UCL Final Buildup: The Reds and the Spurs journey to Madrid was no walk in the Park
The team in white started off on fire, showing no signs of Christmas fatigue at all. Four goals without conceding over Borussia Dortmund set the pace.
They were not here because of luck
Spurs’ slow dance into the quarterfinals was stopped when they were about to be involved in the first all-English event of this tournament. A meeting with old foes, Man City.
Eight goals over two lets, with seven of those goals coming in the second leg. The star of the night and Mauricio’s 12th man… VAR!
Two-minutes of celebration stolen from Pep and his City side. All of the emotions a human can express was manifested in one minute of Champions League football.
Then came the Lucas Moura masterpiece!
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Ajax was a team no team wanted to entertain, but entertain them they had to. An away win in the first leg at the modern-arts White Hart Lane gave me the idea Ajax was about to go all the way.
The hostile atmosphere inside the Johan Cruijff ArenA was kind to no club coming there. 45 minutes of football had gone by and it was certain the Amsterdam team were another 45 minutes away from booking a ticket to Madrid.
Then came a forward by the name of Lucas Moura. He wasn’t ready for the Dutch party and came up with a hat trick to rob all in the arena of joyful celebrations (well that was if you were an Ajax man).
Three goals in the second half cancelled out the home side’s two-goal advantage. The Brazilian gave all of those in North London an emotional night.
He wrote his name in the club’s history books, and Spurs started their own history in the Champions League.