Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan as the Italians kept their UEFA Champions League campaign on course.
Amsterdam Arena clash ends in stalemate after Milan recovery
Ajax were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan as the Italian giants kept their UEFA Champions League campaign on course.
After enduring defeat to Real Madrid in their opening Group G game, Eredivisie club Ajax were forced to settle with a point from Tuesday night's clash as the Italian visitors came back from 1-0 down.
Serie A club Milan now sit second in the group after collecting four points so far, with Real in the top spot following their 1-0 win over struggling Auxerre.
Mounir El Hamdaoui opened the scoring for Ajax in the 23rd minute, making the most of a neat Luis Suarez pass to turn tightly in front of the goal and blast the ball past helpless Milan keeper Christian Abbiati into the roof of the net.
But the visitors pulled level before the break as Zlatan Ibrahimovic evaded the Ajax defence to power home a forceful strike from in front of the net in the 37th minute, much to the dismay of the Amsterdam Arena home crowd.
That crucial goal turned out to be the last of the game as neither team managed to break the stalemate in a scrappy second half, with the European stalwarts sharing the spoils.
Pegged
Ajax stormed out of the blocks and pegged a vibrant Milan side back with the lively Suarez tormenting Luca Antonini down the right wing.
Even when there was not a chance to shoot, he managed to find one with a dipping and curling volley from 25 yards out wide to the right which had Milan goalkeeper Abbiati tracking back with a sense of urgency, although the ball still cleared the crossbar by several feet.
Ajax's relentless pressure was punctuated by a shot from Robinho which Maarten Stekelenburg almost fumbled into the path of Ibrahimovic in the 15th minute.
The home side took a deserved lead in the 24th minute with Suarez flicking the ball through the legs of Alessandro Nesta before pulling it back from the byline to El Hamdaoui.
The Moroccan turned full circle inside the six-yard box before blasting a shot into the roof of the net.
Milan should have levelled on the half-hour mark when Robinho beat the offside trap to bear down on Stekelenburg.
The Brazil striker looked composed, but the impression was deceptive as he placed his shot almost negligently wide of the post after Stekelenburg had already gone to ground.
Ajax's next chance fell to their goalscorer, but his shot was saved easily at his near post by Abbiati.
The hosts were then caught out on a counter-attack once again and this time they were not let off the hook.
Chase
Clarence Seedorf squared the ball to Ibrahimovic, who only just managed to remain onside as he chested it down before volleying with venom past
Stekelenburg to silence the fans who once celebrated him.
The hosts showed the same intensity in the second half with Suarez continuing to cause problems inside the Milan penalty area.
Nesta made amends for his earlier error by stealing the ball ahead of El Hamdaoui before he could shoot in the 57th minute while his central defensive partner Thiago Silva was also earning his money as Ajax continued to probe.
Yet just like in the first half when only Ajax seemed capable of scoring, it was Milan who came closest to doing so in the 84th minute.
Ibrahimovic stole the ball inside the penalty area and stroked it across the face of goal to Kevin-Prince Boateng, who aimed for the opposite corner from a tight angle, but Stekelenburg made a stunning one-handed save to deny him.
