Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid crush Jol's Ajax - Part 1
A Jose Mourinho led Real Madrid side thrashed European stalwarts Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena on Tuesday. Goals from Frenchman Karim Benzema were followed by one by Spanish right-back Arbeloa after which a brace of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo put
the icing on the cake. What made the victory more impressive was the fact that Madrid were not playing at home.
Madrid started up front without usual centre-forward Gonzalo Higuain who was replaced by Karim Benzema, who had another chance to prove his worth in front of Mourinho. Mourinho also gave youngster Pedro Leon a rare start and he was eager to impress enough
to get more starts for Madrid.
A win would have kept Ajax in contention for a spot in the next round but from the outset, Madrid had the game firmly in their control. German midfielder Mesut Oezil, who was procured by Madrid in the summer after a strong showing at the World Cup, had the
first shot on goal. He was slowly to pull the trigger and the chance went begging.
French striker Benzema, who has had a torrid time since joining Madrid from Lyon, got a rare start and was determined to impress the gaffer. He had Madrid’s next shot on goal but Ajax keeper was able to keep it out.
Madrid fans were enraged when Ronaldo was brought down in the penalty box by right-back Gregory van der Wiel but the referee did not award the Spanish side a penalty. After the initial pressure exerted by Madrid, the home side slowly began to grow into the
game and tried to unlock the Madrid backline but were not successful.
Striker Luis Suarez was growing increasingly frustrated at having seen so little of the ball that he kept coming deeper to spark an attack on his own. The striker, who had openly voiced his desire to join Barclays Premier League side Tottenham, was virtually
invisible on the pitch for the first half an hour.
Madrid’s determination and class proved to be too much for Ajax though as after a rare attack by Ajax, Madrid picked up the ball and launched a magnificent counter attack that had everything but a goal. The Spanish side did not have to wait for long though
as Xabi Alonso managed to pick out Mesut Oezil with a wonderfully flighted long ball.
Oezil took a touch and then back-heeled the ball into the path of Benzema who made no mistake from inside the penalty area to smash the ball into the back of the net. Madrid had breached the Ajax defence after a strong showing in the first half and it was
a deserved lead.
Jose Mourinho was not satisfied as he told his players to keep pushing forward and extend their lead before the half time whistle was blown. His charges did not disappoint him and Alvaro Arbeloa scored a supreme goal from thirty yard out after a Cristiano
Ronaldo free-kick came back off the wall. Thus, Madrid took a two goal cushion into half time.
Mourinho must have been pleased with his side and told them to continue playing the same way after the interval. On the other hand, Ajax coach Martin Jol must have been contemplating whether to try and equalize or start damage limitation.
He brought on Demy de Zeeuw to add more incisiveness to Ajax’s game and hoped his side could get a hold of the game some way and stem the flow of passing by Madrid’s midfielders in the centre of the pitch. His players though came out after the break with
a new spirit but found Madrid in great form from the beginning of the second forty-five minutes.
To be continued in Part 2...
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