AFP, AMSTERDAM and LONDONReal Madrid on Wednesday needed a late winner from Marco Asensio and the video assistant referee’s (VAR) debut in the UEFA Champions League to beat a spirited Ajax 2-1 in the first leg of the last 16. Hakim Ziyech’s equalizer at least keeps Ajax in touch heading into the second leg, but Asensio’s 87th-minute winner was a sucker punch in a match the Dutch team had largely dominated. Insisting his players deserved all the praise after emerging from a grueling schedule with their best result of the season, Pochettino said: “I want to congratulate my players one more time. Although Tottenham still have to survive the second leg at Signal Iduna Park on March 5, they have a golden opportunity to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011. When you have a team in front of you like Dortmund, you need to respect them,” Pochettino said.

Source: Taipei Times February 14, 2019 16:04 UTC