward to it, we will enjoy the game. The coach has to be brave too.

Michael Owen knows the importance of doing your stretches and although the photo above is Juventus, clearly, Frenkie De Jong wasn't meant to be fit for tonight. A hamstring injury had him leave Ajax's last game, a 6-2 win over Excelsior. Owen says:

I'm looking forward to seeing if he can replicate those lung bursting runs! As someone who's had plenty of hamstring injuries... to limp off four days ago, even if it's just cramped up or tight, I'll be interested to see his first sprint

 Heaps of Ajax fans were on the streets of Turin before the game. Inside the stadium they've just shown that anti-racism campaign that UEFA or FIFA has on the big screens. Hopefully Bonucci has had a wee think about what he said regarding Moise Kean being racially abused a couple of weeks ago...

Here's the story about that:

Cagliari’s supporters made monkey noises during the Serie A match and reportedly screamed “buu”, which is regarded as a racist insult in Italian football, but ­Bonucci said Kean, 19, who spread his arms while facing the crowd after scoring Juve’s second goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 win, “could have done it differently” and “the blame is 50-50”. Last night Bonucci rowed back, saying: “I was interviewed right at the end of the game, and my words have been clearly misunderstood.”

De Jong starts! Massive boost for Ajax. The fact that Ronaldo is starting for Juventus is probably more important... this is his competition. All the lads are out to play tonight.

It's here. The big one. Juventus vs Ajax. The spirit of Del Piero vs the teachings of Johan Cruyff. De Ligt vs Leonardo 'racism is 50/50' Bonucci. RONALDO vs TADIC.

The first leg ended 1-1 and was a beezer of a match. Both sides are entirely capable of going all the way in this competition but Ajax have the harder job what with the Old Lady having an away goal advantage. Those pesky away goals are real... pesky.

Tonight though the action does not take place in Amsterdam, the home of canals and bicycles... and Cruyff. And stag dos. It's absolutely lovely. No, it takes place in Turin, and all Ajax need to do is unlock a defence that never, ever seems to concede goals.

Juventus have let in 22 goals all season in the league and will be absolutely prepared to shut the gates, bolt the door and put up an electric fence. But just like the opening scene of Jurassic Park, all it takes is one little mistake for Ajax (the raptor in this scenario) to break out and inflict a lethal blow in the form of an away goal, or by eating one of the security staff.

Ronaldo scored the crucial away goal last time around, who will be on the scoresheet tonight? We could do with the teamsheets to work that one out but look out for Ajax's forwards. Ziyech, Dolberg, Neres and Tadic are all playing some excellent football at the moment and could cause problems for Juventus' defence. One major issue will be if Frenkie De Jong hasn't fit to play because of a hamstring injury - he keeps everything ticking over in midfield but, like I say (type) we'll find out very soon who's in the 11.