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What’s the story?
Juventus took on Ajax in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League and the man who stole the show last night was Frenkie de Jong. The youngster's performance last night earned him some huge praises from everyone, even Juventus' manager, Massimiliano Allegri.
Cristiano Ronaldo and David Neres, despite being the goalscorers, were overshadowed by one man's performance last night, and it was the FC Barcelona bound, Frenkie de Jong who put in a massive shift.
In case you didn’t know...
The youngster has been impressive for Ajax in the Eredivisie and has also been instrumental to Ajax's dream run in the Champions League.
Owing to his sensational performances, the Ajax sensation sealed a move to the Camp Nou for a whooping €75 million plus add-ons in January. Frenkie de Jong also drew some serious attention from Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City but the Catalans were successful in acquiring their man.
The heart of the matter
After impressing against Real Madrid in the Round of 16, the 21-year-old had his sights set on a clash with the Italian champions, and by no means did he disappoint as he managed to steal the show in the first leg.
The Ajax prodigy completed the most number of passes (90) with an accuracy of 92% and succeeded in winning five tackles. Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri praised Frenkie De Jong after seeing his side his side struggle in the centre of the park against him.
The Dutch international orchestrated play for Ajax and Allegri admitted his side were not able to contain him as he went on to state:
"De Jong is the real source of their game. We tried to control him with (Rodrigo) Bentancur in the early stages but, when he understood that, he moved deeper, and the forwards had to work hard on him. He played very well. "
What's next?
With the second leg set to take place on of April 16, at the Allianz Stadium, both teams look equally poised to win the tie. Although Juventus may have an upper hand as they grabbed an away goal last night but even Real Madrid grabbed two away goals which Ajax overcame with relative ease. The tie is very much open and is anyone's for the taking.
