Ajax draw Juventus in Amsterdam, Ronaldo back with goal

Ajax and Juventus drew 1-1 in their first encounter in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg match between Ajax and Juventus at Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.[Photo: AP]

Juventus had the first shot on goal through Federico Bernardeschi, but in the remainder of the second half, the home team dominated in front of over 50,000 spectators at Johan Cruijff Arena. After a quick combination, Hakim Ziyech nearly curled the ball into the far corner, but Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny blocked the shot.

Donny van de Beek had the biggest chance for Ajax, but his left-foot shot went wide and Juventus became more dangerous with shots by Bernardeschi and Miralem Pjanic near the end of the first half.

The ice breaking moment came at the end of the first half when Cristiano Ronaldo, back from a hamstring injury, headed in a cross by his Portuguese compatriot Joao Cancelo.

But just after the kick-off of the second half, Ajax's Braziian forward David Neres dribbled the ball into the penalty area to surprise Szczesny with a curled shot in the far corner.

Ajax kept putting on pressure on the visitors. However, despite some shots from Nicolas Tagliafico and Ziyech, the domination did not lead to goals.

Next Tuesday, Juventus will host Ajax in the return leg in Turin. Ajax will be without the suspended Tagliafico.