(Football news) Ajax face Benfica at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam as they look to go into the last eight of the competition for the first time since their remarkable 2018/19 season. The tie is delicately poised after a 2-2 draw in the first leg. The Dutch giants warmed up for this encounter with a 3-2 victory over Cambuur this weekend, while Benfica had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Vizela.

Still refusing to let Manchester United speculation distract him from the task at hand, Ajax manager Erik ten Hag has become accustomed to seeing Sebastien Haller make the net ripple in the Champions League as he has scored in all the matches in which he has played in and has netted 11 goals this season in the UCL. The draw against Benfica somewhat disrupted their perfect campaign as it appeared to hit Ajax hard, they followed up with a shock loss to Go Ahead Eagles, but since that mini dip in form they have managed to win three on the bounce across the Eredivisie and KNVB-Beker scoring eight goals in the process. 

The last time Ajax managed to make it out of the group stages in the Champions League they produce a dazzling run to the semi-finals in 2018-19, and home advantage should certainly serve them well in their bid to repeat the same feat with a different team this year. Ten Hag's side head into the second leg having won each of their last seven at home in all competitions and just conceding twice and scoring at least three goals in every home game.

For Benfica, they are unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions and will be confident not to get beaten. Their draw against Vizela came as a shock but it can be viewed positively given Taarabt's early sending off. This also ended their six-match streak of scoring at least two per game as the Portuguese giants have not made it past the last 16 of the Champions League since 2015-16. Benfica have struggled to find the back of the net in an away match in the Champions League as they scored only once in their last 14 away Champions League matches. Furthermore, the 2-2 draw in the first leg stretched Benfica's winless run against Ajax to seven games since their 3-1 success back in 1969.

"We can improve our game on the ball. We did it properly in the first half against Benfica but after the break we let it drop. We can reach an even higher level. We have often shown that. 
We will have to make much better choices on the ball, be more accurate and then we can dominate the game much better. Ajax had set themselves the goal of reaching the knockout phase of Europe's premier club competition which they have won four times, but not since 1995” Ten Hag told reporters on Monday.

Ten Hag said."If you just look at our goals, they have already been achieved. But I'm a sportsman and I want to get the most out of this competition. That's why this is a big challenge. We want to get as far as possible, but for that we have to beat Benfica first."

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