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It's all over for Real Madrid in the Champions League. The current holders are out and this definitely means that there will be a new Champions League winner this season. After yesterday night's inspiring win, Ajax might just fancy their chances of winning the coveted European trophy against all odds.
Ajax totally outclassed Real Madrid in their own backyard and as the commentators rightly said during the game, Madrid were second best in every possible department on the pitch last night.
The goal riot for Ajax started with Hakim Ziyech opening the scoring in just the 7th minute when Madrid lost the ball horrendously in their own half, just for Dusan Tadic to latch on to it and provide a sublime assist for Ziyech to finish it.
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Just 11 minutes later in the 18th minute, Tadic showed his class once again to run through the Madrid defense, to eventually end up passing the ball accurately to David Neres, who chipped the ball over Thibaut Courtois for the second goal.
It was game over for the Galacticos when Dusan Tadic found the back of the net in the 62nd minute. Lasse Schone ended Madrid's Champions League journey with a high cross from a set piece, which ended up in the net for Ajax's fourth goal. Though Marco Asensio pulled one back, it was merely a consolation.
on that note, let's look at the top 3 things we learned from the famous Ajax win last night.
#1 The Ajax team is a factory of young European talent
No one expected the young Ajax team to come to the Santiago Bernabeu and overturn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-1 win over the mighty Real Madrid, but the young Ajax team just went all the way to glory.
Frenkie de Jong (21), David Neres (22) and Mathias de Ligt (19) played like absolute veterans of the game and bossed their respective roles throughout the 90 minutes.
While de Jong made Luka Modric look ordinary in the midfield, de Ligt did not give an inch of space for Karim Benzema to attack the Ajax goal. On the other hand, David Neres terrorized the Madrid defense, and he was rewarded well in the 18th minute. Dusan Tadic cross found him one on one with Belgian International Thibaut Courtois and not everyone has the guts to chip the ball over the tall goalkeeper, but that's exactly what Neres did.
There is no doubt that Ajax is a factory of young talent in Europe, and as Barcelona have already snapped up Frenkie de Jong from the next season onwards, there is no doubt there are 5-6 names in the Ajax first team right now, who could be playing for European powerhouses probably next season, especially Mathias de Ligt.
#2 The Real Madrid team needs a major overhaul, starting with their coach
Real Madrid are out of the Champions League, they have almost prematurely lost the LaLiga to FC Barcelona, and they are out of the major domestic cup competitions. This is not what is usually the case with Real Madrid, who are one of the top football clubs for the past century.
There are numerous problems with the Madrid squad right now. The manager Santiago Solari is somehow not seeming to be the right man for the job. There is no depth in the squad with players on bench reliable enough to change the course of a match. All the star players in the squad are injury prone and are injured for the most part of the season. And there is no player who can score 20-30 goals for the team.
Basically, what Madrid needs, is an overhaul, starting right from the manager to the starting XI. It may take time for Real Madrid to bounce back to their once mighty form, but at least they need to prepare for the future now, which doesn't seem very bright.
#3 Madrid, without Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, are just an average side with individual talent
The difference that Ronaldo's departure has made to the Real Madrid squad was clearly evident on Tuesday.
This very Real Madrid team which won the Champions League last season dominating every European side along the way, was made to look ordinary by Ajax last night. And the difference? Definitely Cristiano Ronaldo, and possibly Sergio Ramos too.
The absence of Ramos left the defense exposed. Yes, it is true that Ajax would have eventually won, but the scoreline would not be so embarrassing with Ramos on the pitch.
Right now, Real Madrid seems just a bunch of players who are individually amongst the world's best, but together, are a shambolic team performing far below their capabilities.
Maybe the Real Madrid era is finally over and we might get to see a new era of Manchester City or Juventus from now on in the biggest European stages. This is a wake-up call for the management, who needs to act quickly to arrest the slide.
