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Match Report: Zlatan leads Ajax to victory over French champions

Kicking off the Champions League campaign without Van der Vaart and Mido... A few weeks ago, any Ajax fan would have told you that a miracle would be required to beat French champions Olympique Lyonnais, if that disastrous scenario became reality. That miracle did occur in the Amsterdam ArenA: the unlikely resurrection of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scorer of two stunningly beautiful goals. So the many Swedish myths that reached the Dutch capital, were true after all...

His first: Zlatan beautifully collects a high cross, well past the far post. The ball drops dead on his foot, as if his boot is soaked in glue. Two Lyon defenders seem convinced that the Swede has no other option than to pass back. But then there's this move, Zlatan style. As his right foot cuddles the ball faster than anyone on the stands can see, he nonchalantly walks past Chanelet. And then (why did he never try to finish like that before?) there's a furious shot, from an unlikely angle, finding the back of the net via the inside of the post. No chance for goalkeeper Coupet. 1-0.

His second: Jari Litmanen sets up an attack from the Ajax midfield, so beautiful it makes you reminiscent of the first 'Jari era'. Victor Sikora is lauched. He waits, watches and releases the low cross. Zlatan is there. The ball comes in, prefectly, but the goal is behind the tall Ajacied's back. Coupet knows this and goes for the ball. There's the magic touch again, subtly touching the ball. It's not a shot, not even a push, but more of a flick-on. A gentle touch, almost a kiss. The ball curls over Coupet's hands, softly landing in the nets like a swan on water. 2-0. 34 minutes played.

Is it the knock-out blow for the French? One thing's for sure: Ronald Koeman surprised them with his tactical formation. Quite unexpectedly, he went for the classis 4-3-3 system, with - remarkably - Victor Sikora playing from the right and Andy van der Meyde from the left. "Their full-backs are their weakness", said Koeman, who saw his team get four, five, maybe six good chances in the first half. Maxwell was a split-second too late to push a Sikora cross home. Litmanen and Galásek shots went just wide.

All of a sudden, Ajax did look like a class team. What a difference from the generally poor Eredivisie performances we've seen so far. This was a different Ajax. Of course, the opponent was no FC Groningen or FC Zwolle either. On two occasions, former Barcelona striker Sonny Anderson showed his brilliance. A perfect Edmilson pass over at least forty yards provided the fast Brazilian with a free passage to Maarten Stekelenburg. The tremendous save by the 19 year-old Ajax goalie was not his last of the evening. However, he had no chance when Anderson surprisingly released a mean, low shot from just outside the box. The post was there to rescue. 2-0 at half time. What a return to the most prestigious football competition on the planet!

As much as the first half was for Ajax, the second half was for Lyon. Ajax kept up, unfolding some dangerous counter-attacks in the first fifteen minutes. But as the clock ticked past the 60th minute, 'l'OL' had the Amsterdammers firmly by the throat, making them grasp for breath.

Stekelenburg made an excellent diving save on a Juninho shot from outside the box. John O'Brien had to clear two headers from corner kicks off the line. Koeman brought Jan van Halst, the pitbull, but he hardly got the chance to get physical. Most of the time he was chasing the ball, which went from one French foot to the other. In this phase, it became clear that it was not just an average team that was fighting against an unexpected 2-0 deficit.

With the finish-line in sight, Koeman decided to take off the last man able to keep the ball at his feet upfront: Zlatan, hero of the day, was replaced by André Bergdølmo. It turned out to be a tactical mistake. Exhausted Andy van der Meyde was now the only real forward left on the pitch. The only offensive player still fresh and frisky was Steven Pienaar, who provided his defenders with some room to breathe by tricking two, three Lyon defenders on two occasions.

Poor André Bergdølmo: out of form, out of the team and - during his nine minutes as a substitute - out of luck, too. No defender in the world could have done anything about Sonny Anderson's absolutely brilliant goal in the 84th minute. The striker received the ball with his back toward the goal, kept it in the air and lifted it over Stekelenburg - backwards. Bergdølmo was standing there, looking like the guilty one.

Six minutes to go. A long time, especially as Abubakari Yakubu was booked for the second time and the exhausted Ajacieden had to play the final four minutes, plus four extra minutes of stoppage time, with ten men. Luckily for Ajax, Lyon's attempts became more inaccurate and desperate, providing the ten Ajacieden with the space to break out, via Hatem Trabelsi mostly, and the hard-working Steven Pienaar.

As referee Riley's final whistle sounded, you realized that pressure had been high, but also that Lyon had actually not created tat many chances, except from standard situations such as corner kicks. "They were exciting minutes", said Ronald Koeman. "Lyon took risks and we were forced to drop back. There seemed to be no free man on our midfield and there was no connection with the forwards anymore. The second half was tough."

Koeman's right: the second half was tough for Ajax, but not as tough as the first half was for Olympique Lyonnais. A half of unexpected high-quality football brought Ajax (for now) the top slot in Group D, as Rosenborg BK and Internazionale battled to a 2-2 draw in Trondheim.

The Ajax coach, finally, about his match winner of the day: "I hope this will set Zlatan free. I mean, he has now made the step to a game on a high level. He did that very well. He was so good and strong on the ball in the first half. He was not as good in the second half, but he definitely proved that he can be the number nine of Ajax."

Next up: Inter away, you'd say, but that's not exactly true. If Ajax starts regarding its upcoming visit to San Siro as its 'next game', the team will surely find itself in trouble on Saturday, at RBC Roosendaal. (MP)

GOALS

• 11' 1-0 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• 34' 2-0 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• 84' 2-1 Sonny Anderson

Referee: Riley (England)
Yellow cards: Laville (Olympique Lyonnais), Galásek, Van Halst, Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Red card: Yakubu (Ajax, 85', double yellow)
Attendance: 37,455

Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Trabelsi, Chivu, Yakubu, O'Brien; Galásek (57. Van Halst), Litmanen, Maxwell; Sikora (68. Pienaar), Zlatan (81. Bergdølmo), Van der Meyde.

Olympique Lyonnais line-up: Coupet; Cacapa, Edmilson, Chanelet (79. Diarra), Brechet; Carrière, Violeau (46. Laville), Juninho, Dhorasoo; Anderson, Govou (41. Vairelles).

Group D result: Rosenborg BK - FC Internazionale 2-2

Related Links:

• Discussion: European Games
• Supershota: Goals (AVI video)
• Ajax.nl: Match Report (in Dutch, with pictures)