ajax tottenham,Tottenham end Ajax dream in injury-time, reach first Champions League final

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AMSTERDAM, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Tottenham Hotspur set up a Champions League final against Liverpool after beating Ajax 3-2 on Wednesday in Amsterdam.

After the 1-0 loss in London last week in the semifinal first leg, Tottenham progressed on away goals.

Trailing 2-0 at halftime, Tottenham bounced back to 2-2 in the second half and Lucas Moura completed his hat-trick in the 96th minute.

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag chose the expected line-up with Noussair Mazraoui instead of Joel Veltman on right back. However, due to an injury sustained by David Neres in the warming-up, Ten Hag had to make a late change just before the start. Kasper Dolberg came in as center forward and Dusan Tadic moved to the left.

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino had South Korean striker Son Heung-min back from suspension, but had to do without injured forward Harry Kane. Moussa Sissoko replaced injured defender Davinson Sanchez.

In the first five minutes, Ajax made clear their intentions with shots by Donny van de Beek, Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic. After a corner by Lasse Schone, the 19-year-old captain Matthijs de Ligt headed in the early opening goal.

It was the perfect start for Ajax, but Tottenham did not give up and was dangerous as well. Son hit the post just after the Ajax goal, Dele Alli hit wide and Christian Eriksen, Lucas Moura and Son again also had goal attempts.

On occasions, Ajax showed their tremendous ability to combine from one side of the pitch to another, as they showed in the previous rounds against Real Madrid and Juventus. One of those attacks came in the 35th minute when Tadic found Hakim Ziyech and the Dutch born Moroccan international smashed in to give the home team a 2-0 lead.

The second half was a different story with Ajax showing signs of negligence and Tottenham profiting. In the 55th minute Lucas Moura scored and four minutes later Moura scored again after lackluster defending by Ajax, 2-2.

It meant the Spurs only needed one more goal to go through. Ajax found back their form in time and got a major chance for Ziyech, who missed, and Ziyech also hit the post 10 minutes from time.

In the nerve-breaking final minutes, however, Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen even hit the cross-bar and in injury-time Moura earned the Spurs a sensational win and a place in the final, the first Champions League final ever for the Londoners.

For Ajax, a remarkable campaign, bringing back memories of the glory days, ended here in Amsterdam on Wednesday.