In the confrontation Tottenham – Ajax on April 30, 2019, one of the finalists of the most prestigious club tournament in Europe will be determined. The starting whistle at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium will sound at 22:00 Moscow time.Tottenham “Spurs” at the last stage opposed Manchester City. After a minimal victory in the first leg (1:0), the Londoners had to keep a positive result at the Etihad. Citizens needed to open an account as soon as possible. The task was completed already in the fourth minute, Raheem Sterling moved from the flank and delivered an aimed shot into the far corner – 1:0. The score in the series was equal, but it lasted only three minutes, until Son Heung-Min took advantage of the error of the defenders and equalized the score in the match – 1:1 in the seventh minute. The hosts were a little taken aback by this development. Very soon, Son caught the Sky Blue defenders for the second time. Guests took the lead in the tenth minute, Lucas Moura picked up the ball in midfield, dragged it, threw it at Christian Eriksen, who had already given it to free Son – 1:2. The Londoners scored, but there were still 80 tense minutes ahead. The “Mancunians” again ran to storm the gates of the enemy. Bernard Silva managed to equalize the score and close the gap in the series, the Portuguese was left alone at the far post, so no one prevented him from hitting the right corner – 2:2. Events unfolded at lightning speed. Ten minutes after Silva’s goal, Sterling scored a double against the Spurs, the Englishman avoided offside, and easily closed the cross at the far post – 3:2 in the 21st minute. Sterling’s goal calmed the game, the teams slowed down a bit, trying not to take risks once again. The “citizens” went to the break as the leaders of the match, but Tottenham were in the lead in the series. Guests tried not to heat up the situation in the second half. Spurs tried to calm the game, but the City players stubbornly went on the attack. Hugo Lloris often had to rescue his partners, but in the 59th minute he clearly let them down, the French goalkeeper missed a shot into the near corner, the author of the effective strike was Sergio Aguero. With his goal, the Argentinean allowed the hosts to take the lead in a two-match confrontation – 4:2. The Mancunians scored, which meant that the visiting players had to go on the attack. It didn’t take long for the Spurs to regain the advantage, in the 73rd minute, Fernando Llorente managed to return the game to the initial stage, the forward closed the cross from a corner – 4:3. The situation escalated with every second of playing time. The capital sat tightly on the defensive, and the hosts threw all their forces into attacking the Tottenham goal. Dreams of a Champions League semi-final could have been shattered in stoppage time, with Raheem Sterling scoring in the third added minute, but the referee, after watching a video replay, canceled the midfielder’s goal. The result – 4:3, the “townspeople” won the battle, though they lost the war. Now the Spurs have to overcome an equally difficult obstacle, and victory in the duel Tottenham – Ajax could be the first step towards the long-awaited final. Ajax The Dutch had an even more difficult task, because the 1:1 score in the first match against Juventus led the Turin club to the next round. Ajaxids actively started the return game. Already at the very beginning of the game, Donny Van de Beek could open the score, the midfielder shot from two meters, but the ball flew over the crossbar. The task for the Dutch became even more difficult when, in the 28th minute, Pjanic took a corner and Ronaldo sent the ball into the near corner of the goal – 1:0. Despite the missed goal, nothing has changed globally for Ajax – they need a goal scored. The task was well understood by Van de Beek, the player rehabilitated for a previously unused moment, and outplayed Wojciech Szczesny in a similar situation – 1:1 in the 36th minute. The team met the break with a draw. If the first half was more or less equal, then the second half is completely behind Ajax. At first, Szczesny rescued Turintsy, the Polish goalkeeper made some unrealistically cool saves. But, in the 67th minute, even their goalkeeper, Matthijs de Licht, failed to help Juventus outplayed two players of the “black and white” and sent the ball into the left corner of the goal. The second goal – killed the intrigue in the series, Juventus was no longer able to win back two goals. The result is 1:2, and the Dutch team will play in the semifinal confrontation with Tottenham. Odds for the match Tottenham – Ajax on April 30, 2019 It is difficult for bookmakers from Pari-Match to give an advantage to one of the teams, but they believe a little more in Pochettino’s wards. Odds for the match Tottenham – Ajax: Tottenham win – 2.48; Draw – 3.40; Ajax win – 2.95. Tottenham – Ajax: prediction for the match The first game can decide a lot. It is unlikely that any of the head coaches will take risks and be ready to move with all their might towards the opponent’s goal. Prediction for the match Tottenham – Ajax: total under 2.5, odds – 1.95, or bet on Ajax to win at least in one half, odds – 1.92.
