Ajax duo Noussair Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech were fasting during Champions League clash with Tottenham and had to wait until 22nd minute to refuel as they observe Ramadan
- Two Ajax stars were spotted taking on energy bars just 22 minutes into Spurs tie
- It was revealed the pair had been fasting as they observed Ramadan
- Ajax were beaten in their Champions League semi-final by Tottenham Hotspur
Ajax pair Noussair Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech were both fasting during their Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Both were observing Ramadan and could not eat before sunset, which occurred at 9.17pm having been fasting since sunrise which took place at 5.57am.
The duo both then took on fuel at the first opportunity, which came in the 22nd minute – five minutes after the sunset time in Amsterdam.
Noussair Mazraoui was one of two Ajax stars observing Ramadan during Tuesday night’s tie
Mazroui was spotted guzzling down energy gel which had been handed to him from the touchline.
It appeared to do the trick for Ziyech, who went on to double his side’s lead in the 35th minute.
Despite the duo’s desperate need to take on fuel, Ajax were dominant in the first half of the semi-final against Spurs.
Matthijs de Ligt’s header in the fifth minute doubled the Dutch side’s aggregate lead, before Ziyech’s superb strike across goal had them 3-0 up on aggregate at half-time.
Hakim Ziyech was also observing Ramadan, and scored later in the first half to make it 2-0
Ziyech’s strike across goal came just 13 minutes after his nutrients boost in the semi-final
But no energy bars could help keep up Ajax’s high standard of play in the second half and Spurs were soon level on the night through a quickfire Lucas Moura double.
Ziyech though had a chance to win the tie for the Dutch league leaders late in the game only for his low shot across the face of goal to cannon off the post.
His miss proved costly with Moura then grabbing his hat-trick right at the death to send Spurs through on away goals.
Ziyech had the chance to win the tie for Ajax but hit the post with a low effort across goal
Ziyech admitted after the game that he blamed his side’s exit on his failure to put away chances.
‘I could have scored, hit the post,’ he told Veronica. ‘At least one of my chances should have gone in. Then it would have been over, but then it struck us hard.
I blame myself for this. We gave our all. The play wasn’t great, but we kept fighting.’
Ziyech reacts during Ajax’s capitulation against Spurs in the Champions League semi-final