Ajax through to Europa League final after tense second leg against Lyon
Amsterdam football club Ajax have reached the final of the Europa League after a tense Lyon fight back in the French city on Thursday night.
Ajax were down to 10 men with six minutes to play but managed to hold off the onslaught to keep the tally at 3-1, having taken the lead in the first half through 19-year-old Kasper Dolberg.
Ajax’ 4-1 home win over Lyon was enough to see them through to the final 5-4 on aggregate, where they will meet Manchester United.
It is the first time since 1996 that Ajax have qualified for a final in a European competition. Then they lost the Champions League on penalties to Juventus.
Ajax coach Peter Bosz said after the match that his young side’s return to a European final was ‘a victory for football’.
Captain Davy Klaassen said he is ‘enormously proud’ of the team’s performance. ‘It was a question of survival,’ he told RTL7. ‘They needed one goal and took all the risks, we had 10 men and had to stand our ground. I am proud.’
The final takes place in Stockholm on May 24.
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