Four days before Barcelona visit the Amsterdam Arena on the fifth matchday of the group stage of the Champions League, Ajax comfortably won in the league (3-0). Frank De Boer’s team only needed two minutes to go ahead with a Hoes goal and maintained the lead until the second half. Towards the end, they sewed up the three points with two goals, from Fischer and Klaassen. Following the win, Ajax went to the top of the Erevidisie pending the outcome of Vitesse’s match.
Celtic win and Milan draw
The other two teams in group H of the Champions League also played their respective domestic matches on Saturday. Neil Lennon’s Celtic beat Aberdeen at Celtic Park with two goals in stoppage time (3-1). Celtic went ahead just after the half hour mark with a goal from Commons, but, just before the break, Aberdeen equalised. After the break, Celtic repeatedly went looking for goal, but the win didn’t come until after the regulation 90 minutes were up. Boerrigter, then Commons, scored the two late goals to ensure the three points. Celtic now have 33 points and have opened up a gap at the top of the Scottish League.
Milan is the only team from the Champions group that were unable to gain the 3 points. Massimo Allegri’s outfit drew 1-1 against Genoa at the San Siro, despite playing almost an hour with a player more. The Brazilian Kaka made it 1-0 in the early stages of the game, but the hard-working Gilardino equalised from the penalty spot on 10 minutes. Just after 30 minutes Manfredini was sent off for a foul in the box, but Balotelli failed from the penalty spot. Despite great efforts from the Milan players, they were unable to score again, and the 1 point leaves them mid-table with 14 points.
