With a goal by Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez just under a quarter of an hour before the end of the match (77), Benfica surprised and eliminated Ajax from Amsterdam, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
In the first leg, played three weeks ago in Lisbon, the Dutch scored a positive result, a two-goal draw, but despite their superiority on Tuesday they were unable to score a single goal for the Portuguese team.
True to their style, Ajax started with possession of the ball (64% in the first half) and chained the chances to score, but without the aim needed to reach the halftime advantage.
The Ivorian Sébastian Haller did score shortly after starting, assisted by the other star of the Dutch team Dusan Tadic, but the referee cancelled him for the offside of the Serbian playmaker (7).
Veteran Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen prevented the locals from opening the luminoso in the 25th minute, rejecting a dangerous header by Brazilian Antony and shortly after it was Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos who rejected a hard shot by Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch (36), allowing Benfica to reach halftime with the tie, despite the superiority of Ajax.
After the break, the pressure continued to allow Ajax to recover the ball in Benfica's defensive zone and score chances, although without precision in the shot, like the umpteenth ball intercepted by Tadic near the Benfica area, but his placed shot narrowly went out (49).
But as time progressed, Benfica stretched and Vertonghen gave a first warning, with an overly crossed header after a corner kick (57).
Antony, very active throughout the game, was close to scoring for Ajax at the time of the game, but his head to the center of Daley Bling went over the crossbar (62).
After so much forgiveness, Ajax ended up paying for it: a side foul by Mexican Edson Álvarez, was hung by Spaniard Alex Grimaldo in the heart of the area and Darwin Núñez rose there to head the net (77).
It is the fourth goal of the Uruguayan striker this season in the Champions League, who shortly after scoring retired from the field, visibly injured.
Pressed by the result, Ajax had even less clarity of ideas in the last few meters and although they pushed until the end looking for extra time, they were unable to score a goal for Vlachodimos.
bur/mcd
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