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No fan or pundit would have ever called for Ajax to make it to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League 2018-19, but the young guns have sent the odds for a toss and achieved this great feat.
Having scored a crucial away goal in London last week at Spurs' new stadium, the stage was all set for the Dutch team to impress again in front of their home fans and make it to the final of the tournament. However, considering what Liverpool achieved last night against Barcelona, the game was far from over for Tottenham. And that's what happened.
After Ajax scored early in the 5th minute after an amazing header from club captain Matthijs de Ligt and a perfect finish Hakim Ziyech in the 35th minute, Tottenham started their comeback. In the 55th minute, after a brilliant link up between Danny Rose and Dele Alli, the latter passed the ball into Lucas Moura's path, one that the Brazilian couldn't miss. Eventually, Moura converted the brilliant chance that he had.
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Lucas Moura made it 2-2 through a largely solo effort when Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana made the best save of the night but spilled the ball in the penalty area.
Moura got his hat-trick and silenced the entire Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam in the 96th minute of the game, which sealed the fate for the underdogs Ajax in the tournament and booked Tottenham's spot in the final.
Without further ado, let's head straight to the top 3 players who won Mauricio Pochettino the tie!
#3 Son Heung-Min
After guiding Spurs to a quarter-final win against Manchester City, Son Heung-Min was suspended for the first leg against Ajax in London. However, the South Korean contributed significantly for Tottenham tonight.
The Spurs attacker had 6 shots, one of which hit the woodwork in the second half, and had an astonishing pass success rate of close to 93%.
The statistics fail to convey the impact he had on the game. Whenever Spurs counter attacked, Son was the most efficient player near Ajax's penalty area and he created some real problems for the Ajax defense for the whole 90 minutes.
Since joining Tottenham, the South Korean has been a revelation, this season being the best. Last night, he took Tottenham to the Champions League final in the absence of Harry Kane. Simply amazing!
#2 Dele Alli
Dele Alli was another Tottenham star who had a huge role in Tottenham's win tonight.
The English midfielder assisted two out of the three goals that Lucas Moura had scored, and the assists were extremely sublime to tear down the Ajax back four again and again. Moura had no chance to miss the chances that Alli produced, all thanks to the quality of the balls delivered by the 23-year-old English playmaker.
Alli played a couple key passes in the Ajax half tonight for Tottenham, out of which 2 were converted by Moura, and this is evidence for the quality that Alli brought in the game tonight. The 23-year-old stepped up his game when the time called for and he clearly impressed for the visitors in this crucial match. His performance also helped Tottenham earn a place in the finals against Liverpool.
#1 Lucas Moura
Well, there is no doubt that Lucas Moura was the star of the match tonight and possibly the entire semi-final tie between Tottenham and Ajax.
Moura scored a hat-trick tonight, with his winning goal coming in the 96th minute after his relentless efforts to attack the Ajax goal. Before that final goal, Spurs had been on the losing end for the whole match since the kick off whistle.
His second goal was probably one of the best solo goals he has ever scored, after he latched onto the ball spilled by Onana in the box, and finished with absolute precision in the bottom corner of the Ajax goal.
The game would be one that Moura will never forget, and nor will any Tottenham fan, as the Brazilian's three goals take Spurs into their first ever Champions League final under Pochettino. They will take on English counterparts Liverpool in the final in Madrid.
