‘They complain when you get physical’: Jose Mourinho tells Tottenham how to beat Ajax ahead of Champions League showdown
- Jose Mourinho has offered Tottenham some advice ahead of Ajax showdown
- The Dutch side have squashed giants to reach the Champions League semi-final
- Tottenham face them next and Mourinho believes there is a way to beat them
- He said: ‘You have to make it physical and give Ajax the game they don’t want’
Jose Mourinho has given his take on the question we all want to know the answer to. How do you beat Ajax?
The Dutch side have been this year’s surprise package in Europe, sashaying their way to the Champions League semi-finals with panache, flair and excitement.
They twice held their own against Bayern Munich, knocked out the holders Real Madrid after embarrassing them on their own turf and this week dismantled Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of winning the Champions League with Juventus.
Jose Mourinho has given Tottenham some advice on how to beat Ajax ahead of their semi-final
And yet, they stand alongside Tottenham, Barcelona and Liverpool on the cusp of European glory as the overwhelming underdogs to go all the way.
Mauricio Pochettino will know they pose a real threat of derailing Tottenham’s own ambitions of reaching the final and now has been offered some advice from a former rival on how to get the better of them.
Mourinho, whose Manchester United side beat a similarly stocked Ajax squad 2-0 in the Europa League final back in 2017, believes he has the formula on how to stop Erik ten Hag’s young world beaters.
Speaking on RT Sport, Mourinho said: ‘We gave them the game that they didn’t want to have, they complained about long build-up, they complained about [Marouane] Fellaini, about physicality, they complained because they couldn’t cope.
Ajax have surprised everyone by progressing through to the Champions League semi-finals
Mourinho’s Manchester United team beat a similar Ajax side in the 2017 Europa League final
‘If you play against Ajax in the way they want to play you have the risk that they are better than you.
‘If I see for example Ajax play Barcelona or Liverpool in the final, if they reach the final, I think Barcelona and Liverpool can beat them playing their own strength but when your quality is not there you have to go to the strategic point of view and give them what they don’t want.’
Ajax have already been given a major boost ahead of the semi-final with Tottenham as Eredivisie announced this week they will postponing all league fixtures before the first-leg clash in London at the end of this month.
Mourinho believes Tottenham will have to make the game physical to beat Ajax