AC Milan and Ajax Amsterdam are facing off on Wednesday in UEFA Champions League play and the game is crucial for both sides, as they are within striking distance of Barcelona in Group H and a good result today could help that greatly as Barca takes on Celtic in the other group match and the AC-Ajax tilt is one of many great matches on the schedule and the game will be at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
AC Milan comes into the day after winning in easy fashion over Celtic last time out and the team got three goals in that matchup, including one just 12 minutes in from Kaka and that started things off. The team scored two more in the second half and was dominant in all phases for the road tilt, getting scores from Christian Zapata and Mario Balotelli to take the match 3-0 and now they will look to continue that against Ajax. Amsterdam comes into the day with some momentum, as they played very well against Barcelona, winning the match 2-1 last time out on goals from Thulani Serero and Danny Hoesen before a penalty from Xavi made it 2-1 and that is how it ended after a solid match. Tuesday saw some excitement on the schedule, as Manchester United pulled off a nice win against Shakhtar with a goal from Phil Jones, while Real Madrid was able to get by after goals from Ronaldo and Luka Modric and that came before Paris Saint-Germain fell.
The schedule on Wednesday has some key matches going down as well, with Arsenal and Napoli going at, while Barcelona will be playing Celtic and that should be an easy match for them as they move along in group play. Chelsea has some pressure on them playing Steaua Bucuresti at Stamford Bridge, as they have suffered a UCL defeat and a Premier League defeat to Stoke City and now they will get the chance to keep things going. Galatasaray defeated Juventus on Wednesday after the match was pushed due to snow from Tuesday.
Check here for the Champions League live stream coverage for AC Milan and Ajax.
More from Reuetrs.com on the match:
Marco van Basten won European honors with Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan, but as both teams prepared to meet in the Champions League on Wednesday the former Dutch striker kept his loyalties close to home.
Van Basten hopes Frank de Boer's young Ajax side can go to Milan and claim the victory they need to progress to the knockout phase and eliminate Milan from this season's competition.
"I played for both clubs, and naturally I have a sympathy for both too. In the end I hope that the best footballing side wins," Van Basten, who played for Ajax between 1981-87, told Dutch radio on Tuesday as he looked ahead to the Group H game at the San Siro.
The 49-year-old, now coach of Heerenveen, added: "Are Ajax good enough to beat Milan? I'm not sure about that. But it would be nice if Ajax, with this young team they have, could go through.
"On the other hand, I also understand that the acumen of the Italians could be the ultimate factor that ensures they go through to the next round."
Milan have eight points going into the final group matches; Ajax are one point behind and must win at the San Siro to join group winners Barcelona in the Champions League knockout phase.
Van Basten scored a European Cup Winners' Cup final winner for Ajax against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987 before moving to Milan, where he was in the Italian club's teams that won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990.
(Reuters)