Ajax finish their Champions League season with a win to qualify for Europa League
Ajax sealed Europa League football for next year on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Rangers at the Ibrox stadium in Glasgow. Steven Berghuis, Mohamed Kudus, and Francisco Conceição scored the goals for the Amsterdammers.
Rangers knew they needed to beat Ajax by at least four goals to overtake Ajax for the third spot and into the Europa League at the expense of the Amsterdammers. This Is due to Ajax beating Rangers 4-0 in the first match of this season’s Champions League group stage.
Ajax took the lead after only three minutes. A well-worked attack found Owen Wijndal on the wing, who played it on to Mohamed Kudus. Kudus found Steven Berghuis, who seemed to scuff his shot which wrong-footed Allan McGregor to roll into the corner.
Rangers showed their first bit of danger after thirteen minutes. Ryan Kent easily beat Jorge Sanchez on the wing before crossing for Fashion Sakala. Ex-Rangers player Calvin Bassey headed his attempt away from the goal.
Alfred Schreuder’s side doubled their lead after 28 minutes. Again it was Wijndal who gave the ball to Mohamed Kudus this time; the young forward took the shot himself, which found its way into the Rangers net via a deflection.
A blow for Ajax and especially for Owen Wijndal, as the young fullback had to be substituted before halftime after being pushed into the advertising boards. Ajax faces title rivals PSV this weekend, with Wijndal just hitting form in his first season for the reigning champions.
Rangers got a goal back after 87 minutes. Junior Matondo sprinted into the Ajax box before being taken down by Edson Alvarez. Rangers captain James Tavernier converted the penalty to score Rangers second goal of their Champions League campaign.
If Rangers had any hope, it was quickly dashed as Ajax scored just two minutes later to finish the match off. Dusan Tadic threaded a ball through to Francisco Conceição, who cut inside before putting the ball into the corner to score his first goal for the club.
Ajax will now be performing in the Europa League next year because they are the third-best team in the group. Rangers officially go down in history as the worst-ever Champions League team scoring two goals while conceding 22 and getting 0 points.
