Champions League: Juventus 1-2 Ajax, 5 Talking Points

#1 Ajax's fearless run continues - opponents be wary

Ajax

have

emerged as this season's dark horses to go all the way and win in Madrid next month

Consider this: Ajax started their Champions League campaign back in late July against Austrian side Sturm Graz. They had to play two qualifying rounds and a play-off just to get into a group stage with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Portuguese giants Benfica.

They finished second to Bayern, were unbeaten and have since then knocked out both the competition's reigning champions and now the team who boast Real's leading talisman over the past decade in their ranks.

That is remarkable, especially when you factor in the fact that they've got a refreshing mix of youthful exuberance and experience in their squad - Daley Blind, Tadic, Schone and Huntelaar all wise heads.

By beating Juve here, they have become the first team in history to reach the semi-finals having played three qualification rounds en route, while manager ten Hag revealed his belief that the aforementioned sides were a "little scared" of them, why wouldn't they be?

They play with relentless speed on the counter-attack, have many technically-gifted players who can combine well in transition and are tough to contain for long.

With refined decision-making in the final third, there's no reason why they cannot go all the way this year - not least against one of City or Tottenham in the semi-finals. The fact that all of their key players are destined for big-money transfers works in their favour too, as they ultimately have nothing to lose. de Jong, de Ligt, Neres et al - it just fuels their fire to succeed.

Stats' source: WhoScored