Lucas Moura conjured up the second Champions League miracle in 24 hours with a last-gasp winner to complete his hat-trick and send Tottenham Hotspur past a shattered Ajax Amsterdam on away goals on Wednesday.
A day after Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit, Tottenham came back from the dead after Ajax had looked certain to reach its first final for 23 years.
Ajax skipper Matthijs de Ligt’s fifth-minute header and a superb 35th minute effort by Hakim Ziyech put Ajax 3-0 ahead on aggregate by halftime at a raucous Johan Cruyff Arena.
Transformed
But Tottenham was transformed after the break. With veteran Spanish striker Fernando Llorente on as a second-half substitute, Tottenham refused to lay down and when Moura scored in the 55th minute the impossible began to seem possible for the north London club.
Four minutes later he fired through a crowd to equalise on the night and after both sides hit the woodwork in the heart-pumping finale, Moura drilled into the corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time to leave Ajax crestfallen.
Tottenham’s only other European Cup semifinal came 57 years ago when it lost to Benfica.
Poor marking
Ajax got off to a dream start as captain De Ligt took advantage of poor marking to head past Hugo Lloris.
Tottenham responded in spirited fashion with Son Heung-min deceiving keeper Onana with a cross that hit the post.
But Ajax was cool, calm and collected and bided its time before striking again in devastating fashion.
Tadic, who moments earlier had dragged a shot just wide, was released down the left and he cut the ball back perfectly for Ziyech to whip a left-footed shot inside the far post.
But with Llorente on for Victor Wanyama, Tottenham went for the direct approach after the break and Ajax was rattled.
Moura converted in the 55th minute, sliding home after running on to Dele Alli’s pass and four minutes later, after Onana had made a remarkable save to dent Llorente, the Brazilian showed great footwork to thread a shot through a crowd.
It set up a rip-roaring finale with Tottenham pressing for the winning goal and Ajax looking to counter-attack.
Ziyech shot against the post, then Tottenham’s former Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen headed against the crossbar with the goal gaping before Lloris’s save kept Spurs alive.
Lloris went up for a corner in stoppage time but it was Moura who proved Tottenham’s hero, producing a clinical finish from Alli’s flick.
The result (semifinal, second-leg): Ajax 2 (de Ligt 5, Ziyech 35) lost to Tottenham 3 (Moura 55, 59, 90+6). 3-3 on aggregate;Tottenham wins on away goals.
