Ajax ended the Europa League group stages with a 1-1 draw with Standard Liege in Belgium.
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Peter Bosz’s side had already qualified for the knock-out stage and sealed top spot in the group going into the game so a young Ajax side lined up in Belgium with nine changes made from the XI that beat Groningen at the weekend.
In the reverse fixture in Amsterdam, Standard fans threw flares towards the pitch and into the Ajax fans. Six minutes into Thursday’s game the Ajax fans returned the favour by throwing flares on the pitch which caused the match to be stopped after only six minutes.
When the action got underway, Ajax’s young side impressed and they took the lead on 27 minutes when Anwar El Ghazi took down an excellent pass by Donny van de Beek before smashing a ferocious strike into the net.
The home side had to win to book their place in the next round but they barely threatened Diederik Boer in the Ajax goal and it was the visitors who created several chances to extend their lead. Abdelhak Nouri shot wide, while Mateo Cassierra failed to find the net when played through on goal by Amin Younes.
Kasper Dolberg and Hakim Ziyech both came off the bench as Ajax looked to see out the victory, but five minutes from the end Standard equalised. Benito Raman capitalised on some lazy defending from Jairo Riedewald and headed past Boer.
The draw doesn’t mean much for Ajax who easily qualified for the next round top of the group and five points ahead of Celta Vigo. The Amsterdam side now head into Monday’s draw as a top seed.
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