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When Dusan Tadic Delivered A 10/10 Champions League Masterclass Against Real Madrid

When Dusan Tadic Delivered A 10/10 Champions League Masterclass Against Real Madrid

Dusan Tadic was unplayable for Ajax as they thrashed Real Madrid 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Two years ago today, Dusan Tadic produced one of the best performances in recent Champions League history.

Ajax, having been trailing 2-1 to Real Madrid from the first leg, smashed the 13-time European champions 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to send the Amsterdam outfit through to the quarter finals.

Tadic scored one and assisted two in a world-class display on the biggest stage in European club football.

Image: PA
Image: PA

He set up Hakim Ziyech for the opener seven minutes in and his second assist for David Neres was just plain filthy.

The Serbian destroyed Casemiro with an outrageous roulette before playing a perfectly timed pass into the path of Neres, who maintained his composure and made it 2-0.

It was quite possibly the former Southampton man's best ever outing and he capped off a complete performance with a stunning curling shot from that wand of a left foot in the second half.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Fans think Tadic's wondrous display against Los Blancos was an all-time Champions League classic.

A fan commented: "I haven't seen something like this for years. So dominant, creative, elegant - pure rapsody. And against such team as Real Madrid, just incredible."

"Another added: "Honestly ....this might be one of the greatest champions League performance s [sic] of all time...wow.... definitely one of the best ever by an opposition player at the bernabeau [sic]."

A third said: "One of the best performances I have seen in general."

A fourth claimed: "I've watched a lot of Messi and Ronaldo but this is probably the best single-match performance I've ever seen from an outfield player!"

L'Equipe, the French newspaper, concurred. The outlet are notoriously harsh with their match ratings but they gave Tadic a rare 10/10 mark for what he served up in the Spanish capital.

Only 11 players in history have received the perfect score, with Lionel Messi receiving it twice.

Tadic finished his first season at Ajax with 38 goals in 56 games - including nine in Ajax's run to the Champions League semi-finals.

In the Eredivisie, he hit 28 in 34 as Erik ten Hag's side won a 34th league title.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football, Ajax, Dusan Tadic, Champions League, Real Madrid

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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