Dutch giants Ajax claimed a great 2-2 draw at Benfica during the first leg of the Round of 16 tie of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night but Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus watched the full match from the bench.
The 21-year old Kudus has made just two substitute appearances for Ajax since coming back from an a lengthy injury layoff that also saw him miss the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ivory Coast international striker Sebastien Haller scored at both ends of the game. The former West Ham Number Nine scored an own goal in the 26th minute to cancel Dusan Tadic’s 18th minute opener for Ajax.
But the prolific attacker quickly made amends by scoring the second goal of his team in the 29th minute but Benfica equalized through Yaremchuk in the 72nd minute.
Ajax clinched a great result on the road ahead of the return leg in Amsterdam.
Haller’s goal was his 11th in this season’s Champions League.
2021/22 UEFA Champions League top scorers
11 Sébastien Haller (Ajax)
9 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern)
8 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
7 Christopher Nkunku (Leipzig)
6 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
6 Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
5 Leroy Sané (Bayern)
5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
5 Lionel Messi (Paris)
5 Kylian Mbappé (Paris)
4 Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting CP)
4 Arnaut Danjuma (Villarreal)
4 Antoine Griezmann (Atlético)
