The last Dutch representative in European football this season is out, after Amsterdam side Ajax lost to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk of Ukraine on away goals.

Both sides scored in extra time at the Arena stadium but with the final score 2-1 and a 2-2 tie on aggregate, Dnipro’s away goal gave the Ukrainians the edge.

Uefa reporter Derek Brookman said in his review of the game that Ajax will continue to face trouble reaching the later stages of any Uefa competition unless they can retain their top talent for longer.

Danny Blind and Christian Eriksen are two of the more recent examples of players going elsewhere.

During Thursday night’s match Ajax ‘looked short of creativity and vulnerable in defence. And it’s not just this season they’ve come up short – the last time they reached a European quarter final was in 2002/03,’ he said.