Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League last-16 first leg resulted in a 0-0 draw in Amsterdam as they overcame a challenging assignment against Ajax.
At the Johan Cruijff Arena, Villa was second best the entire evening, but the Dutch powerhouses, captained by England star Jordan Henderson, were unable to convert their lead into a goal, and the match ended in a draw.
They were unable to play their exciting attacking football on the other end and had to rely on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to make a crucial save.
After receiving two yellow cards, Ezri Konsa was severely sent off, reducing both teams to 10 men for the last ten minutes. Moments later, the hosts were replaced by Tristan Gooijer.
However, Unai Emery’s team will now be certain of victory in the nexttheir place in the quarterfinals by winning this week’s second leg at Villa Park, where they are extremely formidable.
John McGinn and Leon Bailey were among the players Emery benched in preparation for Sunday’s crucial matchup between Tottenham and the Premier League’s top four.
Moussa Diaby, one of the substitutions, had a chance to score right away but missed the mark after creating space for himself and shooting straight at Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Ajax, who are currently languishing in fifth place in the Dutch Eredivisie, are nothing like the team that advanced to the Champions League semifinals five years ago.
