Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong has said his side found it harder to overcome defending champions Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League than their quarter-final opponents Juventus.
The Dutch side produced an excellent performance in the competition on Tuesday, as they beat the Italian giants 2-1 in Turin, ensuring a 3-2 progression into the semi-finals on aggregate. The remarkable result follows on from Ajax's upset of Madrid, as they won the last-16 tie 5-3 on aggregate; that included a stunning 4-1 success at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Despite the tighter scoreline in Italy, De Jong said after the win that the team were more comfortable against Juventus than Madrid, per RMC Sport (h/t Sacha Pisani of Goal):
"I do not know if this is the best match of our lives but it went well.