Ajax Amsterdam bounced back 3-1 against ten-men Borussia Dortmund to progress into the last 16 ahead of schedule while Paris Saint-Germain shared the spoils with resilient Leipzig at the fourth round in Champions League on Wednesday.
The “BVB” started highly motivated into the encounter and should have opened the scoring with eight minutes gone but neither Thorgan Hazard nor Jude Bellingham was able to beat Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer from promising positions.
Dortmund continued aggressive but had to swallow a setback in the 29th minute when Mats Hummels received his marching orders for a foul play on Antony.
Although Dortmund had to play with ten men, the hosts opened the scoring in the 37th minute after Marco Reus converted a foul play penalty into the bottom left corner.
Ajax had the golden chance to restore parity just before halftime, but Steven Berghuis couldn’t beat Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel following a one-on-one.
After the break, Dortmund kept all its men behind the ball and tried to focus on counterattacks. The host’s strategy paid off until the 72nd minute before Dusan Tadic tapped home a deflected cross at the far post to shock the BVB with the equalizer.
Ajax gained momentum and completed its comeback in the 83rd minute after Antony’s pinpoint cross allowed Sebastian Haller to head home the 2-1 lead from inside the box.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts in the game’s dying minutes as Antony’s square pass to the far post found Davy Klaassen, who poked home from very close to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards.
“It is always tough if you have to play for most of the time with a numerical disadvantage. We defended well though, but we conceded two similar goals following a cross. We gave everything but it wasn’t enough for a win or a draw,” Dortmund team captain Marco Reus said.
With the result, Ajax booked its berth for the next round after reaping four wins in as many games in Group C. The “BVB” slipped to third place and will face Sporting in an all-or-nothing clash.
Elsewhere, Leipzig secured a late two-all draw against Paris Saint-Germain.
The “Red Bulls” caught a perfect start on home soil as Christopher Nkunku marked an early opener.
PSG remained unimpressed and turned the tides by courtesy of Gerorginio Wijnaldum’s first-half brace.
The hosts had the last laugh though as Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty to clinch a last-gasp 2-2 draw.
Despite the share of the spoils, Leipzig stay in last place of Group A meanwhile PSG slumped to the 2nd spot.
