The Ajax women have won their first ever match in the group stage of the Champions League. The Amsterdam team were 2-0 too strong for PSG on Wednesday evening in the Johan Cruijff Arena, which has been at least a quarter-finalist for the past five years. Thanks to the victory, Ajax is at the top of group C.
At the start of the match, Ajax immediately seemed to be in trouble, because goalkeeper Regina van Eijk came out of her goal, but lost the game to a PSG attacker. This led to a shooting opportunity for Marie-Antoinette Katoto, but she kicked the ball just over the goal.
The game then remained quiet for a long time, until the Ajax women almost fell behind again. In the 29th minute, Tabita Chawinga headed the ball narrowly over. Moments later, Ajax almost took the lead when PSG goalkeeper Constance Picaud was far from her goal. However, Chasity Grant’s shot was blocked by defender Sakina Karchaoui.
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Not much later, the Ajax players made it happen, when a hard shot by Nadine Noordam was stopped by a PSG defender. The ball deflected, after which Tiny Hoekstra scored.
Just before half time, Ajax left back Ashleigh Weerden went forward, where she was hit hard. Ajax was awarded a penalty which was used by captain Sharida Spitse. Ajax went into halftime 2-0.
The second half turned out to be a lot tougher for the Amsterdam team because PSG put a lot of pressure on Ajax’s goal. But with heavy defensive work in most of the second half, Ajax managed to regain control in the final phase and PSG was unable to score again.
With the victory, Ajax takes the lead in group C. Bayern Munich drew 2-2 at home against AS Roma on Wednesday. Next Thursday Ajax will play the second group match in Rome.