Ajax dumped out of Champions League

Dutch side lost second leg 3-2 and 5-4 on aggregate to Rapid Vienna

PARIS: Four-time European champions Ajax have been eliminated at the third qualifying round stage of the Champions League after a humiliating 3-2 second-leg defeat to Rapid Vienna late on Tuesday.

After a 2-2 first-leg draw in the Austrian capital last week, Ajax were strong favourites to progress to the play-off round, but they suffered a torturous night at the Amsterdam Arena.

Frank de Boer’s men let a two-goal lead slip at the Ersnt-Happel Stadion last week and the visitors — seemingly buoyed by that comeback — started where they left off last week.

Slovenian international Robert Beric — the scorer of Rapid’s equaliser in the first leg — tormented Ajax again as he put the Austrian side in front after 12 minutes before Louis Schaub doubled their lead before half-time.

Ajax, who had reached the group stages in each of the last four seasons, hauled themselves back into the match and levelled the aggregate scores at 4-4, thanks to goals by Polish international Arkadiusz Milik and Serbian midfielder Nemanja Gudelj.

But just as the tie seemed set for extra time, Rapid Vienna — who last reached the Champions League group stages in the 2005-06 season — struck a decisive blow after 77 minutes via Schaub’s second goal of the night.

Rapid progress to the play-off round after a 5-4 aggregate victory.

Monaco through after 7-1 aggregate win

Last season’s quarter-finalists Monaco are into the play-off round after a thumping 4-0 second-leg win over Swiss side Young Boys.

The Ligue 1 side — who reached the 2004 final where they were beaten by Portuguese giants Porto — were already 3-1 up from last week’s first leg in Bern and finished the job handsomely at the Stade Louis II thanks to a blistering second-half display.

“I liked our performance,” said Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim. “We took control of the game. Our goal was to not concede before half-time and force our opponent to attack. That’s exactly what happened.”

Young Boys, who were semi-finalists of the European Cup back in 1958-59, retained some hope of getting back into the tie with the second leg goalless at half-time.

But Monaco — third in Ligue 1 last season — struck four times in 23 devastating second-half minutes to inflict a crushing 7-1 aggregate defeat on the Swiss capital club.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th,  2015.

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