Tagliafico scores twice as Ajax beats AEK Athens 3-0

AMSTERDAM (AP) - Defender Nicolas Tagliafico scored twice Wednesday as Ajax celebrated its return to Champions League football with an emphatic 3-0 victory over AEK Athens at the recently renamed Johan Cruyff Arena.

After dominating possession but failing to score in the first half, Argentina defender Tagliafico broke the deadlock just after the break and made it 3-0 in the 90th minute with an effort from an acute angle on the left that sailed over AEK goalkeeper Vassilis Barkas and into the goal.

In between, substitute Donny van de Beek doubled Ajax's lead with a powerful close-range volley in the 77th.

It was four-time European champion Ajax's first appearance in the Champions League in four years, while AEK was playing in Europe's top club competition for the first time in more than a decade.

Ajax dominated possession but failed to create a meaningful chance in the first half.

That changed inside a minute after the break when a corner fell to David Neres, who scooped the ball into the penalty area where Tagliafico calmly slotted the ball under Barkas.

Van de Beek made it 2-0 by volleying past Barkas after a cross from the right by Dusan Tadic before Tagliafico completed the scoring with his spectacular effort from the left.

AEK defended in numbers and looked dangerous on the break in the first half against a makeshift Ajax defense that saw midfielder Frenkie de Jong replacing injured captain Matthijs de Ligt at center back alongside Daley Blind. But the Greek champion was outplayed after the break and rarely threatened.

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