Real Madrid 1-4 AFC Ajax: 5 Hits and Flops

#1 Hit: Dusan Tadic

Tadic celebrates on a remarkable night at the Bernabeu as Ajax overturned a 2-1 deficit in style

With a one-goal deficit to overturn away from home against an unpredictable Real side, Ajax needed a matchwinning performance for the ages: Dusan Tadic duly stepped up to the plate.

Two assists, an excellently-taken goal with aplomb and five key passes on a night where Real midfielders were essentially chasing shadows out of possession, the Serbian was pulling the strings beautifully.

His first assist came after Ziyech had capitalised on a defensive error inside the hosts' half. Tadic advanced forward beyond Nacho, waited patiently for runners to arrive and wheeled away to celebrate seconds afterwards - having teed up the onrushing Ziyech, who made no mistake with an excellent finish into the bottom corner. Thibaut Courtois, for all the criticism levelled at him, could do nothing to stop that.

Not done there, Tadic's sublime roulette left Casemiro in his wake before feeding David Neres ahead of him. The Brazilian still had a bit to do, shrugging off Luka Modric's advances and chipping over an onrushing Courtois, but the skill and pass were beautifully timed by Tadic as Ajax doubled their early lead. Having already got the better of Nacho in the first-half, Tadic was confident enough to replicate a similar style again after the break.

Controversy struck for Ajax's third goal as VAR decided against overturning the strike - despite the ball being out of play during the build-up - but Tadic's goal was well-taken and nothing less than he deserved. Teed up by Donny van de Beek, he took one touch to control and another to flick it away from Nacho before curling his effort into the top corner.

Tadic has now scored 26 goals and created 15 assists this season across all competitions. If not for the 30-year-old's contributions, Ajax would have seen history repeat itself with another last-16 knockout defeat.