Ajax are back in with a chance of progression in the Champions League after a hard fought 1-0 win over Celtic at the Amsterdam Arena.
- By Michael Bell
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With only one point from their opening three matches, and sitting bottom of the group, Ajax needed three points against Celtic or their Champions League adventure would have been over.
The first half was dominated by the home side, who had most of the ball but failed to really test Fraser Forster in the Celtic goal. Siem de Jong saw a header saved, while Stefano Denswil came close with a free kick.
Early in the second half Celtic nearly took the lead, but Biram Kayal could only fire over the bar after a swift counter attack.
On 51 minutes, Ajax scored the only goal after some excellent one touch passing around the box, a back heel set Lasse Schone through on goal, and the midfielder made no mistake in front of Forster.
Stefano Denswil hit the post with a header late on, while some great defending by Joel Veltman prevented Celtic getting through at the other end.
Ajax held on for the last few minutes for a much needed three points which lifts them above their opponents, and only one point behind AC Milan, with a trip to the San Siro to come.
The scoreline should have been bigger for the amount of possession Ajax had around the box, but once again they came up against a strong Virgil van Dijk performance which kept the scoreline down.
Frank de Boer will be happy that his side returned to winning ways after a number of poor performances, and he deserves credit for the change of line up which helped Ajax dominate possession.
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