A six-goal thriller saw Marseille escape the Johan Cruyff Arena with a point.
Ajax were held to a 3-3 draw in their Europa League against Marseille on Thursday. The French giants avoided defeat in a nail-biting European match.
What happened?
Ajax scored a ninth-minute goal to start the game on a brilliant note. The hosts, however, maintained the pressure on Marseille’s backline, finally doubling their lead through Steven Berghuis in the 20th minute.
Marseille, however, returned to the game with Jonathan Clauss’ goal just three minutes later. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then found the equalizer for the French side as he made it 2-2 with a brilliant low shot inside the box.
The visitors had more than a few changes to complete their comeback before the break. But it was Ajax who restored their lead through Kenneth Taylor only seven minutes into the second period.
Marseille, however, soon managed to reestablish their dominance as they pushed for another equalizer. Aubameyang completed his fantastic performance when he made it 3-3 with another spectacular finish in the 78th minute. As Ajax’s frustration grew, their defensive players made more and more mistakes toward the end of the game.
Silvano Vos received a second yellow card as the hosts went down a man in the extra time. But Marseille couldn’t use their momentum to snatch a late match-winner and settled for the draw.
Player Ratings
Ajax: Gorter (8), Gaaei (4), Sutalo (6), Hato (7), Sosa (6), Tahirovic (6), Berghuis (7), Taylor (7), Borges (9), Brobbey (5), Bergwijn (6).
Bench: Vos (5), Akpom (6), Van den Boomen (6), Avila (-), Medic (-).
Marseille: Pau Lopez (6), Lodi (5), Gigot (7), Mbemba (4), Clauss (7), Ounahi (7), Rongier (7), Kondogbia (6), Harit (9), Aubameyang (9), Ndiaye (6).
Bench: Veretout (7), Vitinha (6), Correa (6), Balerdi (6), Mughe (6).