UEFA Champions League – Half time review: Ajax versus Real Madrid
Real Madrid began the match in aggressive mood as Cristiano Ronaldo won their first free kick of the match in the third minute of the encounter after Van Der Weil; Ajax’s right back tripped the Portuguese man on the left hand side of Madrid’s
flank.
In the 6th minute of the match, Ronaldo was in the limelight again for the former European champions as the winger and Benzema combined to perfect the effect and eventually broke the ball loose to Pedro Leon who
was clean till the goal posts but the Spanish wingers strike was delayed a bit and thus it was blocked in the end by the Ajax defence.
In the 8th minute, Madrid surged forward yet again; Ronaldo was their pivot again as throughout the first half he played around with Mesut Ozil and the German midfielder eventually got an effort on goal but it was
palmed away for a Real Madrid corner kick by Ajax’s goalkeeper.
In the 12th minute, Ronaldo was yet again involved in the build up play for Real Madrid as this time the winger fired in a low and a hard cross inside the Ajax penalty area but unfortunately for the Spanish giants
there was no one inside the box to capitalize on the ball which caused chaos amongst the Ajax defenders.
It was the Ronaldo show in the first half of the encounter at the Amsterdam arena; the Portuguese forward was involved in everything good for Real Madrid who looked like scoring every time they pushed forward in attack. In the 19th minute
of the match, Karim Benzema came to the party at hand as he unleashed a powerful strike at Ajax’s goal from a tight angle. Marten Stekenlenburg was alert in Ajax’s goal as he palmed the ball away to keep the score line at 0-0.
Real Madrid totally dominated the play in the first half of the match. They were the first ones to every loose ball in midfield as Xabi Alonso controlled all the offensive traffic for the 9 time European champions in the centre of the
park. Up front, Ronaldo and Benzema were at their best as they terrorized the likes of Van Der Weil and Alderweireld.
In the 32nd minute of the match, Sergio Ramos, the Real Madrid right back went into the referee’s book for a late tackle from behind on Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker who led the line for Ajax in the first half
of the match made the most of the tackle as the referee showed Ramos the first yellow card of the match.
In the 34th minute, Real Madrid surged forward on a counter attack but Karim Benzema’s shot at the end of the move was saved by Marten Stekenlenburg as the Dutch goalkeeper did very well to keep hold of the powerful
shot that was directed straight at him.
Real soon made Ajax pay for their weak defending as in the 36thminute of the match, the Spanish giants took a quick free kick outside the Ajax penalty area as Alonso lofted the ball towards Ozil who played it down on the volley
to Benzema. The French striker made no mistake as he dispatched the ball with a fine finish past the despairing Ajax goalkeeper to make it 0-1 to Real Madrid.
Right before the half time whistle, Real Madrid doubled their lead as Arbeloa tried his luck on goal in the 44th minute of the encounter after a rebound from Ronaldo’s free kick fell to the former Liverpool man.
The Spanish defender made no mistake as his drive from 30 yards out deceived the Ajax goalkeeper and ended up in the back of the net. The half time whistle thus came with the score line at 0-2 in favour of the visiting side, Real Madrid.
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