AC Milan versus Ajax results in a hard fought draw
AC Milan, who have won multiple European titles were made to work hard in Amsterdam by Ajax in their 2nd game of UEFA Champions League. The away side would have been more satisfied with the result in the end, as they
clearly looked short on resources and overwhelmed by the strong performance by Ajax on their home turf.
Mounir El Hamdaoui was the man who helped Ajax lead in the 24th
minute after a spell of dominance, and it was the summer signing of AC Milan Zlatan Ibrahimovic who levelled the match in the 37th
minute, scoring his first goal against his former employers.
Ajax by far was the better team right from the start and did run Milan close. The Italian team though known for their defensive capabilities held firm and knew that they were in a match and would have to be happy with at least
a point if not 3.
Former Dutch champions Ajax were quick out of the blocks and instantly pushed Milan back in their own half. It was one of the world cup stars from Uruguay, Luis Suarez who gave a tough time to Milan’s defence.
Suarez was a constant menace for AC Milan to deal with, and kept making space even when it seemed that he had been crowded out. He let fly a shot from 25 yards with at least 3 players hounding him. The Milan goalkeeper Christian
Abbiati for a moment started tracking back in panic even though the ball sailed over; it was still a warning shot for the visitors.
Milan did have their chance on the attack, a long range shot form Robinho was parried by the keeper and Ibrahimovic almost pounced onto, it but was a bit late.
The home team broke the deadlock in the 24th minute and no one on the ground would say that it was not deserved. Suarez was once again at the centre of it all, he flicked a clever ball right between the legs of Alessandro
Nesta and pulled it back from the bye-line to set up El Hamdaoui who made no mistake.
The Moroccan international showed great skill and turned a full circle inside the box before netting the ball in.
AC Milan did have a great chance to get on level terms when Robinho made a good run beating the off side trap, and was one on one with Stekelenburg.
The former Manchester City player looked composed but panicked right at the last moment, as he slashed his shot wide even after the keeper had gone to ground.
Ajax were once again caught on the counter but this time Milan made it count. Clarence Seedorf did well to make a run from the bye-line and found some space to square the ball back to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede made no mistake
and smashed the ball home with great venom.
The 2nd half saw Ajax attack Milan with same intensity but Milan probably by then had decided that a point was good enough away from home. Luis Suarez was the man creating problems for AC Milan but did not make use
of 2 good chances just at the hour mark.
Nesta, who was blamed for the first half goal by Ajax, made sure that he did not make the same mistake twice and did well to steal the ball from El Hamdaoui as he was all set to take the shot. Just 6 minutes before the final whistle
Milan did have an excellent chance to score when Ibrahimovic got hold of the ball inside the 6 yard box but his shot was dragged a bit wide. The match ended at 1-1 and both sides in the end seemed content with sharing the spoils.
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