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Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 30, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
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1-1

Manduca (32' pen.)
FT(HT: 1-1)
Andersen (28')

Player Ratings: APOEL 1-1 Ajax

:Headline: Player Ratings: APOEL 1-1 Ajax: ID:179977: from db_amp
Sport Mole assesses the performances of every player from the 1-1 draw between APOEL and Ajax in their Champions League Group F clash.

APOEL and Ajax met in their Champions League clash at the GSP Stadium on Thursday and played out a 1-1 draw.

Lucas Andersen fired Frank de Boer's side into the lead in the 28th minute, but they were pegged back when the home team were awarded a controversial penalty, which was converted by Gustavo Manduca.

Neither side could force a winner in the second half as they were forced to settle for a point apiece.

Here, Sports Mole addresses which players impressed during the 90 minutes in the Group F encounter.


APOEL

Goal

Urko Pardo: The keeper had a solid evening for the home side and made one excellent save to deny Kolbeinn Sigthorsson when he tried to fire home from close range. His handling and distribution were solid all evening. (7/10)

Defence

Mario Sergio: Had a decent outing for his side and raided forward in the second half, firing a couple of efforts at goal. Defensively he struggled in the second half as he allowed too many crosses into the area, which on another day could have been costly. (6/10)

Carlao: Had one bad moment when he allowed Sigthorsson to win the ball in the penalty area and fire at goal, but was bailed out by Pardo. The defender had a good battle with the forward all evening and because Sigthorsson failed to find the net, he just managed to shade the contest. (6/10)

Joao Guilherme: Didn't have any major struggles with the Ajax attacking threat and provided an excellent foil for their crosses into the box with his heading ability. Positionally he was sound as well as he and his teammates produced a disciplined display. (7/10)

Marios Antoinaides: Struggled early in the game as allowed Davy Klaassen to control the right side of the pitch for Ajax, but slowly managed to eradicate the threat in the second half. Didn't raid forward too much due to his defensive duties. (7/10)

Midfield

Vinicius: Provided a strong shield for to protect his back four throughout the game and was rarely out of position. He and his teammates' discipline managed to frustrate the Dutch side, and on occasions was able to break out to disrupt their passing game. (7/10)

Nuno Morais: A solid outing for the midfielder in the middle of the park. Was pressed into a defensive role and stuck to his task all evening alongside Vinicius to quell the attacking threat of Ajax through the middle. His distribution was accurate and decisive. (7/10)

Efstathios Aloneftis: Another quality display from the one of Donis's midfielders. The 31-year-old was disciplined in his approach and didn't over commit down the left side, and he always supported Antoinaides at the back. Going forward he had a couple of raids into the box, which troubled the Ajax backline. (7/10)

Tiago Gomes: A quieter display from the Portuguese as he failed to impose himself on the game. He used the ball well enough, but didn't impose the same threat Aloneftis did down the left. (6/10)

Attack

Gustavo Manduca: A constant thorn in the side of the Ajax defence with his movement into the channels. They never seemed to get fully to grips with the Brazilian, which could have been costly had his teammates provided better finishes in front of goal. His delivery from the wide areas was deadly accurate and he showed great composure to score from the spot. (8/10)

Cillian Sheridan: The striker didn't have the best of games in front of goal. He was full of effort running the line mostly on his own up front, but when the chances came his way he couldn't stick them in the back of the net. (5/10)

Substitutes

Tomas De Vicenti: The forward didn't have time to make an impact on the field late in the game as his side were pressed into defensive duties as he replaced Manduca. (6/10)

Giorgos Efrem: Made a couple of nice touches late in the game to kill the clock by winning a corner late in the game to ease the pressure on his teammates. (6/10)

Rafik Djebbour: Had no time to make an impact after replacing Sheridan in the 82nd minute. (5/10)


AJAX

Goal

Jasper Cillessen: Made one rash challenge that saw him booked as he brought down Sheridan outside of the area. Couldn't do anything to stop the penalty beating him, but was generally solid for his side as he wasn't called on to do much. (6/10)

Defence

Ricardo van Rhijn: Was harshly penalised by the referee for the penalty. Put in a solid display as he had a good contest with Aloneftis down the right side of the pitch. Made one crucial block to deny the winger as he raided into the area. (6/10)

Joel Veltman: A good performance from the defender as he barely looked troubled by Sheridan and made a few key blocks for his side. (7/10)

Nikolas Moisander: Was booked in the first half for a poor challenge, but was solid enough apart from that incident. Made life tough for Sheridan in the air with some good aerial tussles to disrupt the striker's game. (7/10)

Nicolai Boilesen: Had a quiet game and didn't affect the match much going forward to support Andersen down the flank, when he could have as Tiago Gomes didn't provide a threat down his side of the pitch. (6/10)

Midfield

Lasse Schone: Not the best outing from the winger as he missed the one-on-one opportunity against Pardo, but was bailed out by Andersen on the rebound. His set pieces were poor as they either went out of play or hit the gloves of the keeper. (5/10)

Nick Viergever: Ensured that his side maintained possession in the breakdown of their attacks when the home side tried to clear their lines, but he managed to keep the pressure on. Did his job quietly and without fuss, but didn't have a huge effect on the outcome. (6/10)

Thulani Serero: Grew into the game more as it progressed and had a great chance to win it in the 92nd minute but he put his effort past the post. Was combative in midfield, although his passing was occasionally suspect. (6/10)

Davy Klaassen: Should have been rewarded in the first half with two assists but Sigthorsson failed to connect with either of his excellent crosses from the right. He faded as the game wore on and as Antoinaides began to quell his threat down the right. (6/10)

Lucas Andersen: Played the through-ball to Schone for his missed strike, but did brilliantly to follow up and put the ball in the net himself. Tried to impact the game down the left, but wasn't given much support, especially in the second half. (7/10)

Attack

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson: The striker had a miserable evening in front of goal as he failed to reach either of Klaassen's first-half crosses that were right on the money. In the second half he missed an even better chance after tussling with Carlao, but smashed his effort straight at Pardo. (5/10)

Substitutes

Ricardo Kishna: Almost made an instant impact after arriving from the bench as his cross found Sigthorsson in the area, but the striker couldn't convert the chance. Used his pace to test the APOEL backline late in the game. (6/10)

Anwar El Ghazi: Was not able to make the same impact as Kishna did in his time on the pitch as Ajax focused their efforts down the left flank rather than the right. (5/10)


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