BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam
AJAX’S European dreams were turned into a Dutch nightmare last night as Greek titans Olympiacos pulled off a sensational 2-1 smash-and-grab to march into the Champions League knockouts.
On a night where the stars were expected to align for the home side, it was the “Reds” from Piraeus who shone brightest under the Amsterdam lights.
The script seemed written for an Ajax revival, but Gelson Martins tore it up in the 52nd minute.
The Portuguese winger, playing with the flair of a man possessed, silenced the Arena when he latched onto a slick cut-back from Mehdi Taremi to fire low into the corner.
Interim boss Fred Grim looked to have found a lifeline when the referee pointed to the spot after a frantic VAR review for handball. Up stepped Kasper Dolberg, who kept his cool to smash the penalty home in the 69th minute, sending the “F-Side” into raptures.
But if Ajax thought they had the momentum, they forgot to tell Santiago Hezze.
The game’s true star turn came ten minutes from time.
As a Chiquinho corner swung into the danger zone, the Argentine midfielder rose like a colossus to thunder a header past Vitezslav Jaros.
Ajax threw the kitchen sink at it late on—even bringing on Wout Weghorst for a trademark rescue mission—but Panagiotis Retsos produced a heroic goal-line clearance to ensure the points headed back to Greece.
While Olympiacos fans celebrate a historic place in the playoff round, Ajax are left to pick through the wreckage of a campaign that saw them finish a dismal 32nd in the table.
For the four-time winners, the stars have officially gone out.
