Aston Villa survived a tough task at Ajax, drawing 0-0 in the opening leg of the Europa Conference League last-16 in Amsterdam.
Villa were second best throughout the night at the Johan Cruijff Arena, but the Dutch giants, inspired by England star Jordan Henderson, were unable to convert their advantage, as the game ended goalless.
They relied on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to make crucial saves and were unable to produce explosive offensive play on the other end.
Both teams were reduced to ten men in the final ten minutes after Ezri Konsa was unjustly sent off for two yellow cards, with Tristan Gooijer following moments later for the hosts.
However, Unai Emery’s team will now be confident of winning the next The second leg this week will be played at Villa Park, where they are really strong, and they will advance to the quarterfinals.
With a crucial game in the hunt for the Premier League top four against Tottenham on Sunday, Emery made many changes to his squad, including the departures of John McGinn and Leon Bailey.
Moussa Diaby, one of the replacements, nearly made an early impact when he opened space for himself but shot straight at Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Ajax are not the same team that reached the Champions League semi-finals five years ago, and they are currently sixth in the Dutch Eredivisie.
But they gave the Villa the runaround in a first half where Emery’s men were pulled back.
