Matthijs de Ligt News

The Dutch could have gone ahead before being reduced to 10 men, with fullbacks Denzel Dumfries and Patrick van Aanholt creating several chances with their overlapping runs. Yet striker Memphis Depay looked out of sorts and Donyell Malen hesitated with several opportunities – no more so than when sprinting through the Czech defence to go one on one with Tomas Vaclik, before having the ball snatched away from his feet as he tried to round the keeper.

A statement from the club on Thursday said they had made record turnover of 990 million euros last season and projected an increase to 1.047 billion euros for the 2019/20 campaign.

De Ligt, who captained his former club in their thrilling run to the Champions League semi-finals last season, said he did not feel any additional pressure after becoming one of the most expensive defenders in the world.

With this move, De Ligt has now become the most expensive defender in the history of Serie A.

The Dutch coach said he saw no need to talk to the 19-year-old central defender at halftime about how he failed to control an easy pass and then tripped England`s Marcus Rashford to give away a penalty in the 32nd minute.

Such was Ajax`s domination in the early stages that they could already have virtually sealed a place in the final -- but they had to be content with Van de Beek`s 15th-minute goal.

The 3-2 aggregate win ensured unlikely semi-final qualification for the Dutch club who have come all the way through the preliminary rounds of the competition.

Coach Erik ten Hag said the performance had been "as close to perfection as you can get" and that his young Ajax side deserved to progress.

The 30-year-old laid on passes for Hakim Ziyech and David Neres to give Ajax an early two-goal lead at the Bernabeu, then capped a virtuoso display with a thunderous finish into the top corner to make it 3-0.

Young Dutch internationals de Ligt and de Jong are Ajax’s top commodities and offer the club a chance to make a fortune as they are linked with a bevy of big-spending teams, notably Barcelona and Manchester City.