Lucas Moura’s second half hat-trick has sealed an unbelievable comeback from Tottenham Hotspur to send them to a historic UEFA Champions League Final overnight.
With the tie delicately poised in the favour of Ajax after a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane a week prior, the home side looked set to book their place in the final after racing to a two-goal lead inside the opening half.
Young phenom Matthjis de Ligt nodded Ajax ahead inside the opening five minutes to the delirium of their home support before Hakim Ziyech made it two just before half time with a fantastic first-time finish.
The tie looked all but over as Ajax had a three-goal advantage at the main break with Mauricio Pochettino’s men needing a miracle to scrape through to the final.
However, the second half told a completely different story with Lucas getting on the end of some nice work from Dele Alli to bring the away side right back into proceedings.
Moments later, the Brazilian was once again in the thick of the action as he latched on to a failed clearance from the Ajax defence to put it home brilliantly and suddenly Spurs were right in the fight.
Lucas could have had his hat-trick a matter of moments after scoring his second but De Ligt was on hand to black what would have been a certain goal for Spurs.
The Dutch side began to find their touch late on in the second half as Ziyech launched with a cracking effort on goal rocketing against the upright as they looked to end a spirited Spurs fightback.
With minutes to play Jan Vertonghen came even closer to scoring with his header hitting the bar before falling to him again only for Joel Veltman to be on hand to clear it away.
As it seemed like luck wasn’t on Tottenham’s side – Pochettino’s men launched one more attack with the ball falling to Lucas who was able to seal his hat-trick and an improbable come from behind win for Spurs who booked themselves into a Champions League final.
For Spurs, they will finish their Premier League campaign against Everton as they look to end their season on a high before focusing their attention towards the final on June 2 against Liverpool in Madrid.
While for Ajax, they will look to seal the Eredivisie title as they face Utrecht on Sunday in a must-win game.
