🇳🇱 Ajax survive huge Groningen scare to keep UCL hopes alive | OneFootball

Groningen hosted Ajax once again after their initial fixture was suspended, and the visitors held on to all three points despite a nervy five-goal clash.

Scorers: Krüger 38′, Laros Duarte 87;’ Tadić 18′ (P), Brobbey 68′, Timber 81′

Fan disarray led to this original clash being suspended and on the second time of asking, Ajax picked up a key win in their hunt for Champions League football behind closed doors.

The match began in the ninth minute with the same line-up from the weekend version, as Brian Brobbey, Dušan Tadić and Mohammed Kudus led the line for the visitors.

Ajax took control of the turf up north but needed a bit of luck to break the deadlock when the captain’s penalty made things 1-0.

Yet their inability to pile on the goals against an already relegated side allowed Groningen back in the match.

Just before the break, substitute Florian Krüger impressively beat Gerónimo Rulli before Oliver Antman almost doubled the lead.

In the second half, chances continued to arrive for both sides. Kudus saw two efforts go over the bar while Krüger handed Ajax another big scare but couldn’t convert into an empty net at the back post.

Eventually, two key men combined for the visitors as Kudus’ cross was met by Brobbery in the box for his 12th Eredivisie goal of the season.

Groningen’s resilience was well on display deep into the match, and a brilliant curling effort from Laros Duarte saw a second beat Rulli but a diving header from Jurrien Timber was enough insurance for Ajax to scrape by 3-2.

The result means Ajax are five points behind second-place PSV Eindhoven in hopes of reaching the Champions League qualifiers with two matches remaining.