Real Madrid left the Amsterdam Arena with two vital away goals in a 2-1 victory over Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

The hosts dominated in large spells, but it was the visitors who drew first blood when Karim Benzema emphatically finished on the hour mark following Vinicius Junior’s fine run.

Hakim Ziyech levelled proceedings 15 minutes later, only for substitute Marcos Asensio to bag the winner three minutes from time.

Here, we take a closer look at Vinicius’ performance.

STATS

Shots – 1

Assists – 1

Key passes – 1

Passes – 18

Touches – 38

Fouled – 3

Dispossessed – 3

30-SECOND REPORT 

Even though Gareth Bale started this encounter, he was denied his preferred left-wing role as the in-form Vinicius has established himself down that side. The Brazilian was only in the game sporadically owing to Ajax’s dominance of play in long spells. However, he was always a great outlet and was predictably central to their best chances, eventually setting up the opener.

GOT RIGHT 

Directness

Every time Vinicius received possession, he was only headed in one direction. He immediately looked to beat his man and rapidly make his way towards goal. His raw pace and subtle shifts in direction were too much for Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt to handle. The Netherlands centre-back, in particular, was well-beaten on a couple of occasions, the second saw Vinicius set up Benzema for the opener.

GOT WRONG

Involvement

His relentless runs forward bore fruit on a couple of occasions, but there were times that he needed to drop off as well – which he failed to do. No player who started the game had fewer touches (38) than he did and that includes the two goalkeepers. The visitors were under pressure at times and he needed to get closer to his team-mates.

VERDICT

His positive play and single-mindedness ensured that Madrid always posed a threat in the transition. He’s been fearless in Madrid’s first team over the last couple of months and was unfazed by the Champions League stage as well. The 18-year-old showed great composure to pick out Benzema at the end of a fine run, while his work-rate deserves recognition too as he regularly tracked Mazraoui’s runs forward.

RATING: 7/10