Juventus 1-2 Ajax: 3 reasons why Juventus were knocked out | UEFA Champions League 2018-19

Surprise, surprise, one of the favourites are out. Ajax are really living their fairytale life, it is a dream come true. They had to go through an actual qualification process to reach the Champions League itself, but here they are. Juventus were the odds-on favourites to go through to the semi-finals, and rightly so. They had an away goal, they were playing at home, they had more individual quality, but Ajax put an end to all the hype surrounding the Bianconeri, dumping them out of the competition.

It was just 28 minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo hit Ajax with a sucker punch. The header from the Portuguese man beating Onana and surviving a review from VAR. It wasn't long before Ajax got back into their groove as they hit back with Donny Van De Beek. Even though Juventus managed to scrape through to half-time with the scores level, the second half was game over for them. Ajax completely dominated the proceedings after the break and Matthijs de Ligt's header in the 67th minute gave the Dutch giants the crucial second away goal and ultimately, the victory.

This is not a fluke, this is football personified in the playing style, the brainchild of Johan Cruyff. Salute to Erik Ten Hag and salute to Ajax. For the sake of it, let us look at three reasons why Juventus lost but blatantly Ajax demolished them is the only reason.

#3 Wrong starting line-up, missing key personnel, and no gameplan

Starting de Sciglio over Cancelo was a fatal mistake on Allegri's part. He didn't bring Cancelo in till the 80th minute.

We talked about this even before the game started and is not a shocker by any means. Juventus have been lacking a proper gameplan all season long. It was Atletico Madrid who first exposed it at the Wanda and we saw how weak Juve were on that night. They had no ideas on how to break the defence and score. In the return leg, they were lucky that Atleti had a very poor attitude and just wanted to see out the game. The gameplan was simple, cross to Ronaldo and pray. Thankfully, he scored the goals that sent them through to the quarter-finals.

Juve had no gameplan against Ajax in the first leg as well. They were letting Ajax do what they want, and instead of imposing themselves on the game, they were trying to stop the Eredivisie outfit from doing what they wanted. This is the attitude of an underdog team who have little to no chance of proceeding, like Porto. Ajax made them pay, the Bianconeri deserved it.

Mario Mandzukic and Giorgio Chiellini's absence were a big factor. We don't assume that they could have changed the result against Ajax, but things could have been better. The defence looked out-of-shape without their leader and they looked clueless in attack.

The most important point comes in here. Why were Paulo Dybala and De Sciglio on the pitch instead of Joao Cancelo and Moise Kean? Is there any reason? Juventus have wrapped their league up, there is no one even close. One should expect them to throw every ammunition into this all-important game. They rested their whole team for this game and left two major threats out on purpose! Dybala was taken off at half-time and yet Cancelo didn't come on. On the other hand, Ajax, despite being in a tight title race with PSV, fielded a strong 11 and ran riots in Turin.

Is it overconfidence from Max Allegri? Is it a lack of awareness? One thing is for sure and that is Allegri's future at the club. He might be gone for good. Just that decision to rest Cancelo for no reason is enough to raise questions.

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#2 Poor individual performances and chance creation

Blind was one of the better players for Ajax in the defence, sniffing out any and every danger.

Is there anything called a midfield in the Juve team? We didn't see it. The midfield is supposed to bridge the gap between the defence and the attack and create chances. Even though a gameplan is not there, the rules of the game are plain. Get the ball into the back of the net. Against Atleti, Juve were at least trying to get the ball to Ronaldo. Did they try it last night? No, not enough. There is no excuse for this team. They were rested and fully fit, they were facing a team without experience, they had a prolific scorer in their team.

Let us look at Bernardeschi and Matuidi. They had a combined number of 32 passes. THIRTY-TWO! Even if you add Emre Can's 35 passes to it, you get a total of 67 passes. This is the midfield of the team. Ajax's central defenders had a combined number of 53 passes. And passing is not even the worst part from Juventus. The players were dispossessed on a total of 16 occasions. 7/16 were attackers and midfielders, in attacking areas.

Paulo Dybala was horrific in the forward areas. He was playing a bit out of position and that might be one excuse. He had to play in the #10 spot which was occupied by Can, but regardless, he was poor. It might not be his fault that he was poor, he needs to be passed the ball to do something. Ronaldo was poor too. Really sorry but we can't help it. Ronaldo is an off the ball player. He scored that header which put Juventus ahead and he deserves credit for that. Apart from that, what did he do? He had six shots on the night. He had two good close-range headers to score from. He took none of them. Out of four aerial battles, he won only one.

We don't even need to speak about the defence, which was completely out-of-shape without their key man in there. This is a self-review for Juventus, they have a lot to work on.

#1 Everything said and done, Ajax were ruthless

Juventus v Ajax - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg

One can play the blame game all they want. One can blame Ronaldo, Dybala, Matuidi, Bonucci or anyone else, who was wearing black and white jersey yesterday. But apart from the serious issues of Ronaldo missing two to three good scoring opportunities, and the midfielders giving the ball away in dangerous areas, can we blame Juventus? You look at them and you can find reasons to blame each of the players who stepped foot into the pitch, with the exception of Szczesny and Pjanic. Why? Because they were taken apart.

The Bianconeri are to blame for not fielding Cancelo, they can be excused for not having Chiellini and Mandzukic, but what difference would have it made? Did the defence not try to contain Ajax? Of course, they did. Ajax were merciless against the defence. They pressed and counter-pressed, they won 17 aerial battles to Juve's 7, they won 22 tackles, they totally bossed Juventus.

Juventus could do nothing. They had 13 shots on goal but that stat is not a reflection of what happened on the pitch. Not many of the chances were troublesome. Ajax, on the other hand, could have scored with each of the four shots on target if it wasn't for Szczesny. This Ajax team are ruthless, they are out for blood on the pitch, and they would get their goals, come what may.