Ajax will take a 4-1 lead into next week's Europa League semi-final second leg against Lyon after largely dominating the opening 90 minutes of the tie.
After recovering from a fairly slow start, Bertrand Traore and Kasper Dolberg gave the Dutch side a two-goal advantage heading into the break.
Mathieu Valbuena did net for the visitors, but it came either side of goals from Traore and Amin Younes, meaning that Ajax are now strong favourites to reach the final.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Europa League semi-final first-leg meeting between Ajax and Lyon at the recently-renamed Johan Cruyff ArenA. Les Gones are bidding to become the first French club to go all the way in this competition, while the hosts last prevailed on the European stage some 22 years ago.
Things really started to get interested in the quarter-final stage, with both of these teams involved in exciting last-eight ties, and now we are down to just four teams bidding for not just the Europa League trophy but a direct route in the Champions League. Celta Vigo and Manchester United face off in the first leg of their encounter in a little over 24 hours' time, but for now all focus is on events in Amsterdam.
TEAM NEWS!
AJAX XI: Onana, Tete, Riedewald, Sanchez, De Ligt, Klassen, Ziyech, Schone, Traore, Younes, Dolberg
LYON XI: Lopes, Jallet, Diakhaby, Nkoulou, Morel, Tousart, Gonalons, Tolisso, Cornet, Fekir, Valbuena
Starting with a look at the home side, Ajax knew that they would be without suspended pair Joel Veltman and Nick Viergever this evening. Plenty of adequate cover for the hosts, however, with Matthijs De Ligt and Davinson Sanchez occupying the central-defensive roles. Davy Klassen, Annin Youness and Hakim Ziyech have all impressed this term, and all three start in what will likely be a 4-3-3 formation.
Jairo Riedewald and Kenny Tete are the men to come in for the suspended Veltman and Viergever, while Bertrand Traore has been deemed fit enough to start on the right of a forward three that also contains the aforementioned Younes and the hugely impressive Kasper Dolberg. The 19-year-old Danish striker, who has netted 19 goals in his first senior competitive campaign at the club, has this week turned down the rumoured advances of Manchester City and Manchester United.
Switching attention to the visitors, there is some rather mixed news. Losing Alexandre Lacazette to a thigh injury is a major blow, but the prolific striker is at least on the bench and will surely be given some sort of playing time this evening. Lacazette, constantly linked with Arsenal over the past year or so, has 30 goals this term but has not featured since picking up the injury against Besiktas on April 20.
Corentin Tolisso is deemed fit enough to start, however, having been named in the 21-man travelling party despite suffering with an ankle injury sustained against Angers at the weekend. The big absentee this evening, aside from the benched Lacazette, is Netherlands international Memphis Depay, who is ineligible to play any further part in European competition this term due to representing Manchester United in the early stages.
BENCH WATCH!
AJAX SUBS: Boer, Westermann, De Jong, Van de Beek, Nouri, Kluivert, Neres
LYON SUBS: Gorgelin, Yanga-Mbiwa, Ghezzal, Ferri, Darder, Rafael, Lacazette
Confirmation of the two benches, with Lacazette likely to play around 30 minutes this evening - boss Bruno Genesio not wanting to take too many risks in terms of aggravating his thigh injury. It is worth mentioning that, while Lyon were battling to a 2-1 win at Angers at the weekend, Ajax had the week off due to the Dutch Cup final. Their last outing came on April 23 when going down 1-0 to PSV Eindhoven at the Philips Stadion.
Thirty-goal striker Alexandre Lacazette is only fit enough for a place on Lyon's bench after missing the past couple of weeks with a thigh injury. Nabil Fekir in therefore tasked with leading the line, starting narrowly ahead of Corentin Tolisso who has shaken off an injury issue of his own. Ajax are without suspended duo Joel Veltman and Nick Viergever, so in come Jairo Riedewald and Kenny Tete.
It is fair to say that, of the four remaining teams left in the competition, Manchester United and Ajax are the two boasting the most European pedigree. The Red Devils may have prevailed on the big stage more recently, but the Dutch giants have won the European Cup on four occasions, as well as lifting the Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup and Super Cup in the past - not a bad collection of silverware!
The Eredivisie outfit have not gone all the way in any European competition since 1995, however, when beating AC Milan 1-0 in Vienna to lift the 1995 Champions League. They have failed to reach this stage, too, with this their second ever appearance in the semi-finals of the Europa League/ UEFA Cup. On that previous occasion, coming back in 1992, Ajax went all the way to lift the second-tier competition.
More recently, though, Ajax have boasted very strong form on home soil, going 11 without defeat here in the Europa League and winning eight of those. They have also kept a clean sheet in five of their six games at the Johan Cruyff ArenA this term, a run that includes shutouts in each of their last four outings here. They do not quite have the best defensive record in Eredivisie, however, conceding one more than PSV and two more than Feyenoord.
In terms of their attacking stats, Ajax also trail Feyenoord by nine goals which perhaps explains why they are off the pace at the summit. With four games left to play, the world-renowned club are four points adrift, meaning that their title hopes could be officially ended by the time next week's reverse fixture with Lyon comes around. Thirty-three times they have lifted the Eredivisie title, but it will likely be three years without success come the end of the month.
Ajax, whose Dutch Cup campaign ended pre-Christmas at the hands of Cambur, round off their domestic campaign with games against Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II. If this season is to be deemed a success then they have to prevail in the Europa League, but even that was second on the list after exiting the Champions League in the qualification stage. After overcoming PAOK, Ajax then went on to lose 5-2 to Rostov in a shock result in the playoff round.
The Dutch giants did manage to progress from Group G unbeaten, though, showing their Euro pedigree as they eased through a group containing Standard Liege, Panathinaikos and fellow semi-finalists Celta Vigo. Once navigating through the drawn-out pre-Christmas group stage, Ajax beat Legia 1-0, Copenhagen 3-2 and Schalke 4-3 last time out in a real thriller. The quarter-final tie went all the way, with goals in the 11th and 120th minute sealing their path through.
Ajax are off the pace at the top of the Eredivisie standings, trailing leaders Feyenoord by four points heading into the final two fixtures. With their hopes of prevailing in the Dutch Cup also long but over, all focus for Peter Bosz and his men is now on the continent, where they are aiming to come out on top in what is just their second ever final-four match in this competition.
Lyon are also off the pace domestically - even more so than their opponents, with the gap on third-placed Nice a whopping 20 points heading into the final month. Les Gones are into their third major European semi-final, each of those coming in a different competition - the 1964 Cup Winners' Cup, 2010 Champions League and now the 2017 Europa League. They are carrying the flag for France, who have never had a winning side in this secondary competition.
It is worth reiterating that the winners of the Europa League get a direct entry into the Champions League, which in the case of all four sides still participating is a major incentive. Each look likely to fall short of their domestic targets, while in the case of Lyon they are fourth in Ligue 1 and already unable to chase down the sides above them. Monaco have been too strong; PSG likely to finish hot on their heels; Nice very much best of the rest.
Lyon did return to winning ways at Angers last weekend, however, having lost each of their previous two league fixtures, including a 4-1 home reverse to Lorient - not great for confidence, to say the least! They have fared better in Europe since exiting the Champions League, when finishing third behind Juventus and Sevilla in a tough group, and they are indeed the last team standing from those to drop down from Europe's showpiece competition.
Les Gones dismantled another dutch side in AZ in the first knockout round, as well as beating Roma and most recently Besiktas on penalties in a tight and at times feisty encounter. After winning 2-1 at home, Lyon lost by the same scoreline in Turkey and needed penalties to get themselves over the line and into the final four of a European competition for just the third time in their history.
Bruno Genesio's charges have three Ligue 1 fixtures left to play, beginning with Nantes on Sunday, but it is fair to say that their focus is now purely on extending their European adventure by another few weeks. Lyon have lost four times in their last five away outings in this competition, however, all of which have come in knockout-round fixtures. Six of the last eight goals conceded by the French club in the Europa have come in the first half, while five of the last six have come via set-pieces.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Ajax have never lost to Lyon, drawing both matches in the 2011-12 Champions League after a couple of draws in the same competition nine years prior. The French club are unbeaten against Dutch opposition in eight games since losing those games in 2002-03, however, winning four and drawing five. That runs includes triumphs over AZ in this year's Europa League round of 32.
DID YOU KNOW? Ajax are the only semi-finalists left in this year's competition to have previously gone all the way, beating Torino to lift the UEFA Cup in 1992. Lyon are the lone survivors from the eight to transfer from the Champions League, meanwhile, and have won two of three knockout matches against Dutch opposition.
Following on from that previous stat, Ajax have not won any of their last five matches against French side, losing each of their last three two-legged tie. The omens certainly do not look great on that front, then, but certainly in terms of tonight they boast impressive home pedigree and will fancy their chances of taking a lead of some sort over to France next week.
With kickoff at the Johan Cruyff ArenA now exactly 10 minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Peter Bosz: "Lyon are very strong opponents, but that makes sense; this is a semi-final. We have seen what they did against AZ [Lyon won 11-2 on aggregate in the round of 32] but many sides have two faces. Look at us: at home against Schalke we played fantastic football and yesterday we were no better than good."
Bruno Genesio: "We have to take our chances and to play our own game, like we did at Besiktas. It should be an open match against a really good side who play attacking football with some really fast players. Whatever happens today, we will still have the second leg to play. But I don't want my players to be complacent. Ajax are a great club."
Bosz rightly picking out that Lyon display against AZ as a reason to be fearful for his side, having seen the French club cruise to an 11-2 victory over the two legs. As mentioned by the Ajax boss, his men were terrific in the first leg against Schalke and really should have taken more than a one-goal advantage to Germany - something which so nearly cost them as they were pegged back and required extra time.
Genesio is expecting an "open match", meanwhile, but at the same time warns his players not to become complacent. A narrow defeat today would not be the end of the world for the visitors, particularly having lost so many games on their travels of late but still made it this far. With Lacazette on the bench, Genesio could well opt to gamble late on should the scoreline remain level.
PREDICTION! Many are expecting this semi-final tie to go the distance, and it is hard to disagree with that. Ajax are likely to go a third year without achieving success in Eredivisie, while Lyon are well off the pace in terms of a top-three finish in Ligue 1, so all focus is on this competition. In terms of tonight's match, I'll back the hosts to win 1-0.
Both sets of players are now out on the field of play, with kickoff now just moments away. Lyon, competing in the semi-final of a European competition for just the third time in their history, up against an Ajax side boasting four European Cups but no success on the continent in over two decades. Here we go...
KICKOFF! We are up and running at the Johan Cruyff ArenA, where the atmosphere is electrifying. Both sets of supporters well up for this one, knowing that they are in with a great shout of adding silverware to their collection.
Ajax the side pressing early on, looking to find a way through. A case of knocking the ball around in midfield and defence at the moment, though, before slowly moving it into more advanced areas of the pitch and finding that gap.
A couple of challenges coming in from both sides in the past couple of minutes, which has broken up play a fair bit. Jallet gets his head to the ball in the box, as Lyon look to ease some of the pressure on them.
SAVE! First chance of the evening, as Jallet and Lucas Tousart link up superbly down the right-hand flank. The latter looks up and picks out Maxwel Cornet, whose shot is against the leg of Andre Onana and out for a corner.
SHOT! Ajax look to respond from that big Lyon chance, with teenage centre-back Matthijs De Ligt testing Anthony Lopes from range. The simplest of stops for the Lyon stopper to make in the end, though, right down the middle.
Ajax the side seeing more of the ball in the opening 11 minutes or so of the match, but no doubt that Lyon had the best opening yet - Tousart failing to beat Onana when the ball was pulled back into a dangerous zone for him.
Lyon's best bet appears to be down that right-hand flank at the moment, which is where they created that earlier chance. A free kick is won by the French side, which Valbuena appeared to put into a dangerous zone but none of his teammates could meet it.
The home side still awaiting that first real chance of the evening, having so far been restricted to just the one long-range attempt. Got to say, the French visitors have been the better team in the final third of the field.
Lasse Schone with smart vision, but not quite being able to find his teammate on this occasion. Up the other end, leading marksman Fekir gets his contact wrong when attempting to test Onana between the Ajax sticks.
Dolberg on the end of a challenge from Morel, which leads to a ticking off from the referee. Lyon doing brilliantly to disrupt their opponents' flow at the moment, with Ajax yet to find their rhythm at all 19 minutes in.
Ajax slowly probing away now, looking for that first clear-cut opening of the evening. The visitors will be the happier of the two teams at the moment, knowing that this result - albeit minus an away goal - will suit them fine.
A free kick has been won out wide by the hosts. I mentioned pre-match how poor Lyon have been from set-pieces in this competition - five of the last six conceded have come via free kicks, corners and penalties.
GOAL! AJAX 1-0 LYON (BERTAND TRAORE)
Ajax, barely able to find their rhythm in the opening quarter of the match, have taken the lead through a rare attempt on goal! Hakim Ziyech's free kick needed the deftest of touches, which Chelsea loanee Bertrand Traore provided to guide it into the far corner.
Lyon yet again being let down by a set-piece, then, which they just cannot seem to deal with in this competition. Ajax not exactly worthy of that goal, but now that they have it the visitors will up things slightly.
A superb ball over the top is latched on to by Amin Younes, who is one on one with his man out wide and gets a half-decent cross into the box. Not quite good enough to find Dolberg, though, with Lyon able to clear their lines.
YELLOW CARD! Matthijs De Ligt a little late on Mathieu Velbuena, earning the first yellow card of this semi-final tie. Ajax have looked very bright since taking the lead, all of a sudden a appearing confident all over the field.
GOAL! AJAX 2-0 LYON (KASPER DOLBERG)
Dolberg adds a second for Ajax, a little under 10 minutes before half time. Lyon have looked real poor since falling behind and, when Bertrand got his head to a clearance, Dolberg was through on goal and blasted past Lopes. Great finish!
Lopes has to take some of the blame for that second goal for his poor clearance, but it is all down to the pressing from Ajax. Pretty relentless from them in the past 10 minutes, having looked so flat beforehand.
Get the impression that Lyon boss Genesio will just want that half-time whistle to blow about now. After seeing his side start the more composed, it has been one-way traffic since Traore opened the scoring 25 minutes in.
Poor delivery from Valbuena, just about summing up the way things have gone for his side in the second quarter of the match. Ajax well on top now and, as things stand, with one foot in the final of the Europa League.
YELLOW CARD! Maxime Gonalons enters referee Gianluca Rocchi's book, perhaps a little harshly, for his challenge in the middle of the park. Big two minutes ahead now as Ajax attempt to add a third to their first-half tally.
Davinson Sanchez with a superb tackle on Valbuena to get another attack going for his side. Ajax simply winning all the battles now, completely reinvigorated since finding that breakthrough goal 20 minutes ago.
CHANCE! Amin Younes with a glorious chance to wrap up the match before half time of the first leg. The ball fell kindly to him and he was clean through on goal, but his shot was well kept out by Lopes down low.
HALF TIME: AJAX 2-0 LYON
Ajax take a two-goal lead into the break, then, but it would have been even better for them had Lopes not kept out that Younes attempt late on in the half. Lyon were the better side in the opening quarter, but the hosts stepped things up and are in a very strong position now.
Competing in the semi-final of a major European competition for just the third time, Lyon started the brighter of the two teams and fashioned a good chance following some link-up play between Christophe Jallet and Lucas Tousart down the right. The former did well to spot Maxwel Cornet, who was unable to sneak the ball through the legs of Andre Onana in the Ajax goal.
That may have been as good as things got for the French side in the first half, but for the opening quarter of the match they restricted their opponents to just a Matthijs De Ligt strike on goal from distance. The momentum of the match changed completely when, from a Hakim Ziyech free kick, Chelsea loanee Bertrand Traore got the faintest of touches to the ball to help it past Anthony Lopes and into the far corner of the net.
Ajax were suddenly a side transformed, constantly closing down the visitors and being rewarded with a second 34 minutes in after a slack Lopes clearance was nodded into the path of Kasper Dolberg by Traore. Dolberg was through on goal but still had plenty to do, superbly firing past the Lyon stopper using the outside of his boot to ensure that it found the target. It should have been tie over on the brink of half time, only for Lopes to keep out Amin Younes down low from a one-on-one.
Still plenty to play for, then, with 135 minutes of the two-legged affair still to play. A third on the night for Ajax will essentially kill things off, though, so Lyon boss Bruno Genesio has got to be smart at the break. Alexandre Lacazette is among the subs, but does he really want to risk him at this point?
AJAX SUBS: Boer, Westermann, De Jong, Van de Beek, Nouri, Kluivert, Neres
LYON SUBS: Gorgelin, Yanga-Mbiwa, Ghezzal, Ferri, Darder, Rafael, Lacazette
RESTART! Positive start to the second half for Lyon, as they win a free kick which is just about dealt with by the hosts. No changes made by either manager at the break, so Genesio holding off bringing on Lacazette for now.
GOAL! AJAX 3-0 LYON (AMIN YOUNES)
Well that should do it! A little over two minutes into the second half and Younes adds a third goal for the hosts, delaying his shot after cutting inside and unconvincingly seeing the ball cross the line despite the best efforts of Nicolas N'Koulou.
Lopes required to come speeding off his line to prevent Dolberg finding himself in for a fourth. Lyon, as strange as it sounds trailing 3-0, just need to shut up shop now or else they really will have little to play for next week.
SAVE! Good play from Fekir, who attempts to drag his side back into the match with an away goal. His curled attempt was well kept out by Andre Onana at full stretch, preserving the home team's three-goal advantage.
LYON SUB! A first change of the evening is made by Genesio, who brings on Rachid Ghezzal - and not Lacazette - who take over from Lucas Tousart. Looks like further movement on the bench so expect another change soon.
SAVE! Kasper Dolberg, with 20 goals in 20 games this season after his first-half strike, absolutely belts the ball on target for Lopes to parry away. This youngster looks like he has it all in his locker - a real talent.
YELLOW CARD! Bertrand Traore, with a goal and an assist already today, enters the referee's book - the third player to do so - for a late challenge. Right decision from the experienced man in the middle on that occasion.
Not a great deal happening at the moment, with Dolberg's well-struck shot the only attempt of any note since Ajax added a third. Peter Bosz will be over the mood to take this scoreline to France, but he will not want to concede an away goal.
Lyon may look to make the most of this quiet spell in the match. The visitors will surely turn to Lacazette sooner rather than later - if not now then when? Real good intervention from Tete to break up the latest visiting attack.
GOAL! AJAX 3-1 LYON (MATHIEU VALBUENA)
A second goal in the space of a few days for Valbuena, after netting at Angers, has given Lyon a huge lifeline at the Johan Cruyff ArenA. A delivery into the box was only cleared as far as the forward, who controlled well and smartly picked his spot.
All of a sudden we have a game on our hands once again, with that away goal potentially proving vital come next week. Would Bruno Genesio take full time now? Possibly. Be interesting to see how Ajax react over these next five or 10 minutes.
SAVE! What a chance! Nabil Fekir is played through but cannot get the ball past the big frame of Andre Onana. It is now Lyon who have the wind in their sails, pressing for the fifth goal of this entertaining first leg.
GOAL! AJAX 4-1 LYON (BERTRAND TRAORE)
How big does that Fekir miss look now, as just moments later Traore adds his second of the night to make it 4-1. Ziyech belts the ball across goal from the left, where the Chelsea loanee is waiting to divert from close range.
SAVES! This game is incredibly open. Rafael is denied by Onana and, all of 60 seconds later, Younes's low drive is well kept out by Lopes when he really should have been doing better. There is another goal in this tie.
SAVE! Lopes having to be seriously alert now. De Ligt again with the effort, which is well kept out buy the keeper yet again. Lacazette is on for Lyon, incidentally, but has so far been unable to get on the ball.
Still so incredibly open in Amsterdam - a game that you do not want to end as a neutral. Incredibly, it is not game over heading into the second leg despite the three-goal lead for Ajax, with Lyon much stronger on home soil.
Now into the final 10 minutes of the match at the Johan Cruyff ArenA. Lacazette left frustrated by De Ligt as he attempts to chase down the ball, which is successfully ushered out. Ajax may now look to take the sting out of the match.
Lyon the side pressing for a second goal and, on the basis of the 83 minutes on the whole, you would not bet against another goal arriving. A real entertaining first-leg tie; one that is well balanced in the hosts' favour at this point.
Kluivert and Neves were brought on by Bosz a few minutes ago, with the fresh legs brought on to help see things through. Lyon need three goals in next Thursday's return tie, should Ajax fail to net, which will be a huge ask.
The visitors still probing away for another goal, but Tolisso superbly denied by Tete when looking to pull the trigger. Home fans making plenty of noise now, as we tick into the final three minutes of normal time in Amsterdam.
Four minutes to be added on at the Johan Cruyff ArenA, so still plenty of time for Lyon - or indeed Ajax - to find another. It is the French side looking the more likely at the moment, desperate for just one last clear-cut opening.
Raffael with a dangerous cross into the box, which appeared to take a touch and was slightly out of Lacazette's reach. The substitute striker has not really had a sight of goal since being introduced, but will likely have a bigger say next week.
FULL TIME: AJAX 4-1 LYON
The full-time whistle is blown, bringing an end to an entertaining first leg at the Yohan Cruyff ArenA. Ajax were deserving winners in the end, even if they did start very slow, scoring a couple of goals through Bertrand Traore, one from Kasper Dolberg and also through Amin Younes. It is not quite game over yet, with Lyon stronger on home soil - fingers crossed for another end-to-end battle eight days from now!
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Amsterdam. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while updates from the Champions League tie between AS Monaco and Juventus are underway here. Thanks for joining!
